I have been having severe pain in my neck and upper spine?
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First, see your doctor if it is that bad.
I get neck pains and headaches resulting from either bad alignment (over time), or a one-time-slept-in-a-bad-positi... event (kink in the neck.) Yes, it can last for days and not correcting it can reinforce the pain.
(I also get headaches when the weather changes ...when a strong low pressure system moves in.)
Yoga is a great way to strengthen and align without expensive chiropractice...start off gentle, then work your way up. Take a class with an experienced teacher to start. Look into these gentle poses:
- cat pose (arch and unarch your back/neck like a cat)
- downward dog
- upward dog
On the office side, check your ergonomics. If using a monitor, the top of the monitor screen should be at your eye level, so that you are basically looking down to view the screen. Avoid angles where you pitch your head up for long periods of time.
On the home side, check the way you sleep. Get the appropriate pillow (firmness) for your sleeping style. If you sleep on your back, you can get by with a softer pillow so that your head does not pitch forward (up). If you sleep on your side, you will probably need a firmer pillow so that your head is aligned in a straight line with the rest of your spine as you sleep. Now if you are a stomach sleeper, this might be a little more difficult...but the main thing is to support a neutral position and straight line when you sleep. I've tried contoured pillows but have had very limited success with them.
If your TV is too high (where you are pitching your head up)...lower the TV or raise your seating position.
if it doesn't go away tomorrow, then yes. you could have pulled a nerve.
Yes, whenever you have severe pain you need medical advice. It sounds as though a condition you are aware of is progressing. The situation may have changed and require treatment.
Until you get medical attention, try to avoid doing things that cause the pain. It sounds like you can't do much without pain.
a possiible hernia(hiatle)
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