 Photo by sharon wright on Unsplash What’s up with neck issues lately? It seems like all of my patients are complaining of headaches and neck pain. Is it the winter thing?
So this week I decided to talk to you about headaches and neck pain since it seems to be the ongoing theme. The biggest cause of neck pain and headaches is…. Drum roll please…. STRESS!!! I’m willing to bet money that if you are having neck pain, you are likely in the middle of some challenging times in your life. Seriously, the common thread showing up with every single one of my patients who have neck pain is stress. “I’m under so much stress…” “The work has been crazy lately…” “So many things are happening, they are all good, but I’m so stressed out”. Let’s take a look at this mind body connection a little closer. You know when you get stressed out, our natural reaction is to bring the shoulders up to the ears and clench the jaw. Your body prepares for fight or flight. Your heart races, your breathing becomes shallow, your muscles tense up. The rational way out would be to acknowledge this and take a break. Say “No” to certain responsibilities, sleep in, eat good food and just take care of yourself. However, we are emotional beings and can’t stop in the middle of a roller coaster ride. The bills have to be paid, useless paperwork needs to be done, the house needs to be clean, the kids need to turn in their homework and the dog needs a walk!!! You know, the usual. So the stress stays in the system. The shoulders slouch and the head moves forward on your body. Now the tiny little muscles in the back of your neck and your lower back have to work twice as hard to keep you upright and support that 15-20lb ball of brain on your shoulders. The muscles on the back of your neck and the front of your neck have different referral patterns. That means if there is tension in those muscles, the pain can be referred to the back of the head, the eye, the side of the head or the jaw. So you pop a couple ibuprofens and keep going. So many times I hear my patients tell me that they have been self-medicating with ibuprofen for months and the headaches only get more frequent because the underlying issue of stress and forward head posture is not resolved. Hey, sometimes it can get so bad that injections and surgery are suggested. Sometimes you have to wait until it’s that bad to finally get help. Luckily, there is a way out of this. Through the combination of hands on treatment and posture re-educating exercises we are able to get you out of pain. One of my patients had headaches twice a week for couple years. Finally his girlfriend booked him a session with me. After 3 treatments headaches were gone. My other patient had such bad pain in her neck and around her shoulder blade that she scheduled surgery. After several treatments the headache was gone and she cancelled the surgery a day prior to scheduled date. So this is how we take care of this nasty problem. First the tight muscles have to be released by hand. Next we use NeuroVascular Integration Technique. This is very cool and kind of magical. We balance out your nervous system. Yup, it can be done. And all you need to do is just lay on the table. It doesn't hurt and kind of feels amazing. Since it calms down the nervous system now we can work on your posture. This is even more fun. So check this out. The muscular holding is completely reflexive. This is how we are wired. You get stressed out and the muscles tense up. So it becomes my job to teach you how to relax and become aware of your posture. I base my exercises on work done by Joseph Pilates and Thomas Hanna who were complete geniuses in teaching people how to move. Now, this is not the type of exercise like lifting weights or running. This work is super relaxing and feels more like a yawn. We get into your muscle memory and unconscious muscular holding to teach you how to move again. The result – you feel energized, light, free and tall. You feel like your head can just center itself on your shoulders and the tension is gone. True story! In fact, I am so fired up about this exercise system that I am going to put together the “Joy of Movement Workshop.” Stay tuned. Yes, movement and life can feel terrific. You can feel happy, energized and young despite being of a certain age (J) and busy. Yes, it is possible and it is my job to show you how. I want to help you find that joy of movement again. But I’ll tell you more about it later. We don’t have to be bound by our life stresors, there is a different way. And you can keep your job and your responsibilities and feel amazing. The sooner you do something about it the better, the easier it is to take care of it. So if you or someone you know is suffering from headaches and neck pain, pass them this information and let’s get them some help. Headaches and neck issues are miserable and so preventable. You can start by downloading one of my E-books HERE or maybe you are ready to chat so press HERE. Or maybe you just need a little more time. I understand. Just remember, if you don’t take care of it, it only gets worse. Now go out there and have a terrific day! Elena
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 Photo by Carolina Heza on Unsplash I woke up this morning with a headache. You know the kind that starts in the back of your neck and then moves to your jaw and spreads behind your eye? You know the kind that makes you reach for an ibuprofen so that you can get through your day? UGH!!! The kids want breakfast, the dog needs to be walked and I need to get everyone dressed, packed and out the door… And I just want QUIET!
Sounds familiar? Headaches are very common. According to World Health organization 50% of population suffers from a headache disorder which is characterized by recurring headaches and includes tension headaches, migraine headaches and cluster headaches. Over the years I have worked with many patients who suffer from headaches. Interestingly most tension headaches are posture related. Most people who have a headache disorder have rounded shoulders and forward head posture. This is so common in our culture as we spend a lot of time sitting, working on the computer or staring at our phones. When the head is sitting slightly forward compared to the plane of the shoulders it is increasing the load on the muscles of the upper back and neck. The muscles on the back and front of your neck are trying as hard as they can to keep the 14-20 lb ball of brain on your shoulders. Over time they stiffen up and become rigid. The muscles then develop trigger points which in turn refer pain to the jaw, the front of the head or behind the eye. When treating patients with headaches I am able to reproduce their headache just by touching certain muscles. For the headache to get better these trigger points need to be released and the tight muscles need to be taught to relax. Although stretching and massage can help, it is not enough to get rid of headaches. The root cause of a headache disorder is the rounded shoulders and forward head posture and needs to be corrected. You need to teach your head how to stay on top of your shoulders rather than to migrate forward. The tiny little postural muscles which connect one vertebrae to the next have to be strengthened while keeping your spine in correct alignment. One of my patients had headaches for 40 years. Her headaches came on several times a week and she always had to carry ibuprofen with her. When the headache came on, she would have to lie down on her bed and turn of the lights. One day she just had enough and started looking for help. Her friend was a patient of mine and this is how we got to know each other. I saw her twice a week for few weeks and the frequency of headaches dropped. Then she came in once a week for a couple of weeks and headaches have stopped. Not only did she get rid of headaches her lower back pain decreased and she feels stronger than before starting her treatment. If you or someone you know is suffering from headaches, I shared some of my favorite tips with you in a free download: “7 Ways To Lessen The Severity Of Your Headache Without Taking Medication.” So back to my own morning headache… I overcame my desire for ibuprofen and did this quick technique which completely eliminated my headache. You can watch it here. https://youtu.be/n3m4pUQS5N4. Do you want to explore this further or want to talk about your particular situation? Click here. Here is to you headache free summer! This month we will be doing education series on headaches and how to prevent them. Stay tuned and follow us on Facebook Best Wishes Elena |
We help people who refuse to slow down
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