HEAL NECK PAIN WITH ACUPUNCTURE
At some point most of us will experience some sort of neck pain. It’s one of the things that happen when you’re the only animal that walks solely on its hind legs. Granted, neck pain is a small price to pay for the privilege of being upright, but that doesn’t help much when you’re in so much pain that you can’t sleep, and are popping Tylenol like it’s candy.
What to do-
First let’s discuss what’s behind that pain in your neck—aside from your boss. Neck pain can be the result of a wide range of factors, including wear-and-tear, strains or sprains, or inflammation. Here are some of the most common culprits:
Poor Posture: Bending or hunching forward for prolonged periods can cause strains and sprains (injuries to ligaments) or other dysfunctions. This might happen in front of a computer, while sitting for extended periods in a car or train, or even while talking on the phone. Another common cause of neck problems can be sleeping in an awkward position.
Injuries, trauma and car accidents: Sports related injuries, common falls, auto accidents can all cause acute neck pain.
Stress: Being stressed or anxious can cause the muscles in your back, shoulder and neck to freeze up; sometimes the pain is felt in all three areas, while at other times the pain is localized in a ‘target zone’. This sort of stress-based neck pain is as ‘real’ as if it had come from a car accident, the simple reason being that when the body is in fight-or-flight mode, muscles lock up and don’t readily ‘unlock’.
Medical Conditions: Arthritis, herniated disks, TMJ and other related conditions may cause chronic pain and stiffness.
There Is Help:
1. Acupuncture/magnet therapy uses the body’s own electrical system to repair itself. The pins/magnets act as a jump-starting mechanism, reminding the body that it has the ability to bring healing energies to the area.
2. Hypnotherapy can block unwanted pain receptors from going to the brain. If we doubt the power of mind over matter, then how is it that thinking about someone we care for can get the heart racing, among other physiological functions. The mind has the power to help with neck pain. How?
- Bad posture: Hypnotherapy can help a person change how they stand or sit so as to better suit their physical needs.
- Acute pain: Hypnosis helps set up pain blockers to replace drug therapy.
- Stress: Hypnosis lowers stress levels and reduces tension on a short and long term basis.
At Blue Phoenix Wellness it’s our belief that neck pain, both chronic and acute, is best treated using an alternating combination of acupuncture and hypnotherapy.