Neck pain is the typical seasonal ailment coinciding with the arrival of the first cold weather. This nagging neck pain in the mildest cases it is a slight discomfort in the nape region, some limitation in movement and that feeling of sand during rotations: in the most disabling cases it can lead to headache, nausea, vomiting and a feeling of intense exhaustion. Is it home? In a common way we speak of cervical, thus indicating neck pain. Actually the correct term is cervicalgia. Or a pain in the cervical region.
> Read also: How to wear a backpack correctly
What is cervical?
It is a section of our vertebral column, the one that from the cranial base and more precisely from the atlas (first vertebra that joins the skull to the neck) reaches up to the 7th cervical vertebra, often slightly protruding and indicatively in the line of the shoulders. Within this area we find different structures, muscles, ligaments, tendons, blood vessels, nerves, glands and many other structures that make this small portion of our body very important.
Different muscles interact with this area, structures that originate in other signs of our body and are anchored to the vertebrae, such as the trapezius muscle or others such as the sternocleidomastoid which instead have no insertions on the vertebrae but through their action can rotate the head and therefore act indirectly on the cervical vertebrae. Next to them we find the ligaments and tendons and the cervical nerves. All fabrics that can compete for various reasons a generate pain and functional limitations of the neck.
Here, however, we will focus on a type of pain linked to sudden changes in temperature and cold.
> Read also: 10 foods against pain
Why do I have neck pain when the weather changes?
This is the million dollar question! There are no unique scientific studies, but the latest research on the subject has shown that the percentage of meteorologists in Italy is around 5% of the population, while meteorologically sensitive people reach 40% of Italians.
This happens because the change in temperature, atmospheric pressure and general conditions create stress on our body which often reacts by accentuating already existing problems. Furthermore, the organization of our day which includes many hours spent in air-conditioned environments, warm in winter and cool in summer, does not allow our body to gradually get used to the changes in the weather. If we also add that we live with very high stress levels, let’s create the conditions for the perfect storm! A healthier life, doing regular outdoor activity would certainly reduce the incidence of these problems.
> Read also: All the benefits of foam roller
What to do when neck pain appears?
The cold often leads to a involuntary stiffening of the neck muscles, the trapezius contracts by lifting the shoulders, the deep muscles increase their tension and all these adaptations lead to an increase in muscle stiffness. What to do in these cases?
There are several possible remedies, the first advice is to protect the area in question with scarves or foulards that heat the fabrics and limit the onset of these problems. When the neck is sore, however, a different intervention is necessary, such as wool collars which, by increasing the temperature of the fabrics, have an excellent heating property and allow less intense tensions to be released.
They are also excellent hot showers as well as the whirlpool, but when the tensions are very painful and the symptoms are disabling then it’s time to rely on a specialist who can help us. For these kind of problems a good Decontracting massage it is certainly the main remedy, provided that it is carried out by expert hands; stretching exercises are also valid and in the most serious cases manipulations become an extra weapon.
Photo credits: Berkeley Wellness,Pixabay, SHVETS production da Pexels
> Read also: 12 stretching exercises from head to toe
Advertising