by Julie Donnelly
The muscles in the back of your neck cause severe headaches
because they pull on your scalp, and they cause compression on
the vertebre of your neck and pinch the nerves in your neck.
All of these situations will cause you to have pain shooting
into your head.
The back of your neck is actually the beginning of the muscles
in your upper back. Most of the muscles that originate here
travel down your shoulders and upper back, spasms in this area
are a major cause for tightness in the neck. When a person has
headaches, we always look at the back first.
We suggest you either learn first how to do all the back
treatments that are taught in ???The Pain-Free Triathlete??? or ???The
Pain-Free Swimmer???, or find a good deep muscle therapist who can
work out the tight muscles for you. After you have released
your back muscles you will find it easier to be successful with
the neck treatments.
The muscles of the upper back and neck are primary to the relief
of tension headaches. If you suffer with tension headaches these
treatments, done on a regular basis, will be of great benefit.
If you are having a headache, the treatment will reduce the
intensity almost immediately. In the case of severe tension
headaches, we have found that clients can successfully decrease
the intensity of the headache by themselves, but they need to
have a course of deep-muscle treatments for the pain to
disappear completely.
Teresa was a client who suffered from severe headaches for
years. They seriously interfered with her work as a lawyer, her
life as a mom, and her passion for sports. She was on strong
medications to deal with the pain, and the drugs had serious
side effects.
Examination showed that all the muscles of her upper back and
neck were in severe spasm. It took several treatments to make a
major difference, although the severity of the headaches
lessened immediately. Gradually she was able to begin cutting
back on her medications, and eventually she went off them
completely! It was a fantastic breakthrough for her. After four
years she is still pain free, and maintains her muscles with
regular self-treatment.
There are so many muscles in the back of your neck that we will
be giving you general directions. Although you will naturally do
both sides of your neck, to make explanation easier, we'll be
describing how to work on the left side of the neck, using the
right hand. This is actually a continuation of the upper back
and shoulder treatments. If you read the directions regarding
your shoulder in the following chapter, it will make this
treatment easier to do.
Bring your right arm across the front of your body, placing
the three middle fingers of your right hand onto the muscles
just left of your cervical vertebrae. With your right fingers
crooked, and your arm at an angle from your body, move your
middle fingers up the back of the neck.
If you "walk" up the muscles, using deep pressure, you can find
the spasms easily. If it hurts when you press on a spot, you've
found a spasm. To treat it, just put your middle finger right
onto the point, and pull your elbow out from your body, and then
down toward the floor. Remember, all strength comes from your
arm, not from your hand.
Go all the way from your shoulder junction up to your skull.
Make three "lines"; the first will be right next to your spine,
then 1" to the left, and then again 1" further to the left.
If you feel something that is like a slippery rope sliding under
your fingers, know that it is a contracted muscle. Normally it
shouldn't feel like that, and your goal is to flatten and
lengthen it. You can do that by centering onto the muscle,
pressing deeply in on it, and then pulling your fingers down
toward the floor WITHOUT sliding on your skin.
To increase the stretch of the muscle you can drop your head
directly down toward your chest while you are pressing the
muscle, and slightly turn your chin toward the opposite
shoulder. Remember that you want to do a 60-second stretch, so
try to hold each point for 10-15 seconds.
When you are finished, shake out your shoulders and neck by
moving drawing your shoulders up and then dropping them while
you are turning your head. By the way, if you hear little
crackling sounds in your neck, don't worry. It's called "
crepitus", caused by little air pockets being released from
muscle fibers - sort of like popping little air-filled ???bubble
wrap??? bumps.
The next important movement is a bit tricky but, with practice,
you'll do just fine. When a person is having a headache this
muscle is very pronounced and easy to grasp.
To grab this muscle tilt your head back, relax, put your
fingertips directly over your spine, and put your thumb about 3"
out from the spine. In between you will feel a tight rope of
muscle. Grip it as firmly as you can. You'll find it's quite
painful, especially if you are experiencing a headache.
Stay within your own tolerance level, but do grip with good
pressure. The closer to your scalp you can grip, the faster your
headache will subside.
With all of the above Julstro self-treatments, while you are
pressing, or gripping, move your head until you feel the muscle
stretching - this will hasten the benefits of the treatments.
Headaches take a long time to go away completely, but you should
be able to bring some relief after just a few minutes.
There are many muscles that cause headaches, some are on your
skull, another is located in your upper back - the levator
scapulae. To learn how to treat these muscles, order ???The
Pain-Free Triathlete??? or ???The Pain-Free Runner??? eBooks.
Julie Donnelly, LMT and Zev Cohen, MD are the authors of a series
of printed books and eBooks teaching the Julstro Self-Treatment
Method for relief of muscle/joint pains throughout the body, and
a video system teaching self-treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome.
This article is an excerpt from the eBook "The Pain-Free
Triathlete". More information can be found at: www.julstro.com
and www.aboutwristpain.com
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Health Tips!
Senna
This herb is a powerful laxative. Senna tastes terrible, so most
herbalists recommend a tincture or a commercial product. To
avoid abdominal distress, do not take more than the package
directions specify.
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Health Tips!
A Little Nuts
Reducing your risk of a heart attack may be as easy as eating a
couple handfuls of peanuts each week. In a study, men who ate
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2003 The Alternative Medicine Review and News.
Legal/Disclaimer:
The products and the claims made about specific products on or
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--Wayne
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