subject: Chiropractor Puyallup Wa | Natural Remedies For Neck Pain And Stiffness
[print this page] I know a lot of people, myself included, who suffer from neck pain and stiffness. What I've noticed is that all of these people-again, myself included-tend to be under a great deal of stress whenever the pain and stiffness manifest themselves.
Should You Be Stressed About Stress? -
Sometimes it can be subconscious stress, a build-up of relatively minor tensions over several days, and then you wake up one morning and can hardly move. As far as neck pain goes, stress is not, I think, considered one of the more serious causes. Stress isn't immediately life-threatening, right? But over the long-term it can have very serious and damaging effects on your body, and the acute neck pain that can result from tensed and stressed muscles is a warning sign of the development of other health problems.
Using Healthy Habits and Nutrition to Combat Stress -
There are healthy habits in which you can engage everyday to help combat that build-up of tension that will eventually turn into a stiff and painful neck. Daily exercise is important. Even a half-hour walk can help clear your head and release tension. I've found that when my neck is already stiff and hurting, while it will usually take a day or two for those symptoms to clear up completely, a walk either on the treadmill or around my neighborhood, followed by some gentle yoga stretches, helps to ease the tightness a little.
An adequate amount of sleep is also important. Not getting enough sleep just contributes to the stress on your system. If you have trouble sleeping when you're worried, drink a cup of chamomile tea before bed. Chamomile is a relaxant, nerve tonic and sleep aid, and it also helps soothe the digestive tract. You don't want to use chamomile on an ongoing basis-and not at all if you're allergic to ragweed-but a cup every now and then can do you good.
Also, catnip isn't just for cats-it's effective for humans as an anti-stress herb, and it causes drowsiness. Skullcap is helpful for nervous disorders, relieves headaches, and can also help you sleep. Valerian prevents the nervous system from becoming overwhelmed, helps relieve stress-induced pain, and is a powerful sleep aid.
A diet composed of 50 to 75 percent raw foods such as fruits and vegetables is the best for combating negative effects of stress on the body. Stress lets in free radicals that can damage the system and cause cancer and other diseases; fruits and vegetables contain large amounts of compounds called flavonoids, which scavenge and neutralize these free radicals.
Avoid processed foods, artificial sweeteners, carbonated sodas, chocolate, eggs, fried food, junk food, pork, red meat, sugar, white flour products, foods containing preservatives or heavy spices, and chips and other snack foods. All of these foods put additional stress on the system, because they're hard for the body to break down and process and frequently have little or no actual nutritional value.
Preventing and Dealing -
These lifestyle and nutritional habits can both help prevent stress-related pain and alleviate it when it does occur. The more you put these techniques into practice, the better you're going to feel.
