Neck Pain: 3 Steps to Resolve Chronic Neck Pain

June 2022 Rebecca Wells

Chronic neck pain or a stiff neck is something that we see at Fixit A LOT. They can be frustrating. When you wake up in the morning it feels tight, when you go to bed at night you can’t seem to get comfortable and worst of all, it distracts you at the desk during the day. 

If you’re reading this you have probably tried endless types of neck pillows and booked in for many neck and shoulder massages.

But it’s still there. 

Why?

If we take a good look at the muscles shared between the neck and the upper ribcage, it doesn’t take long to appreciate how much our breathing can affect our neck tissues. Look at this picture below and take note of how many muscles are shared between our head and upper ribcage.

I would argue that sustained suboptimal breathing is the most common cause of neck pain, followed closely by a history of neck injuries.

When we breath optimally we should aim for full expansion of the ribcage in 3 dimensions. When we breathe sub-optimally we are often using our neck muscles to lift our upper ribcage up and down - making them work overtime. 

So what can we do about this?

First Thing’s First - Slow Down.

It is very hard to fix your neck pain if you are constantly living in a state of stress or ‘fight or flight’. Living in fight or flight means that your respiratory rate will be increased, which means your breaths will be quicker and shorter, which means you use your accessory muscles significantly more.

This type of breathing is fine for short periods of time, like recovery from physical exertion, but it should not be our day to day

So slow down your breathing, practice a more prolonged inhale and exhale

Secondly - Nasal breathing.

Another great way of slowing down your breathing is to breath through your nose. This slower breathing, through a narrower passage leads to further pressure and expansion in the ribcage.

Nasal breathing is hard to master.

I recommend picking 3 daily tasks where you can make an intentional choice to nasal breath instead of mouth breathing. For example, make a point of breathing in and out through your nose when driving, when at the desk and when out for walks.

Once you get the hang of this it will become a habit. 

Lastly - Daily Ribcage Mobility Practice. 

Moving your ribcage through its full range each and every day can be very helpful to reducing tension in your neck.

It helps to create more expansion and mobility in your ribcage. This therefore recruits more of your deeper core tissues which means that you will be less reliant on your neck muscles when breathing.

Try this Fog the Mirror Breathing exercise daily.

Implement these 3 things into your routine and let us know how you get on.

If you need any further advice or help with your neck pain please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us!