Neck muscles cause headaches

[Pranaman]

Doctor says my headaches are from muscle contractions. My neck is usually sore, and I don't want to take the muscle relaxant he gave me. so.... do you guys have any physical therapy techniques or self applied acupressure/massage or anything for the neck?

[Fire Dragon]

Hi

 

An easy start:

 

Lay down on your back at the floor. Massage the edge of the lower part of the skull, let the heads own weight do the pressure. Massage the area at all places the midle and the lateral.

 

Have someone massaging the area from the neck to the shoulders, with theire (The arm part from hand to elbow, I forgot the name of it) This part of the arm could do circular movements and some pressure to relize pain in that area to.

 

There is also a wery good shoulder relaxing exercise in accupressure. The therapist in that branch usually start theire sessions with it, as far as I have noticed. But I not know it by heart, perhaps someone else.

 

If myself would also do some easy hatha yoga exercises for neck problems. Do this exercises with care and realy feel into the area when you do them. If they feel uncomortable then stop. Feel into the muscles what happens while doing them.

 

 

This is actually a part of a program, that in reality work with the whole body for full effect.

 

1 Start with having your hands on your shoulders and the elbows right out. Hold the hands on the shoulders while you rotate your elbow in as big circles as you can mannage.

 

2 Just drop (slowly) the head to the left withiout any rotation in the neck and let it hang there for some seconds. Then move slowly your head upp and lett it drop slowly to the right and let it hang there for a few seconds. Repeat to both sides 10 times.

 

3 Have the head up. Rotate it so that you lock to the left, still head up, stop when the muscles stop you, not using any force here. Then slowly rotate all the way to the rigth side, head up all the time and stop there in the same way. Repeat 10 times.

 

4 Head up. Let it drop slowly to the front and stop for a few seconds, then back up. stop when it is completely raised. Let it drop slowly backwards, if it not to uncomfortable and stop and stay for a few seconds then back. repeat for a few seconds.

 

Do this exercises at least 3 times a weak. At the maximum once a day.

 

 

Learn some self massage

Go and get acupressure

Do a sport that activates the shoulders like swiming

Learn hatha yoga in a group class with a cualified teacher

Go to an acupunturist to see if there is any important imballances causing this problem

Go to a kiropraktor or similar to start with

 

 

 

Good luck

 

 

F D

[Pranaman]

thanks for the fast reply. I am already learning yichuan and taiji from a qualified teacher, so I don't really have the time or money to learn hatha yoga as well. I will ask my teacher for help too because he seems to know about body work and such too.

 

I will do your exercises and report back here with results in a few weeks or so.

[sheng zhen]

Pranaman, if you find a KMI(Structural Integration) practitioner in your area they will be able to do magic with your neck. As they did with mine. KMI is pretty much the same as Rolfing but without the pain.

 

Or you can try to find a bodyworker that works with the Anatomy Trains concept: www.anatomytrains.com.

 

They will be able to do magic for your ZZ as well. Structural Integration is working to melt all tissue blockages so the body can stand naturally in the ZZ position, perfectly aligned and balanced with gravity.

[松永道]

thanks for the fast reply. I am already learning yichuan and taiji from a qualified teacher, so I don't really have the time or money to learn hatha yoga as well. I will ask my teacher for help too because he seems to know about body work and such too.

 

I will do your exercises and report back here with results in a few weeks or so.

 

Hey man,

 

How have the headaches been since you started practicing Yiquan and Taiji? Did they start with the practice?

 

I ask because these practices should open the neck and shoulders, but performed improperly can put more tension into the shoulders. As does improper Yoga. Keeping the shoulders down to give the neck space is key. In Taiji this is called developing the turtle back.

 

In Yoga, creating space for the back of the neck is more obvious and more emphasized. In Taiji, you develop proper form, energy flow, and relaxation by practicing large frame first. Practicing too small, too soon will bring about qi stagnation in the neck, shoulders, elbows, etc. Lately it seems small frame has been getting all the hype, but it's ridiculous, you need to be able to perform both.

 

Generally, I've found Zhanzhuang also helps the neck, but you need to stand long enough through let the qi flow clear out the painful stagnations.

[joeblast]

turtle neck/crane neck/dragon neck

[zanshin]

I tried to find instruction and found you a video, this is great for headaches that start in back of head, try it with someone's help, if it helps there is a plastic thing you can position like the Dr's hand to do it yourself google suboccipital release, I didn't copy a link for the plastic thing.

