neckpainexercises.com &#187; Neck Pain Relief

The 13 most important things to do to have a pain free neck

The stretch you should not do for Neck and Shoulder pain

The best mattress for neck pain-what the studies say

How safe is your car in an accident? Check Here

mark — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:27:45 +0000

If you had an accident you would hope that your car rated well in a survey of crash tests and safety wouldnt you. After all, the more impact that your car absorbs-the less impact to you. But how does your car stack up when the researchers hit it from behind, in front and rolled in several times?

To find out see this link from the IIHS:

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx

Also see how you can decrease your risk of whiplash by over 40 % by a simple adjustment of your car seat

whiplash-what not to do in the first 3 months

My 5 top tips to have a pain free neck when driving

Whiplash Injuries-The Facts

Whiplash Injuries- The Facts

mark — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:44:33 +0000

image from sharenote.com

Here is a comprehensive report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that not only tells you what happens during a whiplash injury but also how you can prevent it and what factors lessen the severity of a neck injury. This is a must read.

1 What is whiplash?

Whiplash and whiplash-associated disorders describe a range of neck injuries related to sudden distortions of the neck that commonly occur in rear-end crashes. The most common symptom reported by whiplash victims is pain due to mild muscle strain or minor tearing of soft tissue. Other injuries include nerve damage, disc damage, and in the most severe cases ruptures of ligaments in the neck and fractures of the cervical vertebrae. Minor whiplash injuries generally are associated with pain and decreased range of motion in the head and neck. These symptoms usually last only a short time, but occasionally they last longer and include headaches, dizziness, and tingling in the arms. The physical injury to create symptoms of whiplash is uncertain. It is suspected that the biological cause of long-term whiplash symptoms is nerve damage while short-term pain may be a minor strain or sprain.

People can experience severe crashes with no neck injury if there is little or no movement of the head relative to the torso. Consequently, neck distortion resulting from sudden movement of the head relative to the torso probably explains most whiplash injuries. Hyperextension of the neck, or rearward bending beyond its normal range of motion, may explain many whiplash injuries, but experimental and field studies suggest that nerve damage and associated long-term symptoms can occur with milder levels of neck distortion. One hypothesis is that nerve damage is caused by motion of adjacent neck vertebrae during a crash.¹ Another hypothesis suggests that the nerve damage is caused by fluctuation in spinal fluid pressure arising from neck distortions.²

2 How common are neck injuries? Are motorists susceptible to neck injuries in all crash configurations?

Neck sprains and strains are the most frequently reported injuries in US insurance claims. In 2007, an estimated 66 percent of all insurance claimants under bodily injury liability coverage and 57 percent under personal injury protection coverage — two important insurance injury coverages — reported minor neck injuries. For 43 and 34 percent of bodily injury liability and personal injury protection claimants, respectively, neck sprains or strains were the most serious injuries reported. The cost of the claims in which neck pain was the most serious injury was about $8.8 billion, representing approximately 25 percent of the total dollars paid for all crash injuries combined.³

Whiplash injuries can be sustained in any type of crash but occur most often in rear-end collisions. Based on National Automotive Sampling System data, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that there were 805,581 whiplash injuries occurring annually between 1988 and 1996. Of these injuries, NHTSA estimated that 272,464 occurred as a result of a rear impact.⁴ A 1999 Institute study found that 26 percent of drivers of rear-struck vehicles reported neck injuries to their insurance company.⁵ This was about the same as the 24 percent neck injury rate reported in a 1972 Institute study.⁶ Estimates of neck injury rates in other studies have ranged from 7 to 37 percent, depending on whether police or motorists reported the information.^7,8,9

3 What happens to occupants when their vehicles are struck from the rear?

When a vehicle is struck from the rear it is accelerated forward, causing the seatback to push against the occupant’s torso and propel it forward. The unsupported head lags behind the torso until the neck reaches its limit of distortion. Then the head is suddenly accelerated by the neck much like the tip of a whip; hence the term whiplash. Head restraints limit the neck distortion by pushing the head forward with the torso.

4 Why do vehicles have headrests?

What many motorists refer to as a headrest is actually a head restraint. It is a common misconception that restraints are comfort features. Head restraints are an essential safety feature like lap/shoulder belts. Effective head restraints help move an occupant’s head forward with the body in a rear-end crash and decrease the likelihood of sustaining a whiplash injury. A 2002 Public Attitude Monitor survey asked participants to identify the main purpose of a head restraint; 67 percent correctly identified safety, while 13 percent said comfort and another 15 percent did not know.¹⁰

5 What factors influence the severity of neck injury?

The majority of studies on whiplash have focused on adult front-seat occupants. Unless otherwise noted, the following facts pertain to persons sitting up front.

