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Neck Pain During Pregnancy—Reasons And 5 Best Ways To Ease The Pain

neck pain during pregnancy

Pregnant women have all sorts of aches and pains thanks to hormonal changes, posture changes, and other reasons.

These pains are restricted to round ligament pain or a sore belly. During pregnancy, shoulder pain, a stiff neck, pelvic pain, and even neck pain are common. 

Knowing what is causing neck pain and what to do about it is much less common.

In this article, we’ll talk about neck and shoulder pain, pain relief, what causes it, how to relieve pain and ease neck pain during pregnancy, and other symptoms and forms of pain that pregnant women experience.

What causes neck pain during pregnancy?

Neck pain while being pregnant is something that many pregnant women experience. From neck stiffness in early pregnancy to severe neck pain in the third trimester, experiencing neck pain is no fun.

Most pregnant women experience neck and shoulder pain throughout pregnancy for various reasons.

Understanding what is causing this discomfort, aside from being pregnant, is the first step in finding ways to alleviate the pain.

The following are some reasons why you may be experiencing persistent neck pain during your pregnancy, whether in the first or third trimester.

1. Hormonal changes can cause neck pain

Hormonal changes are the culprit behind many issues during pregnancy, including neck pain. This is because the hormones causing your abdominal muscles to relax and loosen up also influence other muscles in your body.

Your neck muscles are supposed to stay tight to a certain degree. The loosening of these muscles can cause discomfort that can also cause shoulder pain and other issues.

2. Poor posture can cause neck pain

Most of us don’t have a great posture, and pregnancy sure doesn’t help. Your sleeping position may also play a part in this.

Most doctors advise that you sleep on your left side at night for blood circulation and to keep your baby safe. This can cause poor posture, leading to pain throughout pregnancy and stiffness.

3. Less mobility can cause neck pain

Because pregnancy takes a lot of energy, you feel more exhausted. You may end up with sore neck muscles during pregnancy if you do a lot of sitting or lying.

Developing or adopting a sedentary lifestyle means you aren’t keeping your muscles warm, which can lead to a tight neck and pain.

Sometimes morning sickness can cause you to slow down and move less for prolonged periods in the first part of your pregnancy.

If this occurs, get up, move around as often as possible, and lead a healthy lifestyle full of good sleep and water. Hydration is key, especially if you cannot keep much food down.

neck pain during pregnancy

4. Weight gain and muscle strain can cause neck pain

Neck tension leads to pain, and tight muscles due to weight gain are a normal part of late pregnancy.

As you gain weight in the second and third trimesters, it gets harder to relieve pain in the muscles because they are constantly being pulled and made tense by your growing baby.

5. Upper back pain pregnancy

Like your neck, your upper back can end up in pain throughout pregnancy. Hormones, growing bump, water retention, and not getting enough exercise can all lead to pain in your upper body.

Muscle strains are hard on a woman’s body, so many people feel they’d do anything to relieve tension and stress and just get one day without any pain.

If you have found yourself in this predicament, and need to find some relief, don’t worry.

There are things that you can do, including speaking to a healthcare professional about how to reduce excess strain on your body during these nine months of change to your body.

6. Slipped disc

If you have a shooting pain in your back that feels almost like a jolt of electricity, you may want to talk to your doctor to inquire about having tests done to assess your cervical spine.

A slipped disc requires medical attention and medical treatment, and very few, if any, home remedies will do much good to stop the pain.

How to reduce pain in muscles during pregnancy

If you’d like to reduce neck pain and relieve stress related to chronic pain throughout pregnancy, there are things that you can do.

You can also speak to your doctor if you are concerned or need more help or suggestions.

If you have what is referred to as a high-risk pregnancy, consult your healthcare provider before starting any major regimen or exercises.

The following are some pain alleviation options for neck pain that are typically considered pregnancy safe.

1. Neck massage to ease neck pain

Asking your partner, sibling, child, or anyone you trust to give you a neck massage can’t eliminate what makes muscles sore, but it can provide temporary relief. 

