Shoulder and neck pain can be categorized in various ways. Many people may experience only shoulder pain or only neck pain, while the others experience the pain in both neck and shoulder area.
While sometimes, those soft-tissue injuries may occur at once, they may happen gradually, especially when your habitual posture is poor. Therefore, home remedies for neck and shoulder pain relief can be the most vital need of patients, who are suffering from those unexpected pains.
However, protecting your shoulders and neck from further factors will significantly help you solve this problem without wasting too much time.
What are the causes of neck pain?
The popular causes of your neck pain may include:
- Muscle strain
- Tumors
- Degenerative diseases
- Poor posture
- Trauma
- Abnormalities in the joints or bone
What are the causes of shoulder pain?
Your shoulder includes a socket joint and a ball with a wide range of movements. A mobile joint can even be the cause of injury. The shoulder pain may come from one or many of these following factors:
- Pinched nerves, which is also known as radiculopathy
- Frozen shoulder
- Upper arm bone or collarbone fractures
- Dislocation
- Shoulder joint instability
- Tendonitis, due to overuse
- Strains, due to overexertion
How to relieve shoulder and neck pain?
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Relieve stress
Eliminating the cause of your neck and shoulder pain is the first step of the healing process. Home remedies should start with a proper rest, a change in your exercise routine as well as a strong attempt to deal with the source of your upper-body pains.
According to American Chiropractic Association, replacing old and inappropriate mattresses and pillows can ease your shoulder and neck pain.
On the other hand, your personal posture can be a cause of the pain in the cervical area. Grinding teeth or improper workstation habits and postures, such as using the shoulder and neck to hold the telephone may create pain and muscle strain. You must try your best to break those cycles gradually, such as using ergonomic furniture or positioning the monitor of your computer at your eye level, etc. They will noticeably help you relieve the physical stresses.
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Ice or heat
Although there isn’t any definite evidence proving that either the ice or heat therapy will help, it is still not hurt if you want to try them.
- Set the medium or low mode for your heating pad and place it on the injured area for fifteen to twenty minutes, every two or three hours.
- You can take a shower with warm water as a replacement for the heating pad.
- Use the single-use heat wraps, which can last up to eight hours.
- You can also put an ice pack on the injured area for ten to fifteen minutes every two to three hours.
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Get moving carefully
- Ease neck and shoulder into your common daily activities as quickly as possible. The movement will help your muscle stay strong.
- You should avoid strong activities as sports and lifting since they can make stiffness and pain worse.
- Do strengthening and stretching exercises in order to keep your shoulder and neck strong, flexible and prevent the stiffness as well.
- Change or avoid any activities, which can be the causes of your shoulder and neck pains, such as doing too much work or sitting for a long period of time.
- Rub or massage the injured areas gently to relieve the pain as well as encourage the blood flow by using a back massager. This tool will help you relieve the tensions in those areas and lower your pain from migraines as well.
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Hydrotherapy
The hydrotherapy is another efficient home treatment for shoulder and neck pain. It can be done at home easily. All you need is a shower. The water’s force will affect certain parts of your body, and consequently, helps reduce your pain as well as your soreness.
- Target your shoulder and neck area with the warm water within 3 to 4 minutes in the shower.
- Change to cold water mode and target your neck area for thirty to sixty seconds.
- Repeat this as many times as possible.
- The cold water helps reduce inflammation while the hot water helps ease off the stiff muscles and increase the blood circulation.
Note: when you take the shower, you had better make sure that your neck is straight and you should not turn the neck in any other directions.
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Restore function
You may make your muscular conditions worse if your neck is immobilized for such a long period of time. Home remedies to restore the muscle flexibility and strength should start as quickly as the early acute shoulder and neck inflammation and pain have passed, commonly within forty-eight hours of onset.
You can stretch your neck and rotate your shoulders gently as far as possible. Then, try to hold them for thirty seconds. This will encourage your muscles to build more strength and on the other hand, stretching exercises help hasten the full range of motion’s return.
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Lavender oil
You can use the lavender oil as a home treatment to relieve the neck pain. It is extremely efficient when it is used along with the massage therapy. By means of massage, you can not only ease the tense muscles but also help yourself sleep better.
- Take a hot shower or bath to relax the sore shoulder and neck muscles.
- Rub a proper amount of lavender oil the shoulders and neck areas.
- Massage those areas in gentle and small circular motions for ten minutes.
- Repeat those steps every day.
You can also dilute the lavender oil with olive oil or coconut oil.
Note: Do not massage your neck area in case it causes pains.