Cupping for neck pain home treatment

by | Jan 20, 2022 | Exercise, headache, Health Tips, Healthy Habits, How-to, neck pain

Spread the love

Sometimes you wake up with a kink in your neck and you don’t have a treatment booked to address it right away. This happened to me the other day, so I decided to create a video showing how you can be prepared and treat yourself at home in just a few minutes. What do you need on hand in order for you to copy what I do in the video?

  • A silicone cupping set (or at last 1 small cup)
  • A massage oil or lotion
  • 3-5 minutes of time

The first two items I can provide you, but the time, well, that’s up to you. 🙂

Preventing neck pain from being recurrent

Even if the cupping solves your current neck pain issue, if your neck keeps feeling sore, it’s time to get treatment and also check your posture with some stretches and exercises. For most of us, chronic neck pain isn’t something we just need to learn to live with.

  • Get acupuncture. Depending on how long you’ve struggled, starting with weekly or biweekly appointments for 4-8 sessions will go a long way to allowing you to have a neck you do don’t have to “notice” all the time. Fewer headaches, better sleep, and easy shoulder checks when driving are just some of the added perks to a more functional neck.
  • Check your habits. Do you spend a lot of time with your head bent over a keyboard, mobile phone, or tablet? Do you slouch when sitting on the couch, while driving your car, or even just sitting, standing, or moving about your day? Pay attention to getting your head back over your spine. For most, that means pulling the chin back.
  • Strengthen weak muscles. For many of us, one of the weak areas sits between our shoulder blades and our spine. I like the YWTL exercise as one to open up the chest and strengthen the upper back.
  • Stretch the neck, shoulders, and chest.

For those last three points, check out my post: Pandemic Posture

If you have occasional or recurrent neck pain, ask me how you can be prepared for your own home treatment. While I treat people with neck pain, using acupuncture, pretty much every clinic day, I recognize that sometimes patients have suffered for a few days before they can come in to see me, so at home cupping can offer you quick relief.