Home Remedies for a Stiff Neck

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Trina Sims of Green Star Herbs in Austin, Texas. And today I'm going to talk about some ways to relieve a stiff neck. These are simple physical techniques that one can use. The first of course is message. Gentle message to the neck and shoulder area is often all one needs. A nice tip is turn the head slightly away from the side on which the pain occurs, thereby relaxing and releasing those painful muscles and allowing the message to be a little deeper and a little more effective. A second technique is moist heat. This can be accomplished simply by standing in a nice warm shower and allowing that water to run over the painful area. Or you may simply take a nice thick hand towel, moisten it with warmed hot water, as hot as you can stand comfortably, squeeze it out leaving a good bit of moisture in the towel and wrap that around the painful affected areas. You can also wrap a dry towel over that to help maintain the heat. A third approach is gentle movement of the head. Be very careful as you move to keep the neck straight and the head centered over the body but side to side tipping to each side slightly toward the ear, also small circles both in a vertical and in a horizontal plane, can be helpful. A fourth and very effective and quite immediate effective technique, even acupressure point on the hand between the first and second finger. Behind the knuckle between the first and second finger you'll find a depression, press lightly there and on the palm side of the hand and hold that pressure. It may take up to four or five minutes to alleviate the pain. Remember to relax your shoulders, sit quietly as you maintain that pressure between the first and second finger. I hope these techniques help you. Thank you."