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?
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.)
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.)
