Posts

Neck and shoulder pain.

/in /by

acup-shoulder-painMany of us live with permanently stiff shoulders or a neck that seizes up from time to time. Our modern lifestyle is a major culprit, with computer work (especially on laptops) putting a lot of strain on the neck and shoulders. Out-of-control stress levels don’t help either. One of the worst environments for neck and shoulder pain is a high-pressure work environment with badly set-up computers and cold air flowing down on you from air conditioning. With this sort of combination of stress, poor ergonomics and the tendency to tense up the shoulder muscles in response to cold, it’s not surprising that so many people suffer from stiff neck and shoulders.

Other things that can trigger neck and shoulder pain are prolonged driving, freehand writing or drawing, occupations involving a lot of repetitive use of the arms (hairdressing comes to mind), and playing some musical instruments.

So what can be done? Obviously it’s important to address anything in your lifestyle that might be contributing, which could involve a rethink of your work or leisure patterns. I’ve included a list of other tips at the end.

But what if your shoulders and neck are still sore after doing everything you can to relax them? This is where acupuncture comes in.

Japanese acupuncture uses several needling techniques to melt tension in the neck and shoulders. Another technique that is great for neck and shoulder pain is moxibustion – the use of a warming herb on the tight, painful areas. Cupping is also very useful. But much of the treatment is done away from the local painful region– as it is just as important to treat the constitutional pattern that Oriental medicine sees as causing disruption to the flow of energy, as we see this as underlying the neck and shoulder pain. This ensures that treatments will have a lasting effect.

We usually see an improvement within 4-6 weekly treatments, and when this happens we scale back the frequency of sessions as your body “relearns” this state of reduced tension. Eventually most people will just need the occasional top-up session every few months or so during periods of particularly intense activity or stress.

Tips for relieving neck and shoulder stiffness:

  • Make sure your desk is properly set up. Many offices these days have ergonomic guidelines and it’s also possible to have an expert review your set-up.
  • Give your neck and shoulders a break by taking lots of breaks from computer work, or other intense activities like writing freehand, drawing, music practice or driving. Aim to have a break where you get up, walk around and stretch after every 20 min of typing etc.
  • If at all possible, avoid sitting in air-conditioning, or wear a scarf (or a top with a collar that covers your neck).
  • Warmth helps most people with this sort of pain, so try hot showers or heat packs.
  • Try to build some type of relaxation into your day, like meditation, yoga or Tai-Chi. Another really useful strategy is to focus on becoming aware of shoulder tension as it builds up and repeatedly and deliberately relax and drop your shoulders. Tricky to do at first, but it gets easier with time.
  • It is also often possible to strengthen other muscles in the upper body so that your traps don’t take all the strain. If you go to a gym, ask one of the trainers to show you how to strengthen these muscles.

 

Stress and your body, part 3.

/in /by

stress ballAfter having read Parts 1 and 2, you will now have a much better understanding of how your body can change when it is dealing with stress, and how these changes present themselves as symptoms. Having just gotten through the end of a year, christmas, and possibly sending your children back at school, you may very well have experienced first hand some of these manifestations of stress.

In this article I will explain how treatment can help. It is helpful to address the symptoms to make you feel better and more comfortable, but it is also very important to address the the cause ie the stress itself, and hence reduce your body’s’ reaction to it. Symptomatically we can change the pain and muscle tightness that occurs in the neck and shoulders by correcting any misalignment and jamming up in the vertebrae of the neck and upper back. By treating the spine at these areas we are improving movement of the spine and stimulating the nerves to flow freely and thereby stimulate the muscles to relax and work more freely.

The diaphragm can also be treated by a very gentle release that helps it relax, which then allow the ribs to release. Sometimes the spine at the level of the diaphragm may need an adjustment to help it release, and possibly some work needs to be done on the muscles between the ribs. This results in reduction in tightness and restrictions in movement, and allows improved breathing.

The jaw is another issue. When it tightens it can potentially tighten many areas of the skull, which can become very uncomfortable. The jaw can be released directly by working on the muscles and with gentle pressure to the jaw joints. Often it is necessary to look at the whole skull. With that we test for any jamming of the areas of the skull where the many bones that make up the skull join each other. This treatment is gentle and even relaxing , and has great results in reducing tightness and any headaches associated with it.

