neck and shoulder pain

January 4, 2012 Pain Relief

What To Do For Pain in the Neck and Mid Back

Your neck is so stiff you can barely look over your shoulder. The space between your shoulder blades feels like someone’s got your spine in a vice grip. Your shoulders are so close to your ears it looks like you’re trying to start a new fashion in earrings. This is not a pleasant situation.

And yet, despite all the neck and shoulder stretches you do, in spite of all the neck massages you receive, the pain continues to persist. You may even have had an MRI or x-ray that showed “nothing is wrong” with your back. But if nothing’s wrong, why the heck does it hurt so bad it wakes you up in the middle of the night?

Here’s the secret…there really is nothing wrong with your neck and mid back. The pain is coming from somewhere else – your hips.

This makes absolutely no sense when we look at the body from the western medical perspective which divides the body into parts and pieces. If your neck hurts, they look at your neck, from C1 (the first vertebra in your spine) to C7 (the last “neck” vertebra). But this is kind of short sighted when you consider that C7 connects to T1 – the first thoracic vertebra – and T1 to T2, so on and so forth, all the way down to your sacrum, the triangular shaped bone at the bottom of your spine.

Lo and behold, your sacrum lies between your (drum roll, please) hip bones! So, if your pelvis is restricted, tilted, shifted or imbalanced, it’s going to travel upward, right into your neck and mid back.

Now it’s all starting to come together, right? The body is a system where each piece and part is dependent on every other piece for function and balance. So, neck and back pain sufferer, how do you address the restrictions in your hips?

First, stretch your quads. Hip flexors – the muscles the bend your knee to your chest – get really tight when you sit a lot, which pretty much everyone in western society does more than they should (yes, even if you go to the gym every day). These guys drag your pelvis forward and cause a “swayback” appearance in your lower back. Lacking support from below, your neck and mid back get really tight to keep you upright.

Second, make sure your glutes and hamstrings are working. Do glute and ham exercises, but NOT the ones that require a machine. Machines are for rehab and they don’t really give you functional movement. The best way to train your body is with body weight and free weight exercises that force you to use deep postural muscles to support the movement.

Some good examples of glute and hamstring exercises are deadlifts, squats and kettlebell swings. Body weight squats can be quite effective for anyone who has lazy glute and hamstring muscles, but I like to add in a kettlebell at chest height because it forces you to keep your upper body back over your heels. When you kip forward and point your chest at the ground, you’re just feeding the tight hip flexor pattern.

Third, get good bodywork from a structural practitioner who can help you learn your physical imbalances. It’s pretty hard to change something you’re not aware of, so if you’re blithely going about your day with a crooked pelvis for 23.5 hours, seven days a week, half an hour of glute and hamstring exercises aren’t going to change anything. Repatterning your body is all about changing your habits, and the exercises you do should carry over into every aspect of your daily life.

November 2, 2011 Posture

Got any upper back and neck pain stretches?

Upper back and neck pain are the worst. Not being able to turn your head and look over your shoulder plus feeling like your shoulders are permanently attached to your ears has a very confining, straight-jacket-like feeling.

Most upper back and neck pain happens not because the neck is tense but because the shoulders are. Your shoulders “hang” from your neck in a sling of muscles; when you get stressed out or sit in front of a computer too long, these muscles get really tight and pull your neck out of alignment.

Fortunately, freeing up the scapula (shoulder blade) is pretty easy. This stretch will get you well on your way to increased shoulder flexibility and also give you upper back and neck pain relief.

Here’s what you do:

Stand arm’s length away from the wall. Put your palms flat against the wall and spread your fingers wide.

Step back away from the wall and stretch out so your hands are directly overhead, like Superman. Pull the belly button in toward your spine to protect your low back.

Once you’ve achieved optimal form, press your palms into the wall with a slight downward pressure, like you’re trying to slide the heels of your hands down the wall. Engage all the muscles of your arms and shoulders, using 100% of your strength to press into the wall. Remember to keep your belly button engaged.

Hold this isometric contraction for 15-20 seconds and then relax, deepening the stretch (but be careful not to let go of your belly button and let your low back hyperextend when you relax).

Repeat this 2-3 times, deepening the stretch a little more with each repetition.

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December 15, 2010 Pain Relief

Arnica: The Pain Reliever No Household Should Be Without

Aches and pains happen, especially when you’re training at the gym or exerting yourself in any heavy lifting activity, like moving. And as we age, we’re prone to other painful conditions like osteoarthritis.

But you don’t have to suffer with muscle soreness and stiffness. You can get relief without risking some of the frightening side effects of NSAIDs (non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs) such as nausea, upset stomach, shortness of breath, heartburn or skin rashes.

There is a natural solution that I highly recommend instead: Arnica Montana. Arnica is a plant native to mountainous regions of Europe and North America that has been used for centuries as a topical pain relieving agent.

A controlled randomized study from 2007 found that daily applications of arnica gel were just as effective as ibuprofen for relieving pain from osteoarthritis.

There is a slight risk of allergic reaction to a compound called hellanin found in arnica, so test on a small bit of skin before rubbing it all over. If you do experience a slight rash, simply stop using the gel.

While arnica gels abound in health food and supplement stores, the brand that I most recommend is Traumeel. It’s widely available and extremely effective with a synergistic blend of arnica and other anti inflammatory homeopathic agents.

So, the next time you find yourself stiff, sore and achy, get yourself some arnica gel, rub it on, and breathe a sigh of relief as the pain melts away!