I'm so frustrated!! I've had neck (trap)and upper back pain for almost a year now. It would come and go. Now it is "going" almost constantly. I went the medical route first....muscle relaxers, anti-inflammatory drugs and rest....for about 2 weeks. It helped temporarily. (I HATE taking muscle relaxers....they make me feel tired and lazy!)The minute I stopped taking them and tried to swim, it came back.
I went to a chiropractor. He did X-rays and said my neck was straight. It is supposed to have a slight backward curve...sort of a natural "shock absorber" for your spine. He also said my neck (cervical spine) is shifted big time to the left.....explains why it hurts on the right! :doh: He said my trap muscles have been doing all the "shock absorbing" and had many knots in them on both sides. He also said my pec muscles were too tight and pulling my traps I've been going THREE times a week to get adjusted by the chiropractor. I've been stretching, icing and not swimming. The only thing that has helped is massage...and that's not in my budget! It doesn't seem to be getting better.:shakeshead: :cry: I finally went "swimming" Thursday to try to stretch it out. The doctor said it was ok as long as I didn't push it! I thought I would just kick a lot. I did try to swim some EASY strokes. It tightend up real fast! I ended up kicking on my back and doing a lot of vertical kicking in deep water. Any advice?
I know the feeling. I've got similar neck, shoulder, and back pain.
I've found that NSAIDs actually make them worse over time and I was suffering from "Rebound Headaches". See Are you a Pill-Popping Masters Swimmer?
by Jessica Seaton, DC at www.spma.net/.../sep2007.pdf.
I've been pestering my Dr for several years. I've had X-rays, CT scans, ultrasounds, seen a neuroligist, and rhumatologist. Have you tried acupuncture?
If you've got good insurance through work, keep going until you get results.
If you do a lot of kicking, stop using a board. Kick on your back, side, or underwater.
I know about the frustration.
Have you had a good coach evaluate your stroke? If you have poor technique you could be causing your own pain. Self evaluation usually doesn't work unless you are a swim coach yourself.
Oh, one of the things that helped me the most was seeing a physical therapist. I was referred by my Dr. He taught me some better stretches than the standard ones we've done for years. Also, I'm using 5-10 lb weights to strengthen the small muscles of shoulder. Stretch bands work great for this too.
Check out forums.usms.org/showthread.php as it has some great stretching information from USA Swimming.
Hi -
I do not have experience with neck pain. I do have a major experience with a chiropractor. They do not have the tools to make a correct diagnosis in the event of an actual injury. They do not necessarily know how to read X-rays. (And don't necessarily believe a word he says about whether your neck is straight or not, or whether it should be.) I would see a chiropractor again only if the individual was in joint practice with an MD and working with the MD on the same patient.
In your situation I would try an MD and a physical therapist. You might have something like a slowly degenerating disk problem. Pain that is slowly increasing is a signal staring you in the face. Insist on imaging studies: CT, MRI. The first medical treatment is almost always rest, anti-inflammatories, etc. I was BED-RIDDEN and the first treatment was "rest." ("Can we skip that part?" I asked.) In part, insurance agencies like to see the cheap, noninvasive modalities tried first. And docs use them to rule out or bridge over temporary situations. A PT can help you with exercises that you can do at home (to replace massage), if that is the appropriate course.
You have seen chiro several times and you are not getting better. You are getting worse.
Free advice from strangers on bbs is worth what you pay for it, but your original post has quite a lot of info that you may not be seeing. (I am not talking about pecs, traps, or straight necks.)
Good luck, VB
One thing that I've found that helps decrease my frustration is to swim more on my own and less on a team. I love swimming with a team but when I do I have the desire/need to train harder. I love to train and compete but under the circumstances that is not the best thing for me. All I was doing was :frustrated:.
When I swim on my own, I can just swim from swimming sake and keep active without going crazy while I sort this health thing out. It allows me to work the muscles without taxing them too much. I'm doing lots of kicking -- vertical and without a board or on my back or side. With and without fins.
For me moving down a lane or two just didn't do the trick. I would see my usual lane mates doing what I know I can do and only get depressed or worse would push it to much and make my pain worse. This has been the most frustrating thing for me.
Whatever you do, don't quit swimming. I've tried that before and it just makes the situation worse in the long run.
I tried Meloxicam (arthritis anti-inflammatory) and it has proven very effective.
John Smith
Did your GP prescribe it or did you have to go to a rhumatologist?
I'm going to GP tomorrow and Rh in about a month. I've tried several other drugs but they just made me loopy without any improvement. At this point, I'll try anything.
