3 Things to Avoid When Suffering From Chronic Neck Pain

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Chronic Neck Pain

 

Neck pain in the US is extremely common. Neck pain will affect 30%-50% of adults in any given year in the US. Among that percentage of people, 50%-85% will unfortunately never experience complete resolution of their symptoms and will continue to experience chronic pain throughout their life if untreated. If you are experiencing neck pain, seek help from a specialist for chronic neck pain through Idaho Falls neck pain specialists

Table of Contents

Opioids

Even if prescribed, opioids are a dangerous alternative to dealing with neck pain; let alone any type of chronic pain. Opioids are a cause of many overdoses in people all over the US and should be avoided at all costs if at all possible. It is a slippery slope when it comes to the misuse of these drugs. Even when taken as prescribed, they can become addictive even if you don’t realize it. Once there is a reliance it is hard to wean off of the prescribed medication. Statistics show that in 2016 opioid overdoses accounted for over 42,000 deaths. And even then 40% of those deaths were prescribed opioids. Understanding the opioid epidemic is the best way to avoid getting pulled into an unknown situation and being unable to break an addiction. 

Poor Sleep Postures

One of the first symptoms of poor sleep posture is neck pain. Neck pain and other issues can linger for days after a night from poor posture. A few things you can do to fix posture for a good night’s sleep include; avoiding sleeping on your stomach, sleeping on your side correctly, and keeping head pillows to a minimum. Sleeping on your stomach can force the neck into positions that lead to twisting of the spine and should be avoided. If you sleep on your side, try to sleep as straight as possible by keeping the neck level with the bed. This is difficult for people with broad shoulders. Again, even while sleeping on the back, trying to keep the neck straight is best by using less head pillows. 

Smoking

We all know that there are major negative effects when it comes to smoking cigarettes. But did you know that damage can be caused in the cervical discs in the neck with smoking? The discs that are found between the vertebrae become dehydrated and may cause shrinkage upon aging. They are meant to absorb shock in the spine but are less effective as they are shrunken and dehydrated which in turn can cause irreversible neck pain. The odds are doubled of having some kind of chronic pain with smoking every day! If you smoke, plan to quit; as there are so many negative effects to the body. 

These are 3 major things to avoid with chronic neck pain. We know it is hard to avoid neck pain all together but by using these 3 things as a guide, it can perhaps lead us in a helpful direction. (medsmarter.com) If medical help is needed, reach out to a specialist that will be able to assess and evaluate the situation and give further advice. 

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