A Pain In The Neck

The last few weeks at work have been pretty stressful, the sheer volume of work and the demands of managers have taken a toll on me. What started off with a pain in the neck caused by sleeping awkwardly has now progressed to being tension stored in my neck caused by the stress.

I have been doing my best to let go of the stress and minimise it where possible. The days before my holidays began I made sure I said ‘not now’ to managers and colleagues. I made people aware I would be on holiday so nothing would move whilst I was off. I am working on my stress reducing techniques. In the meantime, reducing my neck tension is my main focus.

Being away from work and the daily stressors has been good and helps to put things in perspective. Just taking time away has given me the opportunity to relax and ease the tension in my neck.

A great way to ease tension and help to relax me is a massage. So I booked myself an aromatherapy massage for my back, neck and shoulders. This massage was over an hour long and was bliss. The therapist had mixed a relaxing blend of oils which would help to ease the tension in my neck.

She started off on my back working up to my shoulders and then onto my neck. She worked with a medium pressure and worked through the knots in my back, neck and shoulders. She would push my shoulders down and it was only then I realised my body was not relaxed. My shoulders over the last few weeks had been creeping up around my ears. Even when she was standing at the top of my head and pushing my shoulders down, they kept creeping back up.

The therapist worked her magic when I turned over and she gave me a lovely scalp massage and worked on my neck and shoulders again. I could have stayed there for days, I was feeling very relaxed and whilst she left the room to give me time to get myself up and dressed, I realised I should be doing this more often and vowed that an hour a month and the cost a month once a month is well worth it!

I will certainly be doing this more often as it is a good way to help ease stress and tension. One point my therapist made was to make sure I do more movement each day in my neck and shoulders to help ease the tension.

We are all guilty of spending so much time staring at our computer screens at work or with our head down and tip tapping on our phones. Why not try a few exercises to help and these can be repeated as necessary whether you are sitting at your desk or at home. Here are a few simple neck exercises to try to keep movement flowing and easing tension:

1. Sit comfortably. Ensure your head and neck are in line.
2. Move your head forward slightly and then slowly lower your head down towards your chest, with your chin touching the top of your chest. Stop if there is any pain.
3. From here move your neck slowly to the right and then back through the middle and then to the left. Repeat five times
4. Slowly lift your head up so it is back in line and then rotate your head left and right and then up and down. Repeat slowly five times.
5. Draw small circles with your nose, rotating your head first in a clockwise direction and then in an anticlockwise direction. Do five circles each way.
6. Repeat regularly.

Another good tip for helping with a sore neck is to get a wheat bag, heat it up in the microwave, (make sure you follow the instructions, otherwise it could burn). Once heated place around your neck and allow the heat to penetrate through and work it’s magic. Repeat as necessary.

Relaxation is key and what I am learning this week whilst being off is I need to make time to relax each day and I don’t just mean sitting in front of the TV, instead I mean actively relaxing. I know that may sound odd but making sure I breath deep, relax and let go of my day and or any stresses.

Think about what you can do to help you relax and reduce any tension you have in the body, I know I also store tension in my hips so for me this is a tell tale sign as well that I should take some time to relax and look after me more. Make sure you do the same for you.

I wish you all a great week and if you have any tension or pain you are storing in your body, then lets take this week to work out the tension and find what works well for you.

Thank you for reading.

Have a good week and look after you.

Love Emma xx