I Want to Do More Exercise But My Neck Pain Prevents Me

How can you Exercise even
if you are having neck pain

I recently wrote how we need to exercise our minds too. I remember being in graduate school, and I could not gain weight even when  I tried. Did I exercise? Sure. But did I physically exercise everything off that I ate? No Way. The thing was that I was busy and I studied all the time. I woke up, had breakfast, went to class, ate snacks throughout the day, went to lunch, went back to class, till 5 pm or so. and ate large dinner. I also went to the gym a few days a week before dinner.

So if you are physically hurt, try exercising the mind and keeping busy while you heal.

Now this is more for an acute injury that you foresee yourself healing up eventually. What about those chronic pain cases?

Here is what I want you to do: Devote a good deal of time to getting rid of this pain. Maybe you see a chiropractor regularly, then at home you do neck traction, maybe go for a massage a couple times, or maybe even acupuncture.

Forget about cost for a change. How much is it worth to you to get rid of this pain so it doesn't rule your life.

So that's it - devote your time to fixing this problem and do other things until you can work back up to the exercise routine you want.

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Additional Reading Resources:

• Treatment of Chronic Neck Pain Through Exercise
• How to Get Rid of Painful Trigger Points and Muscle Pain Naturally
• Arc4life- Your Go To Source for Neck Pain Relief
• Anatomy of the Neck Muscles
• Inflammation - a Big Culprit When it Comes to pain

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!

Is it Normal For there To Be An Adjustment Period With Using a New Cervical Pillow?

Using a new pillow at night?

Is is normal for there to be an adjustment period for using a new neck pillow? I recently received this question from a customer who had ordered the tri core orthopedic neck pillow. The short answer is YES. This is normal. When you use a new pillow, you are engaging different muscles for sleeping both on your back and on your side. Different neck muscles that you are not used to using. So just like exercising for the first time, your neck may be sore.

For anyone who experiences chronic neck pain, has a lot of sensitivity in their neck, or has other symptoms associated with neck pain such as numbness and tingling or shooting pains, then Yes, there can be an adjustment period with using a new pillow. Sometimes it can take up to two weeks to get used to a new pillow. Sometimes longer. For some lucky people there is no adjustment period.

Usually a new pillow has cervical rolls on it that help to align the cervical spine. These special pillows are better to use then your average fluffy pillow you would buy at the local department store. The main reason is that it aligns your neck spine while you sleep. With long time use, this will help you maintain good spinal alignment and prevent neck pain and stiff neck.

If you do have neck pain or a lot of sensitivity in your neck, then just use your neck pillow for a small amount of time to start. For example, lets say you purchased a basic cervical support pillow because you have occasional neck pain. Here is how you would start getting used to your pillow: Start by sleeping on your pillow for 20-25 minutes and then use the regular pillow that you have been using. The next night, sleep on your new support pillow for a few minutes longer, maybe up to 30 minutes. The next night, try 40 minutes. This process can help you get accustomed to a new orthopedic pillow.

Also, if you do wake up with pain, here are some things you can do to ease the neck pain: take a hot shower in the morning, and do some gentle neck stretches while in the shower. Also during the day, use a hot pack with or without a tens unit for 10-15 minutes.

If you recently purchased a new neck pillow and have any questions on how to use it, send us an email.

Additional Reading Resources:

• Neck Pillows for Neck Pain
• Neck Exercises
• Are You Waking Up with A Stiff Neck? Natural Treatments to Get Rid of the Neck Pain ...
• Pinched nerve in the neck
• Choose the Best Neck Pillow for Preventing Neck Pain

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief.

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Your Body Often Knows When It Needs Aligning …

What really is neck pain or back pain? It’s your body telling you something is wrong. It’s like your car engine light going on saying it’s time to check your engine. A pain response is similar. That warning is going off saying it’s time to get checked.

The whole reason I thought of my title and the subject I’m writing about is from an episode of Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice. A couple of episodes back John Rich was having a headache. I noticed he was often twisting his head to the side- self adjusting it or “cracking” it, or at least trying.

Why might he have been doing this?

The answer is simple- your body often knows what it needs! Doing this may give some relief. He was no doubt under a lot of stress from his current task at hand, not to mention dealing with delegating to others, plus probably lack of sleep, maybe food too …

All of these things contribute to neck strain and discomfort. Also, knowing that over 90% of headaches come from the neck (cervicogenic in nature), it’s a normal body response to try and fix the problem.

Hopefully he slept on a good neck pillow to help fix his neck that night. There’s no doubt the stress relief from the task being over helped as well. Good luck to John and his opponent- Marlee Matlin for the finale coming up.

Additional Reading
• stress relief program
  
• Celebrity Apprentice News
  
• Headache Relief
  
• Headeache Pillow
  

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!

Air Neck Stretcher: the Trac Collar for Effective Neck Pain Relief

Using the TracCollar is an easy effective tool for neck pain relief

I recently had a customer inquire about the TracCollar Neck Collar that Arc4Life carries. She stated that she suffered from a herniated disc on the right at C4/C5 and was doing research for a traction device. One of the traction units she came across was similar to the TracCollar, but it had three bulbs on the neck collar area. I recommended that she buy the Trac-Collar for a number of reasons:

1. The TracCollar comes in 2 sizes; regular and large
2. The TracCollar is comfortable to use- you can use it at work or laying down.
3. The TracCollar has 2 inflatable bulbs- one for the left and one for the right. This patient may have wanted a little extra traction on the right side because of the herniated disc. The other traction collars do not offer this function.
4. The TracCollar is easy to carry, lightweight, does not require any batteries or electricity, and it is easy to clean.

