Continuous Pressure On Cervical Nerves Can Lead To Nerve Damage

As you can imagine, if you continue to put pressure on a nerve that nerve can die off. Like a plant, if you continue to pull its roots, or forget to supply it with light or water, it starts to shrink and shrivel up.

The nerves are similar, if we allow the life force to be cut off then eventually it will atrophy. Of course, at this point, pain may become more permanent and other symptoms may start to arise.

The symptoms associated with nerve pressure include pain, tingling and numbness, and weakness.

If spinal alignment is restored and pressure is relieved from the nerves, we can prevent much deterioration from setting in and the body can heal. If left alone, or if medications are simply used to cover up the pain response, symptoms can become permanent.

Remember that posture is a window into your spine; maintaining proper neck posture will ensure your cervical nerves are not compromised.  Correct and maintaining your posture is easy and can be done while you sleep will the cervical linear traction neck pillow.

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Neck Pain While At The Gym

It’s healthy to exercise or workout, but not if it causes you pain. It should make you feel good and energized, right?

One of the biggest complaints I get is “How can I avoid neck pain when I work out?” The main thing to keep in mind is that with most exercise routines you will work the neck slightly. Think about it- just lifting a barbell, you may flex your biceps or chest mainly, but you will also flex the majority of the neck muscles as well. Even while running your head moves. How about crunches for your abs, no matter what you do you get some neck involvement.

Here are a couple quick tips: when doing abdominals or crunches, instead of locking your fingertips behind your head, let your hands float behind your ears. This will prevent you from literally pulling your head forward.

When lifting weights for a muscle group, avoid too much weight or pushing yourself to do extra repetitions when fatigued. If your triceps are exhausted, but you want to push out a couple more repetitions, your body will recruit other muscles. Have you ever seen someone at the gym who is trying to lift extra- you can see every muscle and vein pop out. Avoid this, especially when you are healing from a neck injury, and limit this kind of workout normally to prevent possible neck strain. I would also avoid a lot of running when your neck is sensitive because not only do you work the neck muscles slightly, but there will also be a certain amount of pounding which can aggravate a previously strained or spasmed neck.

Since your neck muscles get a fairly good workout no matter what you do, I would avoid trying to hook a harness up to your neck and lifting weights primarily with the neck. This usually does more harm than good.


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Neck Posture Exercises You Can Do Almost Anywhere

What's the quickest way to strengthen muscles and make a noticable change in your posture fast...Just like if you were trying to build any muscle in the body, use resistance!

You can do this in many ways. 1st, use a resistance band. 2nd, you can simple use a towel the same way or you can simply press against your own hands. Lock your fingers behind your head and press against them; for extra resistance, press back against your head with your hands also.  Lastly, you can even stand against a wall, pushing your head back against it.  You can even do this exercise while waiting at a red light in their car even. Simply shift your head back to press against the head rest.

Start out 1st doing the head retraction exercises, click on the link for more information on this. You may still experience some neck muscle soreness from the added resistance. This is normal and will be a muscle soreness similar to going to the gym for the 1st time in a couple of months.


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How Does An Exercise Ball Help To Strengthen My Core Back Muscles?

Using things like an exercise ball or a wobble board are great tools to help build and strengthen core stabilizer muscles.

If you have used an exercise ball to do reps of crunches you know that not only will you have to sue your abdominals, but you also have to balance yourself or you’ll fall over.

All of the little muscles you have to use to do their part to keep your core stable and build up proprioception. Try standing on one leg for a period of time. You may utilize leg muscles, but you’ll also recruit muscles of the spine and stimulate proprioceptors to help you balance.

Proprioception is your body’s ability to determine where it is in space. I call the proprioceptive muscles all the smaller ones we don’t always think about when going to the gym.

We need these muscles to stabilize our body when we do anything from running to squats to even bench presses. Building and strengthening these muscles is very important when strengthening your core. Exercise balls and wobble boards can be great tools you can use at home to rehabilitate your back.