Height: According to German research, height is a risk factor for neck injury, particularly among females.¹¹ Shorter people often are protected by unadjusted head restraints. Stature may not play as big a role in the severity of injuries among males because many head restraints are too low to protect even shorter males. Taller motorists who do not adjust their head restraints are more likely to sustain whiplash injuries.

Gender: The same German report found females to be 1.8 to 2.2 times more at risk of neck injury in all types of collisions, a finding consistent with research by the Institute and other organizations. A Swedish study found that females with whiplash injuries were more likely to develop long-term symptoms. Fifty-five percent of females who sustained whiplash injuries went on to develop long-term symptoms compared with 38 percent of males.¹² The risk of disability for drivers has been shown to be three times higher for females than for males; in rear seats, females’ risk is four times higher.¹³ One possible explanation is that males have more neck musculature than females for about the same size head. The Institute studied insurance data and found female drivers in a rear-end crash were more likely than male drivers to report a neck injury.^5,14

Seating position: It is uncertain which seating position exposes an occupant to the greatest chance of neck injury. One study concluded that drivers have a higher risk of injury than passengers. It was hypothesized that drivers are prone to move forward and away from the seatback as they reach for the steering wheel and observe traffic around them, whereas passengers usually are more relaxed and lean further back in their seats, with their heads closer to the restraint.¹⁵

Research studies are inconsistent in their findings of neck injury risk for front and rear seat passengers. One study found that rear seat passengers, are less likely than front seat occupants to sustain neck injuries.¹⁵ Another study found that the risk of neck injury among females was lowest in the front passenger seat and significantly higher in the rear. The same study found that injury risk for males was higher in the front seat than in the rear seat.¹³

Vehicle size/weight: The size and weight of the struck and striking vehicles may influence neck injury risk. A study of insurance claims found that drivers struck by vehicles heavier than the one they were driving were more likely to claim neck injuries than drivers struck by vehicles of approximately equal or lesser weight.¹⁴ Drivers of rear-struck cars were more likely to claim a neck injury than drivers of rear-struck SUVs.

Seat/head restraint geometry: Restraints can be classified into one of four geometric zones defined by their height and backset (distance from the back of the head to the front of the restraint). Based on these factors, the Institute assigns ratings of good, acceptable, marginal, or poor. Institute research has shown that vehicles with good rated geometric head restraints have 24 percent lower driver neck injury rates than vehicles with poor rated restraints.⁵

6 Do head restraints have to meet government standards?

Yes. Since Jan. 1, 1969, NHTSA under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 202 has mandated head restraints in the front outboard seats of all new passenger cars. On Sept. 1, 1991, head restraint standards were extended to pickups, vans, and SUVs. Manufacturers may install either of two types of restraints. The first is an integral head restraint with a seatback that is high enough to meet the head restraint height requirement. The second type is an adjustable head restraint consisting of a cushion attached to the seatback by sliding metal shafts. Adjustable restraints must be adjustable to the same height as fixed restraints. Adjustable restraints can be moved and sometimes locked at different heights; some also can be adjusted horizontally to change the distance between the back of the head and restraint.

In December 2004, NHTSA upgraded FMVSS 202 to require head restraints that are higher and closer to the back of people’s heads. The new height requirements for front and rear seat head restraints are similar to the ones mandated in the European Union.

FMVSS 202 establishes a minimum of 29.5 inches from an occupant’s hip to the top of a head restraint. This compares with 27.5 inches under the previous rule. Adjustable restraints in their lowest (down) position must be at least 29.5 inches from an occupant’s hip; the previous rule did not specify a minimum height for adjustable restraints. Another change is that all adjustable restraints must lock once in position. Under the previous rule, the amount of space between the back of an occupant’s head and the head restraint (backset) was not regulated. Now the backset must be 2.2 inches or less. Manufacturer compliance began Sept.1, 2009, under a phase-in schedule that requires all new vehicles to meet the rule by September 2010.

Head restraints will not be required in rear seats, but if they are voluntarily installed they must meet a height requirement. Fixed restraints in rear seats must be at least 29.5 inches from an occupant’s hip, and adjustable restraints cannot be adjusted below 29.5 inches. There will not be a backset requirement for head restraints installed in rear seats. The phase-in schedule for rear head restraints begins Sept. 1, 2010, with all vehicles complying by September 2011.

