Alleviating Neck Pain and Headaches, Part 1 – Stretching the Neck
Neck pain and sinus headache relief tend to be caused by excessive muscle tension in the neck and shoulders, which can cause nerve impingements, disc misalignments and feelings of tension, discomfort and pain. These symptoms could be relieved, or at least partially relieved, with a regular stretching routine that lengthens all the major muscle groups of the neck and shoulders.
Take into account that sinus headache relief tend to be caused by a variety of factors together ultimately causing the pain that you feel, and for everyone the collection of issues are very different and so require different approaches.
For instance, sinus headache relief and neck pain tend to be cause by sitting at the computer for long periods of time, ultimately causing a relaxed, slouching posture, which often results as well in a ‘head forward’ position. This is common for those who are constantly gazing in to a computer screen all day each day.
This particular posture will tighten the muscles around the front of the neck and shoulders, like the sternocleidomastoid, anterior scalenes, pectoralis and biceps, while stressing supporting muscles at the back, such as the upper traps, levator scapula, and erector spinae.
If you want to learn how to stretch the major muscle groups of the neck, browse the website at the end of this article, where I have posted videos on how to do these stretches. Head to ‘Yoga Poses’, and under ‘Body Part’, select ‘Neck’.
When working through them, judge on your own those feel the tightest, and which stretches provide relief when stretched. Then get back to those more frequently with the intention of loosening them gradually with time. Muscles have what’s called a ‘muscle memory’, and you need to change it from ‘hypertense’ to ‘relaxed’, by reminding it to go back to its lengthened state.
When moving through the stretches, keep two things in your mind:
1) Muscles let go gradually with time and 2) Muscles respond most useful when warm and relaxed.
Stretching combined with heat and massage is very effective. And, most important of, when you can commence to move out from the posture that is creating the stress and pain in the first place, it helps reinforce a pain-free position for the entire musculoskeletal structure. Good alignment will address the foundation of the problem, which makes it easier for your body to stay in a pain free state.
Have fun!
