Why Do We Experience Morning Neck Pain and How to Solve It

Waking up with a sore neck is not the way you want to start your day. Today, I’m going to show you some tips and tricks on how to solve this problem.

Many people, especially in 2020 are starting to experience neck pain due to working from home for a prolonged period of time. It is therefore important for me to share some tips and strategies today to help ease your neck pain in the morning.

I’ll show you a quick 5 minutes routine to stretch out your neck throughout your long working day and ease your neck pain and neck stiffness. I will also show you some tips to be considered, such as good pillows and also a comfortable position for your neck during sleeping. 

So that you can have a good sleep and wake up refreshed and without any neck discomfort in the morning.

There are a few key factors that are a common cause of neck pain.

1. Poor Workstation Setup

Working at a desk is a common cause of neck pain, often because you are accommodating to your workstation rather than the other way around. For instance, many people strain to see a computer monitor that is too far away, too low, too high, too small or too dim. This compromises good posture. 

Our head is about 10% of our body weight, which is equivalent to a bowling ball! When your neck is bent to 45 degrees, your head exerts nearly about 23 kilograms of force on your neck. 

In addition to straining joints and muscles in your neck and shoulders, the pressure affects your breathing and mood. To alleviate this stress, redesign your workspace to encourage well-aligned posture. 

2. Long Working Hours with No Stretches

Flexibility and stretching exercises can expand or preserve the range of motion and elasticity in affected cervical (neck) joints, and thus relieve the stiffness that accompanies pain. 

As a general rule, neck stretching is best done every day, and some stretches can be done several times a day.

3. Sleeping on the wrong pillow

Neck pain induced by sleep can be because of using the wrong pillow. Sleeping on a wrong pillow can leave you with neck pain for weeks. Also, improper sleeping position could contribute to neck pain.

Keeping in mind these stretches are just the basic exercises that we start off with, to fully fix your neck discomfort you will still need to continue to progress to harder and more functional strengthening exercises in order to feel pain free while working.

Here at Capital Physiotherapy, our physiotherapists are the experts in helping you to fix your neck issues as well as all the discomfort that comes with it!

We can help you lead a healthier and pain free lifestyle. 

Our trusted physiotherapist will be able to give a full neck assessment on you and come out with individualised advice/ treatment plan that is tailored for your particular needs.

 At Capital Physiotherapy, your initial appointment is 40-60minutes long. This allows our physios to be thorough in their assessment, as well as giving them enough time to give you treatment on the same consultation! 

For physiotherapist appointment and related concerns, visit us at any of our clinics near you or drop an email at info@capitalphysiotherapy.com.au. We also provide Telehealth Consultation for your safety and convenience during this pandemic.