 

http://www.fammed.wisc.edu/our-department/...cipital-release

 

Also be concious of tension in jaw and eyes, sort of a positive feedback cycle all tense together, eyes soft, tongue resting on the roof of your mouth jaw soft, shoulders and shoulder blades relaxed and even better than down lightly into a V with it's apex at about the bottom of your rib cage okay. Are you hiking your shoulder blades a little when you do the movement forms, keep them relaxed just let them float up without exessive tension.

[zanshin]

I mean let your arms float up while keeping the muscle that runs from your the top of your shoulder to the top of your neck (upper traps and levator scapulae) relaxed.

 

Plastic thing is called suboccipital soother, make sure technique works for you because I think a lot of money for a plastic thing, foam roller might work too.

[Fire Dragon]

thanks for the fast reply. I am already learning yichuan and taiji from a qualified teacher, so I don't really have the time or money to learn hatha yoga as well. I will ask my teacher for help too because he seems to know about body work and such too.

 

I will do your exercises and report back here with results in a few weeks or so.

 

 

Hello

 

I think you will get alot of good feedback on your problems. So you have to choose visely. Perhaps start with something easy and then if that not helps you go more into the depth of things. Absolutely you should talk with your teacher and see if hes advises helps you.

 

You can also check your standing position to see if your chin has a tendency to move forward. That is a common problem of bad alignment, that cases many of the known neck problems.

 

There is also a connection betwean the trapetzius muscle and the lower calf and the psoas muscls in that sence that if one of them are wery tence then the others also are tense.

 

Why I told you about hatha yoga was beacase that always have helped me when I myself have had problems with the neck or the spine. Perhaps it is not nessesarily to go much courses in it, I myself learned two programs from a book and this two programs always have helped me. I do the easy beginners program with the neck exercises in it alternating with a program designed to help the back. One of them each day. The authour to the book is swami janakananda and it is about yoga, tantra and meditation. I just recomend it beacase it helped me and of corse you have to choose what is the best for you in your situation. For me if I have those problems eiher in the neck or in the shoulders this two programs from the book have solved it everytime in a couple of days, at a maximum 10 days to a cure. But everybody is different and there is no cure all method out there.

 

 

Hope all this helps you a litle and good luck with your investigation of finding your method to cure it.

 

F D

[Pranaman]

my sifu gave me some exercises to do as well as worked on some kinks in my neck (and damn, he never shows us anything that doesn't hurt haha + it worked really well right away + felt really good but really painful too), and talked a little bit about tense muscles.

Edited May 21, 2009 by Pranaman

[Fire Dragon]

my sifu gave me some exercises to do as well as worked on some kinks in my neck (and damn, he never shows us anything that doesn't hurt haha + it worked really well right away + felt really good but really painful too), and talked a little bit about tense muscles.

 

 

 

Seems to be a good start!

 

 

F D

[松永道]

my sifu gave me some exercises to do as well as worked on some kinks in my neck (and damn, he never shows us anything that doesn't hurt haha + it worked really well right away + felt really good but really painful too), and talked a little bit about tense muscles.

 

Go on.. what did the trick for you? What where you doing wrong and what did you need to be doing right?

[Pranaman]

Go on.. what did the trick for you? What where you doing wrong and what did you need to be doing right?

 

Basically a deep tissue massage at the sight of pain (where neck meets head), in addition to a shoulder related exercise that involves the shoulders completely down and relaxed, swinging the arms, making/letting them stretch all the way forward, then when at peak height (far above head level - shoulders still relaxed and down), letting the hand free fall for a split second then pull it with simple forearm/bicep movement to slap the opposite collar bone/shoulder area. leaves my shoulders feeling very relaxed. Tired, exercised, sweating, collar bone skin very sore, and my shoulders are relaxed and it's obvious that it's helping my neck. He prescribed 15mins a day, which at first was a long endured exercise but what was 10mins now seems like 5mins....

 

Other exercises follow but they are still the same principles, just in different directions.

Edited May 22, 2009 by Pranaman

[awake]

There is something very powerful and genius i learned from Richard Bandler.

 

Muscles take cues from the skin, so the poeple into deep tissue massage are going the wrong way.

 

Put your hand over your neck (or both hands to cover more area) and tighten the muscles in your hands (dont squeeze youe neck) as you breathe in, then relax the muscles in your hands as you breathe out.

 

Do this a few times and you will be amazed at the results. No more "through pain comes pleasure" massage approach!

 

Also afterwards try giving yourself permission to relax fully, and telling yourself (then doing so) to relax. It works. Just don't fight.

Edited May 22, 2009 by awake

[松永道]

Muscles take cues from the skin, so the poeple into deep tissue massage are going the wrong way.

 

Put your hand over your neck (or both hands to cover more area) and tighten the muscles in your hands (dont squeeze youe neck) as you breathe in, then relax the muscles in your hands as you breathe out.

