Care Advice
- What You Should Know About Neck Pain:
- Most new neck pain is from stretching and turning the neck muscles too much. Muscle overuse causes strained neck muscles.
- Long periods of looking down is a common cause of neck pain. Seen mainly with texting or looking down at other mobile devices.
- When muscle pain starts without reason, it can be from sleeping in an awkward position.
- Here is some care advice that should help.
- Pain Medicine:
- To help with the pain, give an acetaminophen product (such as Tylenol).
- Another choice is an ibuprofen product (such as Advil).
- Use as needed.
- Cold Pack for Pain:
- During the first 2 days, use a cold pack or ice wrapped in a wet cloth.
- Put it on the sore muscles for 20 minutes.
- Repeat 4 times on the first day, then as needed.
- Reason: Reduces pain and any spasm.
- Caution: Avoid frostbite.
- Use Heat After 48 Hours:
- If pain lasts over 2 days, put heat on the sore muscle.
- Use a heat pack, heating pad or warm wet washcloth.
- Do this for 10 minutes, then as needed.
- Reason: Increase blood flow and improve healing.
- Caution: Avoid burns.
- Sleep Position:
- Sleep on the back or side, not the stomach. Reason: sleeping face down puts stress on the neck muscles.
- Sleeping with a neck collar helps some people.
- Use a foam neck collar (from a drug store). If don't have one, wrap a small towel around the neck.
- Reason: Keep the head from moving too much during sleep.
- Activity:
- Protect the neck. Avoid any activity that increases the pain.
- Avoid any sports or work that increase the pain.
- After 48 hours, start a gentle stretching program.
- Stretching Exercises:
- Do 3 minutes of gentle stretching exercises each day. Reason: improve the tone of the neck muscles.
- Touch the chin to each shoulder. Touch the ear to each shoulder. Move the head forward and backward.
- Don't apply any resistance during these stretching exercises.
- What to Expect:
- New neck pain without a reason most often goes away in a few days.
- Neck pain from muscle overuse (strained neck muscles) goes away in 1 to 2 weeks.
- Call Your Doctor If:
- Neck pain becomes severe
- Stiff neck occurs
- Pain starts to shoot into the arms, upper back or legs
- Pain lasts more than 2 weeks
- You think your child needs to be seen
- Your child becomes worse
And remember, contact your doctor if your child develops any of the 'Call Your Doctor' symptoms.