Gentle massage therapy can work out muscle tension, which can help you relax.

Muscle strain is most easily worked out via massage therapy after a warm bath. Just make sure that the water in your bath isn’t too hot.

You can also book a session with a massage therapist specializing in maternity care. Make sure you let them know you are pregnant when you call to make an appointment so that you can be properly matched with someone with enough experience.

What to do about stiff neck muscles for pregnant women

2. Pregnancy-safe workouts to help neck pain

Workouts during pregnancy are safe as long as you aren’t overdoing them. 

This can include yoga postures, stretches, and low-impact exercises that can leave you feeling more relaxed and even help you sleep better.

Chin tucks are a great way to increase blood flow and get gentle exercise during pregnancy.

Gently pull your head straight back, using a finger under your chin, until you feel the muscles pulling in the back of your neck.

Speak with your doctor about what exercises are safe throughout your pregnancy. Even if you cannot do active workouts or cardio exercises, some physical activity is encouraged, especially since your increasing weight contributes to the common symptom of muscle pain during pregnancy.

3. Cold compress for neck pain

A cold compress can help rid your body of muscle strain and discomfort, just like it would if you had pulled a muscle while playing sports. All you need is an ice pack. Simply put it on your neck and rest there for a while.

4. Warm compress for neck pain

A warm compress can do as much good as a cold one can. This home remedy seems to be a cure-all, but heat is excellent for muscle pain, especially in the neck. 

Apply a warm compress to the neck and allow it to rest there for several minutes.

5. Hydrotherapy for neck pain

It may sound fancy, but it’s simply the change between hot water and cold water and water pressure while in the shower.

To alleviate common complaints of soreness in the neck, try focusing the stream of water onto your neck for three minutes or so the next time you’re in the shower.

After this time passes, switch to cold water and let it run on your neck for thirty to sixty seconds. Do this a few times. 

The hot water helps to increase blood to your neck, and the cold will help to decrease inflammation that you may be experiencing.

When pregnancy neck pain is concerning

Sometimes symptoms of pain during pregnancy are simply your body changes causing reactions in your muscles and other areas of the body.

For example, high blood pressure during pregnancy can cause headaches.

Most of the time, there’s no reason to worry much. However, sometimes neck pain when you are pregnant can mean something much more serious than just sore muscles and requires you to contact your doctor immediately.

Ectopic pregnancy

When an ectopic pregnancy ruptures, it often causes severe neck pain, along with feeling faint, shoulder pain, and cramping of the pelvic floor.

You must seek medical attention immediately if you are in early pregnancy and have these symptoms.

The pain you are feeling in your neck or shoulder is what is known as referred pain. It means that you feel pain in an area associated with another area.

In this case, the pain has nothing to do with your neck or shoulder but something much more serious.

Can you use a heating pad while pregnant?

If you want to get rid of neck pain throughout pregnancy and have tried almost everything else, you may have wondered if a heating pad would help. Then you may have wondered if it’s safe.

The answer to this question is the same as many pregnancy-related questions: in moderation.

Your neck can benefit from some simple heat therapy, especially once you get into the late stages of pregnancy and the added weight has started to affect your posture more.

If warm showers and compresses aren’t helping, you can try a heating pad, but only on its lowest setting for up to twenty minutes.

A Final Note

Pregnancy is plagued with all sorts of aches and pains. 

Neck pain is especially troubling because it can lead to other issues like headaches, migraines, and sleep loss. 

Finding ways to have a pain-free neck is of the utmost importance to some pregnant women, especially those who are prone to headaches in the first place.

Hopefully, the information in this article has helped you to get some control over your neck and shoulder pain associated with pregnancy.

Getting better mobility, using heat and cold, and getting a massage can be great tools to help your neck recover from the stress those muscles are put through on a nearly constant basis when you’re pregnant. 

Just remember: It’ll only be a pain in the neck for a while. Then your baby will be here, and you’ll have a bit of relief.

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