What's Causing Your Neck Pain?
There are several reasons why your neck might be sore, and one of the more common causes is levator scapulae syndrome (LSS). What is LSS and why would anyone be interested in it? Well, the truth is that it’s something many of us suffer from because the causes are so prevalent:
- Stress, anxiety, even depression
- Daily postural complications, eg from using cell phones, tablets and computers
- Carrying bags and purses on one shoulder
- Sports
- Cervical spine issues
Your levator scapulae muscle connects your scapulae to your cervical spine (i.e. your shoulder to your neck). It basically lifts your scapulae and helps with downward rotation of these bones.
Most of us suffer from some kind of levator scapulae issue or another, even if it’s not causing us any real concern. If you do the right things regarding your posture, including getting frequent chiropractic, physiotherapy, massage, acupuncture, etc., then you’re probably not suffering as much as some. And we may have LSS issues without even knowing it, because these are some of the signs and symptoms:
- Neck and shoulder pain
- Headaches
- Reduced range of movement in the neck and shoulders
- Difficulty sleeping (due to the pain)
And so of course LSS crosses over into other issues, so you may have LSS without it being defined as such - you’ve just been conditioned to call it something else, eg “tension headaches.” Luckily, this is irrelevant for the most part, because a well-trained and experienced Yellow Gazebo chiropractor, physiotherapist, massage therapist, acupuncturist or osteopath will just need you to tell us where and how it hurts.
What Can Help Your Neck Pain?
With this information we can release the right muscles and give you the right exercises and voila, the symptoms and the syndrome will lessen. Disappear? One hopes, of course, and with extensive focus on the issue this is more likely, but the common scenario is that we get things working to a better point than you were previously used to, and this seems like enough of a miracle(and is for the most part!).So do your best to fight the need for a single “diagnosis” of your neck pain (or shoulder pain or headaches), and do see someone about it, because you don’t have to suffer it and you don’t have to just mask it with medication. You can actually get it treated, and you can learn the right exercises and lifestyle changes so that you don’t need to have extensive work on it for your whole life.
The following is only a start, of course, but this is how you can stretch your levator scapulae muscle (I do advise you, however, to learn this first from a professional, and only then try it on your own using these instructions as a guide):
Sitting or standing, turn your face towards one of your armpits. Then, as though you were trying to sniff your armpit, use the hand of that same side to pull your face towards it. The other arm can hang at your side, go behind your back, or if you’re sitting, can grip the side of the chair. When stretched, switch and do the other side.
If you’d like some more information on how we can help with your neck pain, would like to book a free consultation or would like to go ahead and schedule an appointment at Yellow Gazebo, please give us a call at 416-909-2334, email us at info@yellowgazeboclinic.com, or use the online booking link below. We’ll be happy to help you get on your way to optimum health.
