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?
Parents
Former Member
Beth, I have similar issues with my neck, trap and accursed rhomboid muscles. Mine are the aftermath of one too many whiplashes in my younger days.
My one-two punch is a combo of massage/chiro when the pain is acute (knock on wood, happened only once in the past year).
Massage is so expensive, but I have found a way to mitigate it somewhat. It's not widely advertised, but when I went looking on my insurance co's website, I found a list of massage therapists that the company had negotiated a lower price with. When I need massage therapy, I only pay $45/hour for it. I was initially concerned about the quality of massage, but this particular therapist is nationally certified and works with the Eagles twice a week (sadly, massage isn't helping their play). She has, however, helped me tremendously when I've needed it.
Beth, I have similar issues with my neck, trap and accursed rhomboid muscles. Mine are the aftermath of one too many whiplashes in my younger days.
My one-two punch is a combo of massage/chiro when the pain is acute (knock on wood, happened only once in the past year).
Massage is so expensive, but I have found a way to mitigate it somewhat. It's not widely advertised, but when I went looking on my insurance co's website, I found a list of massage therapists that the company had negotiated a lower price with. When I need massage therapy, I only pay $45/hour for it. I was initially concerned about the quality of massage, but this particular therapist is nationally certified and works with the Eagles twice a week (sadly, massage isn't helping their play). She has, however, helped me tremendously when I've needed it.