7 How should my head restraint be positioned?

To reduce the likelihood of sustaining a whiplash injury in a crash, head restraints should be positioned high enough to protect the head so as to minimize neck distortion. A head restraint should be positioned at least as high as the head’s center of gravity, or about 3.5 inches below the top of the head. Because people differ in height, the amount of adjustment varies. For some occupants, no adjustment from the lowest position is required. The distance from the back of the head to the restraint should be as small as possible, preferably less than 4 inches. On seats without horizontally adjusting head restraints, this can be achieved by adjusting the seatback recline angle.

The best exercises to do for neck pain and especially disc bulges, pinched nerves and whiplash are the McKenzie Neck exercises

Dowagers hump can lead to an earlier death, study shows

mark — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:28:27 +0000

In a study published in the May 19 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers found that older white women with both vertebral fractures and hyperkyphosis had an elevated risk for earlier death. The finding was independent of other factors that included age and underlying spinal osteoporosis.

Women who had only hyperkyphosis( rounded thoracic spine), without vertebral fractures, did not show an increased risk for premature death.

Hyperkyphosis is caused by habitual poor posture and degenerative diseases of the muscles and intervertebral discs and is further worsened by osteopenia or osteoporosis.

“Just being bent forward may be an important clinical finding that should serve as a trigger to seek medical evaluation for possible spinal osteoporosis, as vertebral fractures more often than not are a silent disease,” said Dr. Deborah Kado, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery and medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the study’s primary investigator. “We demonstrated that having this age-related postural change is not a good thing. It could mean you’re likely to die sooner.”

The researchers did the study on 610 women, age 67 to 93, from a cohort of 9,704 participants in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures.
Adjusting for age, as well as osteoporosis-related factors such as low bone density, moderate and severe vertebral fractures, and the number of prevalent vertebral fractures, the researchers found that women with previous vertebral fractures and increasing degrees of spinal curvature were at increased mortality risk from the spinal condition, regardless of age, smoking, spinal bone-mineral density, or the number and severity of their spinal fractures.

These study findings provide evidence that it is not just vertebral fracture alone but the associated increased spinal curvature that may be most predictive of adverse health outcomes. Other studies linking hyperkyphosis to poor health, such as impaired physical function, increased fall risk, fractures and mortality, have been unable to exclude the possibility that vertebral fractures alone were the underlying explanation for the findings.

I have written before that dowagers hump is completely avoidable. It is a postural problem that is worsened by ostoporosis. If you have a dowagers hump you need to do therapeutic exercises to avoid worsening your condition and also start adjusting your posture in everything that you do

How is your posture right now?

a dowagers hump cure?

Two exercises that WILL give you neck pain

mark — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 15:09:19 +0000

There are a few exercises that do your body more harm than good. Here are two of the worst exercises you could possibly do to wreck your backs, shoulders and neck. Do not do these ever!

1. Lat pull downs behind your head

Here is an exercise that you see people doing often in the gynasium and it’s very damaging to both the shoulders and the neck. When you do this exercise you end up haviong to pull the shoulders too far back which overstretches the ligaments and capsule. You definitely do not want this! Ligaments should be tight to keep the joints stable and once they are over stretched they don’t tend to shrink back. Ligament laxity can then easily lead to rotator cuff problems.

I am sure many of you know of someone who has dislocated his shoulder not once but 2 or 3 times and then eventually needed surgery; this is because the joint has become very unstable due to the ligament laxity. You want tight ligaments but flexible muscles and tendons.

The other problem with doing lat pull downs behind your head is that it puts your neck in a forward position which is exactly what you do not want. This creates great strain on the cervical discs and ligaments and can lead to neck pain, shoulder pain, rotator cuff tears, impingements etc. If ‘putting your head in a ‘forward head position is a new term then look at the major cause of neck pain.

The alternative to this is doing the lat pull downs in front of your head, bringing the bar to your chest. Remember though to keep your back in a neutral position. To do this you need to use your abdominal muscles which means you are now also activating you core. The majority of people do this exercise with their back over arched and that puts pressure on the lower back tissues and facet joints leading to lower back problems. I wrote about the core muscle in a previous blog and it’s especially important that you are using your core muscles when doing your workout.

Remember, for a healthy lower back its vital that you have a strong and stable lower back and flexible mid back and hips, not the other way around.

