Neck pain is a common medical problem for millions of Americans, and for many women and men, symptoms tend to be a lot worse in the morning. Though occasional stiffness isn’t anything to worry about, chronic morning neck pain can be a sign of a more serious underlying issue that needs medical attention.
At Easy Reach Chiropractic, Barbara Adonis, DC, and her team are skilled in treating morning neck pain and stiffness, improving physical comfort and overall quality of life. Here, learn about some commonly overlooked causes of morning neck pain that respond well to regular chiropractic care.
When most of us think of posture, we think of how we hold ourselves when standing or sitting. But we also assume specific postures — or body positions — when we sleep, and just like slouching and slumping during our waking hours, poor sleep posture can cause pain, too, especially in your neck.
Like the rest of your spine, your neck (or cervical spine) is composed of a series of bones. These bones are designed to “line up” properly, forming part of your spinal canal that serves as a conduit for all your major nerves.
Poor sleeping posture causes misalignment in those bones and joints, leading to joint pain, muscle strain, and nerve irritation that can cause discomfort not only in your neck but in your shoulders, arms, and upper back, too.
Optimizing cervical spine alignment is one effective way to improve sleep posture, and that brings us to the next item on the list: using the right support.
Look at any home decorating blog, and you’d get the idea that pillows are just for decoration. But your bed pillows do a lot more than look fluffy and soft: They help support your neck, too.
No matter what sleeping position you prefer, pillows help by supporting your neck and shoulders, cradling the weight of your head while “filling in” the curve created by your neck when you lie down. This added support helps relieve strain in your neck muscles while improving alignment in the cervical spine.
Ideally, you want a pillow that’s designed for your preferred sleep position — back, side, or tummy. Choose a soft pillow that still provides adequate firmness to support your neck and prevent morning stiffness and soreness. Pillow support diminishes over time, so be sure to replace your old pillows with new ones regularly.
Repetitive lifting or bending, carrying heavy or unbalanced loads, and similar physical activities can put uneven strain on your neck muscles, leading to pain and stiffness after a night’s rest. These issues can be exacerbated if your neck remains still at night, allowing muscles to stiffen and painful tension to build up.
You can experience the same sort of muscle strain if you use electronics a lot during the day. Spending time bent over a laptop, keyboard, or phone strains muscles and irritates nerves in your neck, increasing the risk of morning neck pain and making it harder to get a good night’s sleep.
It isn’t just physical stress that can trigger neck pain. Chronic emotional stress can also cause morning neck pain.
Ongoing emotional stress and anxiety cause muscles to tighten, especially in your neck and shoulders. Often, this tension persists while you sleep, leading to neck pain and stiffness, along with tension headaches.
Residual effects from an injury, like a fall or sports injury, can cause morning neck pain, even if you don’t notice symptoms during the day. For instance, whiplash and herniated discs can both compress nerves, causing both pain and reduced range of motion.
However, you might not notice these symptoms when you’re awake with your neck in an upright position. When you sleep and neck support changes, a difference in neck position can compress and irritate nerves, leading to morning discomfort. Unmanaged osteoarthritis and other spine conditions are other causes of morning neck pain.
Chiropractors are experts in musculoskeletal issues that cause pain, particularly pain in your neck and the rest of your spine. Through a combination of hands-on therapies and other noninvasive treatments, our team can help relieve morning neck pain and prevent it from recurring.
To finally find relief for your nagging neck pain and stiffness, request an appointment online or over the phone with the team at Easy Reach Chiropractic in Lake Worth and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, today.