These are all ways to reduce any symptoms, but it is also important to address the degree to which your body reacts to stress. As seen in previous articles your body will react to stress, there is no changing that. But you may notice that your body will react in differing degrees with different stresses. Sometimes even to the point where you think it is excessive, or an over-reaction. The degree to which your body reacts is different for every person and is influenced by your past experiences and emotions. If we have had a bad experience in the past we will often be more sensitive to something similar happening, this is due to a learned response, or what can be called body memory.

There are two ways that we can look at these reactions. One is using the technique of Neurolink, the other is a techniques called Neuro Emotional Technique (NET). If you have been coping with stress for a while, it may be difficult for your body to come out of that response once the stress has stopped. Neurolink is a technique that resets your body and Nervous System. Just like a computer that has crashed when it has been overloaded with tasks and needs to be rebooted, our Nervous System is similar and Neurolink can ‘reboot’ your system.

NET is a technique that works on a deeper level to find out why we are reacting strongly to something, and what experiences in your past have led to this strong reaction. It also resolves and releases the memory of these past experiences that is being held in your body. This helps reduce any reaction of fear or anger or sadness, for example, that your body may currently be exhibiting.

 

Neck and shoulder pain exercises.

/in /by

computer-neck-painNeck and shoulder pain is a very common ailment in today’s times, and it is almost always due to our posture, especially when our days are spent at a desk usually in front of a computer. Firstly the position we are in is not always the most ergonomic. We are all different heights and sizes and desks and chairs don’t always accommodate for these differences. We may be using 2 monitors and moving left to right to work on both, or twisting to get folders from shelves that are next to us or behind us.

Secondly we may be sitting at your computer for hours at a time without getting up and having a break, and then to compound that we can be so focused on what we are doing we often forget to sit up correctly and often end up with a rounded lower back, a forward head position and rounded shoulders. This will almost always lead to tight muscles and pain in the shoulders, between the shoulder blades, and up into the neck. It can often contribute to headaches also. Then as a consequence of these tight muscles it becomes more difficult to maintain a good posture, so it then becomes a cycle of poor posture leading to muscle spasm, causing poor posture.

Some simple things you can do to stop this cycle from occurring!

  • Firstly be mindful of your office/desk setup. Have your computer square in front of you with the monitor at a height so that the centre of the screen is at a 15degree down angle from your eyes. Have the monitor as far away from you as possible while still comfortable for you to read. It should be a minimum of 50cm. Also have your computer at right angles to a lit or window to minimize any glare on the screen. The keyboard should be situated such that your elbow is at 90 degrees, or even slightly lower. This helps your wrist to be straight and reduces the potential for a repetitive strain injury. Have your chair at a height so that your feet are flat on the ground and thighs are perpendicular to the floor.
  • Secondly, be conscious of your body. No matter how ergonomic your desk setup is, it wont help if you dont think abouthow you’re sitting. Most importantly, don’t slouch. try and sit with your back straight and your shoulders back and down. Have your head up and try to elongate your neck. Get up every 20min to have a walk around, and a stretch.
  • Thirdly, stretch…
    • At work
      • Neck – by bending it gently to the left hold it for 10 sec, bring your head back to neutral, then repeat 4 more times. Do the same with the neck bent to the right. Then also forward by tucking your chin in and bending it towards your chest. Then bend your neck backwards by looking up to the ceiling. While doing these stretches keep your shoulders down.
      • Shoulders – loosen up your shoulders by firstly shrugging the shoulders, hold them up for 5 sec then let them drop. Repeat this 4 times.
      • Roll your shoulders slowly backwards bringing them as far up, back, down and forward as possible. Do this 5 times. Then roll them slowly forwards 5 times, again bringing them as far up, forward, down and backwards as possible.
    • At home
      • At the end of the day when you get home get a small rolled towel, about 10-15cm in diameter. While lying on your back place the rolled towel across the back of your neck. Push your head back towards the ground and hold it for 5 sec, then relax for 5 sec. Then repeat 4 more times.
      • Next have a rolled up towel that is about 25-30 cm long and about 8 cm in diameter. Lying on your back and place the towel along the length of your spine between your shoulder blades. You can also place a low pillow under your head to make sure your neck is comfortable. Lying on the towel in this way allows your shoulders to relax back, and they also relax down. It allows your shoulder muscles and those between your shoulder lades to relax and release. This exercise helps release tight muscles but it also helps improve your posture, that why it’s good to get in the habit of doing this exercise even if you’re not feeling sore or tight.