I developed severe neck pain from having a forward head posture, but the truth is that my hips were misaligned throwing off my whole skeletal system and THAT’S what the problem was. The source of the pain and the site of the pain were different and as a result I also started to have problems with my left shoulder. Once the hip jams in an up or down position the shoulder has to react. The neck pain was simply a symptom.
“How did you get that way”. My bout with Chronic Fatigue certainly had something to do with it, as my movement was reduced...and the body needs movement. Sitting too much and lack of overall movement creates a situation in the body where some muscles become weak and others tight.
"Some schools of Chinese medicine…refer to the shoulder and hip joints as the Four Knots and where there is an imbalance of tension or strength in any of the Four Knots problems…can occur…" according to Dr. Mark Cheng of kettlebellslosangeles.com
I started to tackle the problem by picking up Pete Egoscue’s, “Pain Free” book. The Egoscue Method is a unique and very effective program designed to treat musculoskeletal pain without drugs, surgery, or manipulation. It is a process, which involves a series of stretches and gentle “egoscuecises” designed specifically for each individual.
The process strengthens specific muscles and brings the body back to its proper alignment. It allows the body to function the way it was designed—pain free. I incorporated his exercises for neck pain, which primarily dealt with realigning the hips...my problem.
Seven days after starting the exercises my pain diminished by about 40%. Four weeks later I was 80% pain free, and six weeks later I was pain free...PAIN FREE!!!
If you would have told me that by doing some fairly simple exercises my battle with neck pain could be relieved, I would have thought you were absolutely crazy.
I also incorporated some other things like, increased H20, systemic enzymes, and facial stretching to the mix from Ming Chew’s, “Permanent Pain Cure”, along with using multiple types of "toys" for myofacial release which helped with tissue remodeling and pain.
If your tissue isn’t healthy and your body is out of alignment doing any strength training isn't a good idea. If you load the body vertically, it will just add to the dysfunction making things worse. So I stopped any strength training and waited the required 10 days per the Ming method.
After 10 days I incorporated Ming’s Strength program, which is meant to lock in the gains made from the facial stretching. It also targets fast twitch fibers along with helping correct lower and upper cross syndromes.
I’ll tell you next time about the final piece of the puzzle.
Be Safe
JC
