Why Is My Neck Always Stiff?
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Neck pain and stiffness is a very common complaint. Whether you woke up with that crick in the neck or the neck stiffness that has been nagging at you for years, that is something that should be looked at. Pain or stiffness is usually your bodies alert system trying to tell you that something is not right.
Neck pain even if it is minimal, can make normal tasks difficult such as trying to back out of the driveway, blow drying your hair, or talking with people.
For most people their heads weigh anywhere between 12-15 pounds! When people constantly have their head forward or back, like with texting, computer use, painting, or trying to put things away on the top shelf, this can and usually results in pain or discomfort.
If you imagine that you are bowling with a 12 pound bowling ball proper form is the difference between a strike or a gutter ball and injuring your wrist. If you think of your head as the bowling ball your spine is your proper form, if your head is too far forward or too far back it will cause pain.
Treating neck pain starts with determining the cause so the proper treatment can be given. Initially the goal is to get you out of pain so that you can function normally without being scared of moving you neck or head a certain way. Once pain is reduced we want to focus on moving properly and maintaining strength. This is to help solidify strong healthy structures to help prevent flare ups of the old injury.
