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Why is sore spot not necessarily the problem?
When it comes to muscles, there are two main reasons that pain or tension is caused by another area of the body; feedback issues from nerve compression or satellite referral via active trigger points.
Feedback
If you have tension within your joints (hips, shoulders ect..) or areas with complex small muscle mass (neck), it is likely that you have some form of feedback issue in your extremities. Feedback refers to the nerve signal returning from your extremities to your brain, not the signal from your brain to your extremities. If nerves are compressed along the pathway back to the brain, the brain senses that there is a problem in the extremity due the nerve disruption. In actual fact, the extremity may be fine, however, due to the brain believing that there is damage of some form, the area is ordered to guard itself by tightening the muscles in the area. Short term this is not problematic, however, over a prolonged period of time this excessive tension results in muscular issues in the extremity (pain or weakness).
In treating this condition, it is not uncommon for a therapist to treat the local area of pain or tension, which does provide relief, however, if the compression causing feedback issue is still present the pain or tension will return fairly promptly.
Treatment for issues relating to extremities should always be treated from the point of referral outward, treating the catalyst before the presenting problem area.
Satellite Referral
Satellite referral is an effect caused by active trigger points in a muscle. Every trigger point has a specific referral pattern; however, at times this can change and puzzle therapists and practitioners, often resulting in poor diagnosis.
When a trigger point is active and referring for a long period of time, or the problem is more compound, due to injury etc.. the referred pattern from trigger point A will activate trigger points that fall within the initial referred pattern of point A and add their own referral range to the initial trigger point B referral, thus creating a domino effect.
Treating referral pain requires good knowledge of myofacial referral patterns in the body, muscular groups and connective tissues. Trigger point therapy and sports massage excel in treating this condition, so if this sounds familiar to you, then this is another option which you may not have considered.
Acupuncture for Neck and Shoulder pain
Neck and shoulder tension is one of the banes of modern life – when severe, the pain often extends down the arms and also can lead to headaches and jaw stiffness. It can really limit your life. But you don’t have to be stuck with it!
Acupuncture is great for melting those knots. Within 4-6 treatments we usually see substantial relief, with the hard areas becoming much looser. The time taken for this to happen depends on how long the tension has been there for, and how severe it is.
The treatments are very gentle – Acupuncture use extremely fine needles that you barely notice, plus moxibustion, a form of herbal heat treatment. The combination works really well in relaxing muscles, especially in the shoulders and neck
During a treatment, our Acupunctuirists uses a combination of Acupuncture points specifically targeted at any imbalance underlying the muscle stiffness, as well as local points to bring fast relief. We also look at lifestyle measures to help prevent the problem recurring.
Tara is a Registered Acupuncturist with many years’ experience in treating neck and shoulder issues. Health-fund rebates are available for Acupuncture treatments.
Neck and shoulder pain.
Many 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.
Chiropractic for Headaches
Chiropractic is an ideal alternative therapy that works not only to relieve headache pain but to also restore normal functioning to the nervous system and spine. Please read on for more information.
What is a Headache?
A headache is when someone feels pain or discomfort in the head and/or face. It is a symptom of many different conditions, and physiologically may be caused by a disruption to pain-sensitivity structures in the head.
Headaches may be classified as either primary or secondary. Primary headaches develop on their own, whereas secondary headaches develop as a symptom of another disease, condition or illness.
What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is an alternative form of medicine that aims to diagnose, treat and prevent mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system via manipulation and realignment of the spine and other bodily structures.
How Does Chiropractic Help Alleviate Headaches?
Most good chiropractors employ the use of physical, orthopedic and neurological tests to pinpoint potential causes of the headache. The practitioner will then use spinal manipulation to treat the headache, thus:
- Improving spinal alignment.
- Reducing nerve irritation.
- Reducing muscle tension.
- Improving blood flow and circulation.
A chiropractor may aim to reduce headache symptoms with massage and Trigger Point Therapy, and may even use x-ray to determine whether abnormal positioning of the shoulder and neck are causing the headaches. They may also recommend a suitable lifestyle plan including relaxation techniques, daily stretches, changes in posture and other exercises.
Chiropractic and Tension Headaches
Tension headaches result from muscular tension in the head, neck and shoulders. This tension ultimately leads to changes in normal posture and movement in order to compensate, which itself results in even more muscular tension, thus creating a vicious cycle that causes an increasingly painful headache.
Chiropractic aims to resolve and break the vicious cycle by releasing any muscular tension, and by realigning skeletal structures. Relief is often experienced from tension headaches minutes after Chiropractic treatment, after which muscle tension has eased and nerve irritation has been reduced.
Chiropractic and Migraine Headaches
Certain triggers cause a sudden dilation of blood vessels in the head to occur, thus producing a painful migraine.
Recent scientific studies have shown chiropractic may play an important role in treating migraines in its subtle manipulation and realignment of the spine. The adjustments also improve blood flow by reducing any irritation to nerves rooted in the spine which themselves are responsible for vascular system tension control.
If you are interested in trying chiropractic to relieve your headaches, please speak to a professional chiropractor for more information.
The Importance of Stretching
Stretching is a very effective and important activity that has a number of known key benefits for all. These benefits include improved flexibility, a decrease in the likelihood of injury and muscle soreness, and an enhancement in physical performance.
Through stretching, the affected muscles will be lengthened, which helps to improve the body’s normal level of flexibility as well as to reduce general muscle tension. This increase in muscle length will also enable the muscles to contract over a greater distance and hence create a greater level of power. The body is then able to move more freely with increased comfort.
After physical exercise, the muscles can often feel tight, sore or stiff. Such soreness occurs due to minute tears that form within the muscle fibres, as well as an accumulation of blood and waste products, such as lactic acid. Stretching after exercise, therefore, helps to diminish any muscle soreness through improved blood circulation and the removal of waste products.
Exercise also creates fatigue, and results in a decrease in both mental and physical performance. Stretching muscles can help to prevent fatigue by reducing the pressure on the working muscles. For every muscle, there is an opposing muscle, and if these are made more flexible through stretching then the working muscles have to exert less force against them. The movements of the working muscles will, therefore, require less effort, which will result in the enhancement of an individual’s physical performance.
Additional benefits of regular stretching include improvements in posture, body awareness, energy levels, coordination, and stress relief.
Stretching should be carried out before and after any physical activity, and as part of an individual’s daily routine. A typical stretching routine should last for around 5-10 minutes, with each muscle group being stretched 2 or 3 times. Each stretch should be performed gently and slowly, and held for around 20 seconds only to the point where tension is felt in the muscle. Only stretch muscles that are 100% healthy and avoid areas that are recovering from injury. Stretches should never be performed when the muscles are cold. Prior to any stretching, light, physical activity that results in a light sweat should be performed for about 10 minutes.