Neck pain is one of those things that can creep up on you. You might notice you’re turning your whole body to reverse the car instead of just looking over your shoulder, or perhaps you keep waking up with a stiff neck and wondering what on earth you did in your sleep.
Sometimes there’s an obvious reason. You’ve spent hours at a laptop, driven a long way, trained hard, been gardening or simply spent too much time looking down at your phone.
Other times, there doesn’t seem to be a reason at all.
This is when it’s worth looking at what else is going on, because your neck doesn’t work on its own. It works alongside your shoulders, upper back and jaw, and all of those areas can be affected by how much you move, how well you sleep and how stressed you are.
Stress can quite literally be a pain in the neck
Think about what you do when you’re stressed. Do your shoulders creep upwards? Do you clench your jaw? Perhaps you sit more rigidly or notice that your breathing becomes a little shallower.
None of this is unusual. It’s simply part of the way our bodies respond to stress.
The problem comes when that stress goes on for days or weeks and we don’t get much opportunity to recover. The muscles around the neck and shoulders can end up working harder than they need to, and that can leave you feeling stiff, achy and generally uncomfortable.
For some people, headaches start joining in too.
What about perimenopause?
This is something worth mentioning because I see a lot of women in the age group where perimenopause becomes part of the conversation.
Changes in hormones can coincide with changes in sleep, headaches, migraines, stress levels and how our muscles and joints feel. If you’re sleeping badly and feeling more stressed or tired than usual, an already grumpy neck may become even more noticeable.
But I don’t want to turn neck pain into a women’s problem because it absolutely isn’t.
Men get sore necks too. Long hours at a desk, driving, physical work, stress, poor sleep, training and simply not moving enough can affect anybody.
Quite often there isn’t one single cause. It’s a collection of little things that have gradually added up.
So… what can you do?
Firstly, move.
Your body doesn’t need perfect posture all day. It needs variety. Get up from your desk, move your shoulders, gently turn your head from side to side and give yourself regular breaks from sitting in one position.
Strength is important too. Sometimes we become so focused on stretching tight muscles that we forget those muscles also need to be strong enough to cope with what we ask of them every day.
And pay attention to patterns. Does your neck hurt more when work is stressful? After a long day at the computer? When you haven’t exercised for a few days? Are headaches appearing alongside it?
Sports massage can be a really useful part of settling down sore, overworked muscles and getting things moving more comfortably again. But ultimately, we want to work out why your neck keeps getting grumpy in the first place.
Sometimes it needs massage. Sometimes it needs movement and strength. Sometimes it needs more rest.
And sometimes your shoulders simply need reminding that they don’t actually belong next to your ears.
What to do next
Get in touch for an appointment if you feel you need some extra help. You can book directly online at www.astrafitness.co.uk or get in touch with me directly if you have visited me before.
Thank you for reading this weeks blog, Is Your Neck Trying to Tell You Something?
Thanks for reading,
Chloe