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PINCHED NERVE RELIEF


BigStewMan

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yeah, it took far too many years before i finally started to listen to my body. down to about 208 (from 234), haven't had a beer since december 26th--just need to get committed to an exercise routine. was visiting my daughter on saturday, and they were working in the back yard. my son in law recently retired from professional cycling--he raced against lance armstrong and those guys for years. anyway, he is now a personal trainer at a private gym. he had his shirt off and wearing shorts and man, that guy was ripped. washboard abs, muscle definition in his back, arms, legs. eating right and working out is his lifestyle. made me wish i had taken care of myself, don't get me wrong, i'm not fat or anything; but, i'm definately not in shape. i can't run around the block, and he can ride his back from newport beach, ca to san diego and back for his workout (not sure exactly but i'm guessing around 80 miles each way).

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OK so I guess I'm an offical member of this club, about 12 years ago I was rear ended at 70mph (I was stopped) I have herniation at c-6/c-7 that hurts all the time, then just to make things intresting I have a lumbar thing that shows up when it wants to and then I usally can't phisically stand up for a few days. I try I just can't. I see my choice as live my life and eat pills as needed or sit down and wait to die. This past fall and winter were one of the worst times ever for my neck. I bought some weights, a bench and stuff 2 years ago, but having never lifted, I had a hard time for a few reasons, mostly just always felt like I must be doing it wrong. Aside from not knowing what to do for any particular area. So now the weights just sit. I just ordered both of the books the were mentioned. I went through PT and Chrio for a first few years after the accident, but don't know that any of it helped. The Chrio I was seeing seemed to think of chriopratic as a religion, which put me off of Chrio. I had me first appointment at a new PT place 2 weeks ago (just did an eval) the next day I had the flu really bad and aren't better yet so haven't been back yet. Hopefully I can get over this flu. Something they noticed during eval was that no matter what I did my neck muscles would not relax, aparently my neck is tense 24 hours a day and has been for many years. They are of the opinion I need to strech, relax, and strengthen. Which seems to go whith what some of you guys say.

I never would have guessed so many on the forum have trouble. Nice to know there are people to share with.

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Been there as well!

I have been battling Rheumatoid Arthritis for the last 17 years of my life (hundreds of knee drainings, arthroscopic surgery on my right knee, excruciating pain in most of my joints at one time or another in that timeframe, etc), but the pain I endured from that pinched nerve (c2/c3) was the most excruciating I have ever experienced. Crying pain... and it was constant, day and night. The pain would run from my neck, down my right arm and into my right hand, and into my numb fingers.

I dealt with the pain for eight weeks and tried everything the doctor asked me to. Physical Therapy, Chiropractor, Vicoden and Percoset, muscle relaxants... none of this worked. I was almost on the verge of surgury (I was desperate) when the Neurosurgeon suggesed I try a neck brace. Basically, a contraption strapped to your neck attached to a string, that has a 10 - 20 lb bag of water attached on the other end, and is connected to a door with a pulley at the top. The idea is to pull the neck up off the nerve for 15 minutes twice a day. After about 5 or 6 days of this I started to feel some relief. Within a couple of weeks the pain went away. For me this did the trick, and I have never dealt with this since. That was 7 years ago.

I hope you find what works for you.

Mike

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Saw this thread and have to comment, 13 years ago i was working for a carpenter in N/E illinois and during the winter working outside and was carrying 2 4x8 sheets of 3/4" subfloor through the greasy, icy,wet snow and fell on my right shoulder and twisted my neck to the ground aided by the heavy wet plywood, got up brushed it off like us blue collar workers always do and finished the day of work.

When i got home and in the shower washing my hair and it hit me like a ton of bricks, my neck hurt so bad right under my skull i could not work,sleep,sit or anything else for maybe a month but after a week of sick days i called my boss to let him know what happened he called me a liar and would not help out in any way and to boot i never got the health insurance i was promised after 6 months.

