Hi,I was wondering if anyone knew any good massages/stretches for
neck tightness/soreness?
I broke my left collarbone a year ago. (Incidently my SD
symptoms began to appear gradually a few months afterwards
along with gradual onset of chronic soreness around my
shoulder blade and back of neck on the left side only--
although the doctors dismissed it as purely coincidental).
Anyways, I think the way the two halves of my collarbone
ended up (very misaligned) caused my left neck muscles to
shorten.
I actually got surgery 3 weeks ago to aligned my left collarbone
with plate and screws since it never healed. Afterwards, the
left side of my neck feels very tight. I cannot tilt my head
to the right (the left neck muscles become very taut) nearly as
much as I can tilt to the left. I also get the vague sense
that my voice quality is again fluctuating but I'm not sure.
-Michelle
(AD/SD)
Re: Any massages/stretches for neck tightness?
It sounds like what you're dealing with goes beyond the realm of what most of us would consider muscle tightness and soreness. You have muscles that have tightened up in response to a traumatic injury and sometimes the best way to deal with that is with the help of a good professional.
If your insurance plan allows you to have physical therapy, that would be a good place to start. They can use some fairly aggressive treatments to jumpstart the process of relaxing the muscles which have tightened up. Muscles will tighten up in response to the pain of an injury (or surgery) to help protect the body from further pain. It's called "guarding". But once those muscles become tight, it can be quite a process to force them to loosen up again. So it's nice to have someone who can assess your problem and use therapeutic means to help your recovery. They might use heat, ultrasound treatments, TENS (a type of electrical stimulation), massage, and eventually a personalized set of exercises and stretches for you to do at home.
Another option I like is going to an osteopathic physician who specializes in manipulation (one specific specialty is cranio-sacral manipulation). The specific reason I like osteopaths for structural problems is because their system of medicine is based on the importance of the body's structure as well as the body's functioning state. It just seems like a fairly holistic type of care. And when I've seen them for a problem, they will give me a good timeframe for how long it will take to "fix" the problem, and it's usually only a few visits. If it were me, I would probably want to see either a phys. therapist or an osteopath for at least a few visits, and then supplement that with good massage therapy. There is a woman who posts frequently on this BB (oops! I don't remember her name) who is a massage therapist in Calif. Maybe someone will post her name in response to me not being able to, and you can email her for specific massage ideas.
Also, several weeks ago there were a few postings about a specific type of chiropractic massage (again, I don't remember the name they gave it) but it sounded to me like a chiropractic version of the cranio-sacral manipulation you'd get from an O.D. Good luck in your recovery,
Susan L.,RN AB/AD SD, Colorado
Re: Any massages/stretches for neck tightness?
Hi Susan,Thanks for the tips and advice. How do I go about finding
a good osteopath? (I live in the San Francisco Bay Area).
I'm sure most of my friends don't even know what an
osteopath is? :) -Michelle
Re: Any massages/stretches for neck tightness?
Hi Michelle,
First, see Linda's post.... Robin Stull is the massage therapist whose name I couldn't remember. And she's in Calif... maybe she's in your general vicinity and can give you some references.In Colorado, the Yellow Pages group M.D.s and D.O.s together under the "physician" category, and following that category they are listed again in sub-categories for whatever their specialty is, and there is a sub-category for "Manipulative medicine". You might also try the American Academy of Osteopathy in Indianapolis, Indiana for the names of D.O.s in your locale who specialize in cranio-sacral manipulation. Best wishes for your recovery,
Susan
Re: Any massages/stretches for neck tightness?
I think the massage therapist you refer to is Robin Stull, AB/SD. And yes, she's in CA.
Linda
AB/SD Annapolis
Re: Any massages/stretches for neck tightness?
Hi Michelle,
Homax makes a very good personal massager that is available at Foleys,Wal-Mart,and Bed,Bath,and Beyond. I got one about 3 years ago and it has done wonders.Current cost is around $60.
With your pain and tightness is you head having a tendancy to tilt to the left side? I am having some of the same symptoms only mine are on right.The doctor I went to for treatment thinks it could be part of the Dystonia,which is were we get our SD from> you may want to research a little deeper.
If you have any questions,please feel free to e-mail me privately.I will be more than happy to compare notes.I will also keep an eye on the board for updates.Wishing you my best.......Mike
Re: Any massages/stretches for neck tightness?
Hi Mike,Thanks for the tip on the massager! At this point I have not noticed any other dystonia symptoms
in myself. My head does not have a tendency to tilt to the
left. When my collarbone broke, the half nearest my
breastbone was displaced upward and basically remained
that way for over a year. When I got my surgery, that
piece of the collarbone got moved down again to rejoin with
the other half. I think that just stretched out the neck
muscles that were attached to it. (I just wondered if it
was related to the development of my SD.) -Michelle
Re: Any massages/stretches for neck tightness?
Seems like whenever I go off the BB for a few days, my name comes up! :-) Michelle - please feel free to email me off the board if you want (just click on my name above.)I second Susan's recommendation about physical therapy. I'm fairly surprised that the doctor hasn't already perscribed PT after surgery of this sort. I usually see post-surgical patients after the PT round (and sometimes concurrently.) A good massage therapist of course will be able to help with muscle tightness, and also with self-help techniques. Two massage "locator" services on the web are found at http://www.amtamassage.org/findamassage/locator.htm (all therapists who have gained entry into the American Massage Therapy Association) and http://www.ncbtmb.com/database/query.asp (all therapists who have passed the exam of the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork.) I wish you well, Robin (AB/So. Calif./AMTA/NCTMB) :-)
Re: Any massages/stretches for neck tightness?
Might it be possible you have incipient ST = spasmodic torticollis = cervical dystonia?Sometime a case of SD = laryngeal dystonia can progress to neighbouring areas. I hope that isn't the case. David Barton (AD/SD, Auckland, NZ)
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