Treating Neck Strains
The majority of neck strains heal on their own. However, with treatment, you can alleviate neck pain as it heals. Though you may have to try different treatments. Especially if the pain lingers for a few days.
Initial Treatments for a Neck Strain
When you first experience pain, specific treatment methods will be more helpful than others, such as:
Activity Modification: Resting the neck and refraining from strenuous activity allows time for muscles to heal. In fact, pushing through the pain and not resting will most often worsen discomfort. It can also prolong healing.
Ice/heat therapy: Applying ice within 48 hours is recommended. This helps reduce swelling. After this, you can apply heat or ice, or alternate therapies. Heat facilitates blood flow, and this brings nutrients to the injury for healing. Always keep a layer between the ice or heat and your skin. And only apply the ice or heat for 10 to 20 minutes. Leave rest periods of at least one hour between.
Pain medications: Over-the-counter medications reduce inflammation. This also reduces pain. Anti-inflammatory medication such as Advil or Aleve will work. You can also take pain relievers like Tylenol.
Even if neck movement is painful, total bed rest is not advised. Complete inactivity can lead to weaker neck muscles. As a matter of fact, it can lengthen recovery time. And also increase the chance of future injury.
Also, see When Neck Stiffness Becomes a Literal Pain in the Neck
Treatment for Lingering Neck Strains
Sometimes neck strains last longer than a few days. However, this could signal an underlying issue in the cervical spine. You may feel muscle spasms and chronic pain. Additional treatments will be needed for adequate relief, such as:
Physical therapy: A program designed by a physical therapist may help. Physical therapy targets specific neck muscles to become stronger. The program will start with instruction. It is important to do stretches properly. After a few weeks, you can continue the program on your own.
Manual manipulation: A trained professional can make spinal adjustments. The goal is to realign the joints. This will improve the range of motion in the neck. It will also reduce pain.
Massage therapy: Massage will loosen neck muscles. It also increases blood flow to the area. Often this therapy is combined with manual manipulation.
Acupuncture: Acupuncture is based on blocked energy flows. Unbalanced energy is believed to cause pain. Needles are placed strategically to restore balance. Many people report feeling less pain after treatments.
Medications: Sometimes, neck strains can be helped with prescription medications. Muscle relaxants are common for short-term relief. These are especially helpful with spasms.
There are other treatments for neck strains that your doctor may recommend. Though this list is a great place to start relieving your pain.
If your neck strains are becoming a problem and you are not seeing relief, call us at 888-409-8006.