It's a royal pain in the :mooning: being healthier than the "average" American but still in pain when you know you're doing the right things.
Dorothy's idea of the soft balls is a great idea. I prefer old dead tennis balls. I gently lie on them on the floor or bed. You don't want to feel pain but you want to let the muscle slowly let the ball in. (yeah, sounds like my head is in the clouds, but you'll be surprised if you give the muscle time.)
I can relate. I've had neck pain every morning as I wake up for the last few weeks. I've seen my GP with no luck in finding out why. I had an MRI done a while ago and it came up as normal. Frustrating, I know. I hope you can get some answers soon.
Alison
I'm so frustrated!! I've had neck (trap)and upper back pain for almost a year now. It would come and go. Now it is "going" almost constantly. I went the medical route first....muscle relaxers, anti-inflammatory drugs and rest....for about 2 weeks. It helped temporarily. (I HATE taking muscle relaxers....they make me feel tired and lazy!)The minute I stopped taking them and tried to swim, it came back.
I went to a chiropractor. He did X-rays and said my neck was straight. It is supposed to have a slight backward curve...sort of a natural "shock absorber" for your spine. He also said my neck (cervical spine) is shifted big time to the left.....explains why it hurts on the right! :doh: He said my trap muscles have been doing all the "shock absorbing" and had many knots in them on both sides. He also said my pec muscles were too tight and pulling my traps I've been going THREE times a week to get adjusted by the chiropractor. I've been stretching, icing and not swimming. The only thing that has helped is massage...and that's not in my budget! It doesn't seem to be getting better.:shakeshead: :cry: I finally went "swimming" Thursday to try to stretch it out. The doctor said it was ok as long as I didn't push it! I thought I would just kick a lot. I did try to swim some EASY strokes. It tightend up real fast! I ended up kicking on my back and doing a lot of vertical kicking in deep water. Any advice?
Beth:
As you know, I've had neck, trap, shoulder pain off and on since I started masters swimming. PT did not help me initially and my first orthopod appeared to misdiagnose my injury, which an arthrogram showed to be a frayed left labrum. I'm dealing with that with prolo/ART.
As for the neck/trap items, I think some of my issues are caused by (1) way too much driving, although I do use a roll for my back; (2) sleeping on my stomach -- worst thing for the neck. It's much better to sleep on your back. Some people use neck rolls for that too. I wish I could do it, but I have a hard enough time sleeping; and (3) swimming intensely seems to exacerbate the condition.
For me, my ART/chiro guy can work wonders, as does massage. But I agree, the time and money for constant massages? Also my ART doc says it's essential for neck health to keep the pec muscles loose. So he recommends a lot of door stretches and corner stretches for the purpose. There are some other neck/trap stretches you can do as well.
I don't use any NSAIDs or muscle relaxants either. Allen is right about the rebound headache possibility. Plus, NSAIDs retard the healing process.
I would make sure you chiro is working with an MD to read the x-rays right. But given your profession, I'm assuming you're getting good care.
Hang in there sis! Getting old sucks. I think it's just difficult to train hard without doing a lot of things to keep your body intact and healthy.
Hang in there!! :wave: :bighug:
When I read your post, I really felt that massage is the answer because your muscles are so tight it is pulling things out of alignment. However, it is not in your budget. Here, the Community College has a program for massage therapist and they always need people to "practice" on. So you can get massages for less. Maybe there is something there you can find. Also, if insurance pays for the chiropractor, maybe they would pay for therapy by the chiropractor's office. My chiropractor has ultrasound treatments, and massage therapists on staff. Maybe look into that.
Since I play softball, I have lots of softballs around. Besides playing ball with them, they actually make wonderful massage tools. If you regularily roll a ball over tight muscles, it really helps. Maybe research different methods of self massage to work those tight muscles.
Modify your stroke, bend your arms more, get the thumb closer to the body. Ease of on the power from the entry to the catch.
When I get the pain in the neck, I give Chuckie 2 aspirins
:banana::banana::banana:
I had neck and back pain o the point that I was unable to sleep and my Dr. prescribed physical therapy. I was able to get relief from it, it was covered by insurance and the therapist gave me exercises to do at home for maintenance. Being aware of my posture was a big thing I needto work on as well as sleeping on my side with only one pillow for my head only. He suggested I roll a small towel to support my neck at the base of the pillow too.
Fortunately I mentioned my trouble to my swim coach and she told me I was bringing my thumbs up too far (almost to my armpit) which is how another coach taught me. I eased up on that, still do the exercises and haven't had the need to go back. My Dr. is an MD and also an osteopath. Good luck - I hope you get relief soon.