 

Very interesting!

[Pranaman]

There is something very powerful and genius i learned from Richard Bandler.

 

Muscles take cues from the skin, so the poeple into deep tissue massage are going the wrong way.

 

Put your hand over your neck (or both hands to cover more area) and tighten the muscles in your hands (dont squeeze youe neck) as you breathe in, then relax the muscles in your hands as you breathe out.

 

Do this a few times and you will be amazed at the results. No more "through pain comes pleasure" massage approach!

 

Also afterwards try giving yourself permission to relax fully, and telling yourself (then doing so) to relax. It works. Just don't fight.

 

I like Bandler alot, and I tried this. It worked but not as well as the painful bodywork. I've got this thing I like about pain; must be because it's a natural part of life.

[WhiteTiger]

I like Bandler alot, and I tried this. It worked but not as well as the painful bodywork. I've got this thing I like about pain; must be because it's a natural part of life.

 

I would like to happily disagree with you here.

 

Pain isn't a natural phenomenon.

 

When something isn't natural you may feel pain.

 

Than again this disbelieve in pain not being natural is probably a totally different discussion. Because I define the word pain as something from great suffering. Muscle tension and putting lots of effort really fast to make it relax (immediately relax) may hurt but that's just because you mind has not adjusted to the feeling. Over time doing this continuously every time you feel pain (or at least daily, and wouldn't hurt to do this type of deeper message on the area at the same time of day) Your mind is going against what can be over time very helpful to you. It turns into a mind over matter sort of game.

 

(of course the more time you put into doing this daily... or even better yet put as much time as you need to put into doing this deep tissue message your teacher showed you, every time it hurts and until the hurtting is totally away. If you do this religiously I can guarantee after 2 weeks periods you will have some obvious changes for the good. Two key point, 1, when it starts to hurt you do this deep message EVERYSINGLE time until the pain gone. 2, you need to spend time on feeling and being sensitive to the difference between tension in the area and hurting. They are different but never the less could easily be interconnected.

 

(If the body gets used to a tension feeling on your body you could be really hurting BUT the the mind will not think of it as hurting)

 

This is just the body mind just flexing different directions. The importance of Taiji like practices focus a lot of feeling while a lot of external like practice focus on using lots of tension to strengthen and build up the body ability to deal with its applied force... you may also get lots of positive side effects... Just think of weight lifters (a lot of them have over period of time more confidence and many other benefits too)

 

Oh just to add a lot of weight lifters don't work on there mind... making them insacure and have other sorts of issues. This is where martial arts comes into positive play here. To strengthen of the mind.(focus for longer periods of time) The ability to flex the mind.(able to understand that things can be much bigger then they seem)

 

Alright that's enough of me explaining of external.

[Pranaman]

I agree with you, but we are dissecting our language here. To rephrase, I'm drawn to experiencing what my mind interprets as pain, like zhan zhuang and deep tissue massage, because it is ultimately good for me.

[sheng zhen]

I agree with you, but we are dissecting our language here. To rephrase, I'm drawn to experiencing what my mind interprets as pain, like zhan zhuang and deep tissue massage, because it is ultimately good for me.

But deep tissue massage does not need to be painful anymore. New research suggests that fascia is more like a non-newtonian fluid(a little like this:

). When approached with sudden force it gets hard and stuck. But when approached with soft and slow force it melts.

 

My experience is that with the fascia melting techniques I get a lot better results both physical and energetical than when the massage therapist dig deep into my fascia and try to tear me apart.

 

But some people like it tough and rough

[WhiteTiger]

I agree with you, but we are dissecting our language here. To rephrase, I'm drawn to experiencing what my mind interprets as pain, like zhan zhuang and deep tissue massage, because it is ultimately good for me.

 

ok , than it doesn't matter what language we use (what words we use) as long as we understand eachother and getting our ideas across properly

 

(didn't mean to go into deep discussion about specific words... although of course i kind of did. Sorry)

 

I prefer soft much better, although soft or hard it doesn't matter the method as long as it works and it gets results.

[Pranaman]

that's pretty sweet and getting results is all that matters. The thing I was trying to get across at the beginning was something I saw in a documentary about Shifu Yan Ming. They said something along the lines of physical pain and physical wellness all being a part of nature, so the shaolin monks train to experience both. I think it mostly involves that you may want to condition your body to tolerate pain if you plan on being a martial artist. and it might have had something to do with karma, pain in training means that you don't have to feel it later via karma (this could have possibly just been somebody talking out there ass, I don't remember but seem to believe this was in the documentary).

 

The important thing is right here right now. So soft or hard, healing and balance is the goal.