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?
Hi, Beth: First, I assume you do not have any radiation of pain from your neck down into your arm and hand... no muscle twitching or cramping in an arm muscle you can't explain by way of too much zeal in the wt room... and you do not get a 'zinger' into your arm when you turn your head a certain way.
Good :applaud: I read your finding of the loss of lordosis of your neck - unnatural straightening. So, I would assume your musculature is really out of balance causing the stack of cervical spine bones to be pulled up straight rather than settling back into their repose positions with facet joints engaged.
I reviewed everyone's postings and I am happily surprised by the knowledgeable posts. I too like the dead tennis balls for self-adjustment of my mid back. A similar tactic is taping two racquetballs together (tennis balls are slightly too big for me for this...) and lie face up on a yoga mat or so. Put the 'dumbell' taped-together racquetballs under your neck and relax, letting them cradle your neck. Then, gently scooch down toward your feet and let the dumbell roll up and lodge at your occiput... putting a gentle traction on your neck. I do not think traction will be a quick fix for you, but the gentle stretch is good. Other stretches can be found in a cheap but good book by Bob Anderson.
Now, for reconditioning: For swimming, I would mix freestyle and backstroke to allow your neck curvatures to change slightly during your workouts. You also might consider slowly incorporating 'neck rotations' into your weight program to strengthen the strap muscles of your cervical spine.
Passive heat and active warmup before you swim... and you might skip the heat. An ice pack afterward... and good luck to you :cheerleader: John
Hi, Beth: First, I assume you do not have any radiation of pain from your neck down into your arm and hand... no muscle twitching or cramping in an arm muscle you can't explain by way of too much zeal in the wt room... and you do not get a 'zinger' into your arm when you turn your head a certain way.
Good :applaud: I read your finding of the loss of lordosis of your neck - unnatural straightening. So, I would assume your musculature is really out of balance causing the stack of cervical spine bones to be pulled up straight rather than settling back into their repose positions with facet joints engaged.
I reviewed everyone's postings and I am happily surprised by the knowledgeable posts. I too like the dead tennis balls for self-adjustment of my mid back. A similar tactic is taping two racquetballs together (tennis balls are slightly too big for me for this...) and lie face up on a yoga mat or so. Put the 'dumbell' taped-together racquetballs under your neck and relax, letting them cradle your neck. Then, gently scooch down toward your feet and let the dumbell roll up and lodge at your occiput... putting a gentle traction on your neck. I do not think traction will be a quick fix for you, but the gentle stretch is good. Other stretches can be found in a cheap but good book by Bob Anderson.
Now, for reconditioning: For swimming, I would mix freestyle and backstroke to allow your neck curvatures to change slightly during your workouts. You also might consider slowly incorporating 'neck rotations' into your weight program to strengthen the strap muscles of your cervical spine.
Passive heat and active warmup before you swim... and you might skip the heat. An ice pack afterward... and good luck to you :cheerleader: John
