Do you feel neck pain when you wake up? Do you feel pain in your back when you are doing household chores such as gardening or while exercising? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this is the right time for you to try home pain relief options when neck and back pain arise.
There are a number of home remedies that are proven to be highly effective: Stop the activities that you are doing that can cause neck or back pain: If you are starting to feel pain on your neck and your back, find out what you did that you think might have caused the pain.
If you already found out what caused it, then stop doing it.
Look for over-the-counter medications: If you are feeling mild to moderate pain, you can try going to the drugstore and look for over-the-counter medicines.
However, if your neck and back pain is already severe, over-the-counter medicines might not work for you because it has lesser dosage than the pain relievers that the doctors prescribe.
Use ice: If you have inflammation that causes the pain, then the best thing to do is to apply ice to the affected area for up to 48 to 72 hours after the pain begins.
You can crush ice and put it inside a towel and apply it to the painful area, make a homemade ice bag or use frozen vegetables as an ice pack.
You can apply this for 15 to 20 minutes and repeat the same procedure after 40 minutes.
Use heat: Some might not agree with this because heat can increase inflammation; however, applying heat to the affected area will ease the pain and it will make your muscle spasms relax.
Do this the same as you did when you applied ice.
Get a massage: Massaging your neck and back when in pain can help.
You should always be careful and gentle when massaging yourself, so it will not worsen the pain.
The first few days should always be slow and gentle.
This will help remove the tension in your muscles.
Be active: Some people might just lay down when they feel pain in the neck and in the back.
However, studies show that it would be better if you move around and be active.
Lying down on the bed will only relieve the pain for a while.
Take it easy: In the first days, take everything gently.
It's okay to move around but you have to be careful so the new tissues won't be further stressed.
Consult a doctor at the right time: If the pain has been there for a couple of weeks or more, it might be time for you to look for a doctor.