2. Sit-ups
First of all, if you are doing sit-ups to strengthen your core-STOP!

I will not go into great detail in this post about the correct way to strengthen your core but I have written about the best alternative to sit-ups in another post. Remember also that your core muscles are not just your stomach muscles. In order to strengthen your core to stabilize and protect your back there are two other extremely important muscle groups that also need to be addressed. If you are just strengthening your stomach muscles you are setting yourself up for imbalances in the area where it is imperative that you have balance, stability and muscle endurance.
The main reason you should not be doing sit-ups is because it damages your back! The posterior forces that are produced on your lower back discs are enormous! What this means is, do enough sit-ups and you will be on a short course to lower back pain and if enough damage is done you will more than likely get sciatica. Sciatica is where the nerve is being pressed or ‘impinged’.

You already know that you should bend forwards with a straight back so that you don’t cause damage however a sit-up is doing the same motion as what you try to avoid when standing and bending.

The National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety recommends that no more than 3400 newtons should be placed on the lower back because this or more than this amount of force is harmful to the lower back. Well guess what, a sit-up produces 3413 newtons of force. This means that every sit-up that you do is potentially damaging your back!

There are much better alternatives to doing sit-ups that will strengthen your stomach muscles without the harmful effects to your back.

The Major Cause of Neck Pain

The 13 most important things to do to have a pain free neck

The stretch you should not do for Neck and Shoulder pain

The best mattress for neck pain-what the studies say

Neck pain-the 4 best ways to get it

Driving and neck Pain- an Easy Fix

How many Chiropractors does it take to screw in a light bulb?

mark — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:43:04 +0000

Here is a great joke told to me by a client of mine that i just had to share with you.

Q: How many chiropractors does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: One. But it will take 6 visits.

(Told to me by a client who had seen a chiropractor for his neck pain and his chiropractor told him that he would need 20-30 treatments( which, he told me, was about the same amount as his insurance would cover him for). He was unhappy that not only was he still in pain, but he did not like the way that” chiropractors always want you to come endlessly for treatments”. Great to see he still has his sense of humour!)

Whiplash Injuries-what NOT TO DO in the 1st 3 months after an accident

mark — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 02:00:48 +0000

When it comes to whiplash injuries you need to do the correct rehab as quickly as possible. A part of doing the correct things is making sure you don’t do incorrect things. Here is an exerpt from the MAA in Australia from their research-based booklet on the best treatments, neck exercises and things that they recommmend you do not do in the first 3 months after a whiplash injury.

Here they are:

Cervical pillows

The use of commercially-made contoured pillows is not recommended as

there is no evidence to prove their usefulness.

Bed rest

A period of bed rest is not recommended for people with WAD

Grade 1. People with WAD Grades 2 and 3 should not have bed

rest for more than four days.

Collars

The use of a collar, sometimes called a neck brace, should not be

prescribed for WAD. If they are prescribed, they should not be used

for more than 48 hours.

Spray and stretch

Spraying the muscle with a cold spray followed by muscle stretching

is not recommended. There is no evidence this technique works.

Steroid injections

Injecting steroids are not recommended for WAD Grades 1 and 2. Steroid

injections may be used for WAD Grade 3. Repeated steroid injections

may cause harm.

Injections of local anaesthetic or sterile water

The injection of local anaesthetic or sterile water into nearby nerves

is not recommended in the early stages of WAD.

Magnetic necklaces

Wearing a magnetic necklace is not recommended. There is no evidence

to prove their usefulness.

Pilates, Feldenkrais, Alexander Technique,

massage and homeopathy

These techniques are not recommended for the first 12 weeks.

There is no evidence to show they work during this period.

Whiplash-your most important protection against it

The major cause of Neck Pain

The stretch you should not do for Neck and Shoulder pain

The 13 most important things to do to have a pain free neck

A Quick ‘Neck Pain Exercises’ Tip

mark — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:30:26 +0000

Look AT your computer not INTO it

One of the best ways to have neck pain is to sit slouched in front of your computer. How are you sitting right now? are you melting into your chair or are you sitting tall? Ask yourself this-if you were to drop a stone from your chin would it fall onto your chest or onto the floor. If you said ‘onto the floor’ your head is in a forward head posture which is causing great stress on your neck structures and is one of the major reasons you have neck pain. Sit up nice and tall as if helium balloons were lifting you up skywards from the top of your head. Your neck will feel much better very quickly. Put a note on your computer screen in the top corner “sit tall”

My 5 top tips to avoid having neck pain from driving

mark — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 01:47:05 +0000

It’s very common for people to suffer from neck pain when they drive, especially if they have to drive for a long time. The last thing you want is to drive for 10 hours to go on your holiday vacation and you wake up the next day and cant turn your neck.