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How A TENS Unit Helps Reduce Neck Pain

Pain comes from electroechemical impulses relaying the pain message. A TENS unit interrupts this pathway. T.E.N.S stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. It is often used to treat low back pain and neck pain. Tens units use a low voltage electrical current to induce pain relief.

The Tens unit electrodes are taped to the body part that is in pain. For example, if you are having pain in your neck, specifically in the trapezius muscle- you would place the electrode on the trapezius muscle. The electrodes are hooked up the power unit which is about the size of a pocket radio.

There are two types of nerve fibers that come into play: large nerve fibers, and small nerve fibers. Pain signals travels along small nerve fibers. The large nerve fibers are also knows as the nociceptive fibers because they do not tranmit pain. The electrode tranmits electrical current along these fibers. The tens units works by preventing these small nerve fibers from reaching the brain by stimulating the large nerve fibers. The large nerve fibers "close the gate" in the spinal cord, thus giving pain relief. This is the basis of the "gate control theory of pain" whereby called nonnociceptive fibers can interfere with signals from pain fibers, thereby inhibiting pain.

Some tens units have high and low currents. The high current shuts the pain gate and the low frequency current stimulates the nerve that trigger the release of endorphins, the body's natural pain killers. It is the low frequency that is able to help more with muscle spasm.

Tens units can be used at home by the patient directly and they have minimal side effects. If you wear a pacemaker check with your Dr before using a tens unit as this may interfere with its function. Click here to get moreinformation about TENS Units.

With our TENS Unit there is multiple benefits. It is not only portable and easy to use but also has numerous features for a variety of pain and muscle conditions. And lastly you can get a standard, “analog” version or a digitally controlled one.

 Replacement Adhesive Self Sticking Electrodes Can be Found Here

You can also purchase replacement wires for your tens unit. Usually sold as a pair, one for each channel on your portable tens unit. For replacement leads go here.

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief. Bookmark this on Delicious Stumble It!

Poor Neck Posture can Run in the Family …

Spinal alignment can run in your family. If your parents have poor neck posture, you may have a genetic predisposition for that same poor posture.

Remember, posture is directly related to your spinal alignment. If someone presents with forward head posture, their neck spine has often lost some of its normal curvature and shifted forward. This, of course, will put pressure on nerves in the neck, causing neck and muscle pain.

I often see family members who exhibit family postural traits almost exactly. Someone will tell me that their mother often suffers from severe neck discomfort just like they do. And sure enough, they both have the same forward head or low right shoulder and neck shift, etc …

The lesson here: your posture is important and if corrected may fix your neck problems and other neck-related symptoms, like headaches or arm and hand pain and tingling. Your genes are essentially a path laid out for you, but you don’t always have to take that exact path. Your genes are constantly changing, so doing the right things can help create a healthier, pain-free you!


Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief. Bookmark this on Delicious Stumble It!

How Can I Improve My Sleep Posture?

The biggest variables when you sleep are your pillow, your mattress, and your sleep position.

In regards to your pillow, a good neck pillow is best because a neck pillow will help to improve your neck posture. It will also keep your spine in good position when on your back or side. Your pillow should not be too high or too low, too hard or too soft, or it will force you to put your spine in an awkward position.

Your mattress also plays an important role. I mostly find that people often sleep on something too soft. This allows your body to sink into it, which in turn changes your spinal alignment. It often can become more difficult to move as well. It is normal to move around when sleeping and, in fact, it’s a good thing.
Nowadays, alot of mattress companies give you a garauntee, so if you don't end up loving your mattress you can have it sent back.  Arc4life's pillows all have a 30 day garauntee as well.

Lastly, your sleep position is important as well. Side or back sleeping is best. Sleeping on your stomach is detrimental because you have to crank your head to either side just to breathe. But make sure you don't use too much or too many pillows or it will push your head forward while on your back or it will push it into your shoulder when on your side.  Doing this each night is how poor sleep posture leads to bad spinal alignment and nerve pressure.


Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief. Bookmark this on Delicious Stumble It!