SamI have suffered with chronic pain for upwards of 15 years. And neck pain has been an ever increasing problem for me in the past 5 years. While I have worked with my doctors endlessly to relieve the pain long-term, I have found a lot of at home remedies that reduce my every day pain.
For those of you who also suffer with neck pain, here are the best products I have found for relieving my pain.
CBD Living Freeze Roll-On
Honestly, out of everything on this list, this CBD Living Freeze Roll-On is my absolute holy grail. I don’t know where I would be without this product. There are a bounty of benefits to using CBD. However, I use this product mostly for the cooling effect rather than the CBD itself. When my pain is flaring, I rub this all over my neck and within seconds the cooling effect will take place, numbing the agonizing pain.
The CBD does very little for me personally, but I also don’t have the privilege of splurging on the higher concentration. Even without receiving the CBD benefits, the cooling effect is blissful when my neck pain is flaring.
I would note that while there are other options for topical treatment, I specifically prefer the roll-on as opposed to any creams or salves. Once the product touches your hands, it is still reactive on your hands for quite a while. This means if you touch anywhere on your body, your mouth or your eyes most notably, it will transfer. And it does not feel good at all. So I opt for a hands free option to avoid this.
Neck Support Pillow
Listen. I know I didn’t want to hear it. And I know you probably don’t either. But how you sleep and the pillow you use will have a huge effect on your neck pain. After all you’re spending nearly 8 hours of your day in one position, which has the potential to cause even more harm to the neck.
I am a side sleeper, and as someone who loves sleep, I was incredibly resistant to changing my sleeping habits for the longest time. However, eventually the neck pain in the morning got so bad, I finally gave in and decided to change my sleeping habits. And I promise it’s for the better.
There are plenty of pillows on the market that are designed specifically with neck pain in mind. I purchased this orthopedic pillow and it has benefited me greatly. Not only am I able to sleep on my side with less neck pain and shoulder stiffness in the morning, but the shape makes it easier to slowly transition to sleeping on my back. Which is infinitely better for the body.
Neck Massager
While nothing beats a real massage, they are expensive and difficult to get whenever you may need them. A few years ago I was gifted this at-home neck massager and it has changed the game for me. This is not a product I use everyday, but instead use when I have a painful knot to help relieve the pain and loosen up the muscle.
Because of the design, you are given total control over the pressure, speed, and intensity. You can rest it on your shoulders for a light intensity massage. Or if you’re like me and want it to really get in deep, I lean against it to use my body weight to create a higher intensity experience. The massager is intended for the neck, but its easily modified to work on the neck, shoulders, and back.
While this doesn’t cure my pain, it takes the edge off on the days where it is unbearable. I even have a mini neck massager for when I go on long term travels!
Heating Pad
If you don’t own a heating pad, immediately stop what you are doing, and go buy one.
Not only is applying heat good for loosening up your muscles, but the heat helps with the pain as well. There are many nights that I go to bed with excruciating neck pain that impacts my sleep. On these nights I put my heating pad on and am able to fall asleep easily. Please note that heating pads do pose a fire risk. I encourage you to buy one that has an automatic timer to reduce any risk involved.
There are multiple different styles of heating pads, however I prefer a neck and shoulder heating pad. It can still be manipulated to be used on all parts of the body, but it fits my needs the best!
If you suffer from chronic pain as well, I welcome you to drop a comment if you have any words of wisdom to offer to the community! Let’s all lend a helping hand to one another in the journey towards a pain free life.