Additinal Reading Resources

• Neck traction devices that really work: Neck Pain Relief
• The Most Common Disc Herniation in the neck: C6
• What is the best pillow for a pinched nerve in the neck?
• The X-Pain Method- Curing Chronic Pain
• More traction units

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!

What position do you sleep in to make your neck hurt in the morning?

There are many sleep positions that can increase your neck pain. Today I want to discuss which neck positions are not conducive for restful sleep. Suggestions will also be given that will reduce the chances of a stiff neck in the A.M Don't put too many pillows under your head and neck. This will put your head and neck into an awkward position and cause spasms to the neck muscles, which equals pain. Also avoid sleeping on your stomach; not good for the neck. You may want to try sleeping on your back- with some pillows under your knees; this is an optimal way to sleep because it take the pressure off of your lower back. The most important thing is to have a good cervical neck pillow that will put your neck into a comfortable ergonomic position. For example the linear gravity neck pillowThe great thing about this neck pillow is that it comes in 3 sizes and it has a square in the middle. There are two different neck rolls so you can choose which side will be comfortable for you. Finally, if you do wake up with neck pain, consider doing some gentle cervical neck stretches with a hot shower (not to the point of pain, just to the point of a stretch). This will help get rid of your neck pain.

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief.


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Treatment of Neck Pain after a Whiplash Accident: Results of Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010

Whiplash and neck pain are complex injuries that involve the delicate soft tissues and nerves of the neck. They are often due to a motor vehicle accident or another type of trauma. Even car accidents at low speeds can produce significant neck injury. These patients also suffer with midback pain, lower back pain, arm pain, as well as headaches and vertigo (dizziness). For some people, the symptoms go away quickly, but for others their suffering can last for years.

There are many different treatment options for neck pain. Chiropractors, Medical Doctors, Osteopaths, and Surgeons all treat neck pain in a different fashion. Some neck pain sufferers will try home remedies, physical therapists, personal trainers, and massage therapy. It can be fustrating to decide what type of treatment to persue and what will work for you.

The Medical Journal SPINE recently published the results of a best-evidence review of all neck pain treatments. The Bone and Joint Decade task force reviewed literature of non surgical non-invasive treatments from 1980-2006. 139 papers were considered scientifically valid for review and covered topics such as:

• educational videos
• mobilization (deep stretching movements)
• manual therapy (done by hand)
• low level laser therapy
• exercises
• accupuncture

Also, researchers also looked at costs and safety of treatments. There conclusion was that treatments involving manual therapy and exercise are more effective than alternative strategies for neck pain patients.

So before you make a decision as to how to treat your neck pain consider non drug, non surgical options for recovering from your whiplash.

Source: SPINE (Hurwitz, et al. Spine 2008;33:S123-52)

The Right Neck Pillow after a Car Accident....

Arc4life receives a lot of questions from our customers everyday. Our most popular question: Which neck pillow do you recommend for me? Many of our customers that order one of our neck pillows are in chronic pain, usually from one or more motor vehicle accidents. A motor vehicle accident can cause pain in the neck for long term, especially if it not treated properly right away.

In this month of June, we received two emails about our cervical traction neck pillow that we would like to share with you today. You can see how even after multiple car accidents you can still find the right pillow.

"I want to shout out loud for the joyful pain-free mornings I'm having since ordering the cervical traction pillow! Injured in a near fatal car accident over 20 years ago...the pain in my neck had increasingly worsened. Each day I'd awake with the sensation that the weight of something like a bowling ball was on my head pushing my neck down between my shoulder blades. I hurt nearly round the clock. I've tried every neck pillow known to man. I honestly thought there was just nothing out there to provide relief. The day I found your blog, I'd awakened that morning and literally prayed, God, if there is a pillow out there to help me...WHERE IS IT???!!!! Then, that very afternoon...I found IT! I had relief from the first moment I laid down on it, and every morning since. If you're reading this note and can't decide whether or not to spend the money for a pillow...let me admonish you--GET IT!! It is going to shock and amaze you as it makes your neck pain a distant memory. No joke. I am so very glad I found this.."- M.K, 06/08/2008

"I Received my Cervial Traction Neck Pillow 4 days after ordering and I live in Hawaii...superior personal customer service. I have had 2 cervical surgeries (auto accident) with a titanium cage from C4-7 mounted on C8. With limited head movement there has never been a pillow that protects my head long enough to get a nights sleep. As a last resort, I researched neck pillows and found Arc4life. After ten years of neck, head and shoulder pain, I can honestly say that I am pain free all day and look forward to going to bed and getting up in the morning....one of the first things that was obvious to me is my corrected posture and neck strength.....I never imagined that a pillow could make an entire difference in my life and health.....and for that reason, I am passing your web site to everyone I know along with this testimonial.....it is not only my miracle pillow, but a prevential aid for anyone who has neck discomfort due to accident or aging. By the way, the pillow worked for me the minute I laid my head on it.....A big MAHALO (thank you) for your excellent product and service." - Eileen. K, 06/23/2008
P.S. A very special thank you to NJ, you were so informative, patient , professional and a delight to talk to.

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