Anyways i ended up losing my house i saved for years, the woman i loved because she wanted somebody to provide for her and i could not and of course my job because i was no longer able to work. After a year of living in a cheap apartment compliments of my loving parents i was able to get a part time job at a pet store with health insurance. Ended up getting a nerve block on my upper spine, what a horrible feeling the needle scraping on what felt like my lower skull. things got better or at least bearable but still to this day if i sleep wrong, sneeze, lift the wrong way the pain and nausea come back, not much works for me but advil helps enough to get me back on my feet.

Recently i was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy and going through the same crap though this has no cure and keeps getting worse but thats another story.

Hope everybody gets better and stays healthy, best of luck.

Jason

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Jason, that it a real sucky story dude--i'm very, very sorry that you have went through that. after reading that, i'm going to stop whinning immediately.

i really don't know what to say, other than i sure hope that the pain goes away completely, and you are able to rebuild your life, and it's better than ever before. someday, some lady will come along and love you for who you are not what you can provide, and your happiness scale will go off the charts.

hang in there my friend,

Steve

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Brac,

It sounds like you have been having a battle with your body for some time now. I am not a doctor nor do I claim to be. (That is Dr. Cochlears pretend job, or was) [:)] I can only relay what has helped me.

Don't think of me as a quack but your body, mind and soul need to all be "centered". These three critical entities help one another. Now if you are not a spiritual person then treat this as Body and Mind. Eitherway, it should work. But for me faith seems to assist the mind, the mind assists the body and so on... So getting back to your spasms in the neck. I don't know you or anything about you but muscles tend to spasm under duress. Looking at Wikipedia...

A spasm is a sudden, involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ, or a similarly sudden contraction of an orifice. It is sometimes accompanied by a sudden burst of pain,
but is usually harmless and ceases after a few minutes. Spasmodic
muscle contraction may also be due to a large number of medical
conditions, including the dystonias.


"By extension, a spasm is a temporary burst of energy, activity, emotion, stress, or anxiety.


A subtype of spasms is colic, an episodic pain due to spasms of smooth muscle in a particular organ (e.g. the bile duct). A characteristic of colic is the sensation of having to move about, and the pain may induce nausea or vomiting if severe. Series of spasms or permanent spasms are called a spasmism.


In very severe cases, the spasm can induce muscular contractions
that are more forceful than the sufferer could generate under normal
circumstances. This can lead to torn tendons and ligaments.


Hysterical strength is argued to be a type of spasm induced by the brain under extreme circumstances.


Spasms can be caused by insufficient hydration, muscle overload or absence of some minerals (as magnesium)."

The possible causes of neck spasms include:[2]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neck_spasm

The neck and spine are complicated structures and you will probably always have some form of discomfort in your vertibrae, but learning to destress and meditate on relaxation can do wonders for improving your lifestyle. The mind can control the body.

Champion athletes prepare for competitition by moving their minds through the motions of visualization. Meditation is a form of visualization where you steer your body into a mode of relaxation. In yoga a form of meditation is taught at the end of the session called chivazna. (spelling?) You can think of it as a nap. But what you are doing is focusing your mind in a disciplined form to tell your body to relax. The primary focus is on your breathing and individual muscle groups. 5 minutes of this meditation can be equal to 1-2 hours of sleep if done correctly. I like to use a method where you squeeze the muscle that is tight, tighter. By compressing beyond the spasm you reset the muscle. This process is down while you breath deeply but ever so slowly. The process tells your body to reset and relax. I suspect this might work with your neck also. Try a yoga class once. It's only $10-20 which is a lot cheaper than a doctor.

There are a lot of misconceptions about yoga but eastern practices can improve upon western medicine. Everyone can benefit from yoga and meditation. It is free and effective.

I would be cautious about using weights also. They can work well if you use them properly but they can also get you into a lot of injuries. Especially if you don't have general muscle strength already. You can get very fit without any weights. It is more critical to workout with others though. You will push each other to do better and it makes it more fun for all.

I hope this helps...Good Luck!

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