Here are my 5 top tips to avoid having neck pain from driving

Good posture- if you sit in your seat slouched over the steering wheel you will probably not only have neck pain but also back pain as well. Therefore put a small cushion or rolled up towel behind your lower back to get your lower back in good postural position. Remember, its imp[ossible to have good neck posture if you have bad lower back posture-good neck posture starts at your lower back
Bring your backrest up. The days of you with your backrest sat wayyyy back are over-no more low riding. This does not mean however that you are to have your seat so far forward that you are squashed up against your steering wheel. It’s a happy medium. Just bring your seat slightly more vertical and this will help you avoid craning your neck into a forward head position( your enemy number 1)
Take regular breaks. Even good posture needs a break, not to mention, its good for you to get out and have some fresh air to freshen up mentally as well. Stretch your hands to the sky and do some deep breaths. This will help oxygenate your blood stream and at the same time decompress your spine.
Lift your rear view mirror slightly higher than you need it. This will help you sit tall throughout the journey rather than slouch
If you need to crane your head forward to see through the windshield you probably need glasses to help you see when your driving-or you need your windscreen washed. Either way, driving with a forward head posture is what you must avoid to have a happy healthy neck when you arrive at your destination

Happy travels!

The stretch you should not do for Neck and Shoulder pain

The best mattress for neck pain-what the studies say

Neck pain-the 4 best ways to get it

Driving and neck Pain- an Easy Fix

A note about Sharks Cartilage for joint Pain

mark — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 00:46:49 +0000

Joint supplements

When it comes to helping your joints and their health there are a few things that you can do to help them. You may have heard of the supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate. These are two substances that are in your cartilage and synovial fluid so these may help by taking these to supplement your joints. The word i want you to focus on is MAY.

They can be great at helping some people and do nothing for others. This goes the same for all things. We are different and have different problems so beware of the person that wants to sell you the ‘this fixes everything from A-Z’ pill, lotion or potion, gimmick or gizmo. We have all seen them and heard them praising the miracle cures that their particular machine, pill, lotion, potion, wand, herb, vitamins or tincture does.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some absolutely wonderful things out there on the market which can have sometimes seemingly miraculous results but there is no ‘cure-all-magic-lotion-cream-potion’ out there. If there was we would all be using it. Just like your neck pain, the causes MUST be addressed.

If you have arthritis and continue to sit and stand with a forward head posture you are not only putting enormous stresses on your soft tissues of your necks but also are jamming up your upper cervical joints and putting abnormal loads on your lower cervical joints. Your spine is fighting to hold its poor position and that is the most common reason for neck pain, whether you suffer from arthritis or not! A cream or anti-inflammatories are only ever going to give you temporary at best and that is exactly why you suffer from either constant pain or intermittent pain. Address the cause of your neck pain and only then can you ever hope to be pain free permanently.

Let’s use an example:

Bob suffers from calf cramps. His uncle Ted tells Bob that he knows the answer for him. He has a liniment he bought from a person down the pub which worked wonders on his calves( this is true because Teds problem was because his particular calf cramps were due to excessive tightness in his muscles.) So going on the recommendation of his Uncle Ted(and the person at the pub claiming that it fixes everything from cramps to Chlamydia) he spends $20 on the wonder cream. However, unbeknown to Bob, his cramping problem was actually due to a magnesium deficiency. All the liniment in the world wouldn’t have FIXED Bob’s calf cramps because he has not been able to remove the cause- a simple magnesium supplement would have done wonders.

His cousin Tracey was also suffering from cramps so she spent $20 on a bottle of ‘miracle cream’ but because her cramps were due to the diuretic medications she was taking the cream did not fix her problem either. The causes of their problems were not addressed.

Oh and while I am on the subject, please be especially wary of the multi-level marketer who has everything to fix everything as well. These people tend to get hooked into a multi level marketing get rich quick campaign and suddenly become health experts touting all kinds of miracles their products can do( which is normally fix every ailment that you complain of- you name it and they have the product to fix it).

The lesson here is to address the causes of your pains. When it comes to neck pain the major causes are easy to fix. Save thousands of your hard earnt money by addressing the causes of your problem and you will not be needing your chiropractor or massage therapist every week anymore. I guarantee you.

To learn more about your neck first I recommend that you read why does my neck hurt and then check out these:

The 13 most important things to do to have a pain free neck

The stretch you should not do for Neck and Shoulder pain

The best mattress for neck pain-what the studies say

Neck pain-the 4 best ways to get it