When one is faced with a pain in the neck, one would automatically think that it had to do with over stressing the neck muscles, or that you slept wrong. This is not always the case, and many would be surprised to learn that some doctors would not jump right to treating their neck pain, but rather examine other variables first.

Most doctors would try to rule out any pending illnesses or conditions that may have caused the neck pain or exacerbated it, they would then proceed to prescribe pain medicine and muscle relaxers for stiff muscles, as well as, exercises to loosen up the tense muscles around the neck.

It is most probable that the pain is not directly related to their neck, at all, but rather the patients lifestyle that is affecting the tense muscles. Many people are quite surprised at other contributing factors that cause this turmoil in the body.

There has been a growing trend to be cognizant of ones bed pillow that they rest their head. There are actually, specialty pillows, out in today's market, attesting to their superior qualities in relieving a multitude of sleep disorders. The pillows can be very pricey, and it would be wise for the consumer to test out other alternatives, before spending nearly $70.00 on one such pillow. A good plump, soft pillow with a feather fill might be just what one needs. The pillow should support your neck, well, and in varying ones sleeping style, especially on ones side, your head should not be below the level of your spine.

Another option would be the awareness of your posture. As our mothers have drilled into us, when we were children, good posture is important to our alignment and overall benefits us by supporting our body, whatever size we are. If your head drops forward or is pulled back when standing or sitting, we can be attributing to our neck pain, by over stressing the muscles. When we are not in a good posture we put stress on the body and the muscles that should be working are not. Our muscles have to work even harder to keep us in balance, overall resulting in fatigue and pain.

Stress has been known to be a big contributing factor to stiffness in our necks. Due to the fact that our upper shoulders and neck muscles contract when we are under stress. The stress does not even have to be great, to have a large impact. Frequent massages of the neck and shoulders can help to relieve the tightened tension in these areas. If one works at a desk, for the better part of a day, it is a good idea to stand up and take a brief walk, a few times a day,to alleviate any pent up tension. Simple exercises, such as rolling your neck in a circle, while taking deep breathes and exhaling, also helps.

It is possible to help manage the frequencies of a stiff neck, while they will occur from time to time, but with being more aware of how we sleep, paying attention to our posture, and when pain arrives, engaging in some simple relaxing and breathing exercises, we can help to heal our bodies faster, without medical intervention.