Neck Pain? Check Your Shoulders and Breathing

While listening to a teleseminar with the great Shirley Sahrmann and Gray Cook on my run this morning, I hear this quote:

"Don't let your shoulders destroy your neck."

What does that mean, you may ask?  Remember the old song, "The hand bone's connected to the arm bone, the arm bone's connected to the shoulder bone, etc."?  Well, it turns out that this is true.  If you find yourself in pain somewhere in your body, don't jump to the conclusion that the site and source are one and the same.

Back to the neck and shoulder.  There are some important muscles that help move the shoulder blades (scapulae) called the levator scapulae and the upper trapezii.  One end of their attachments (origins) are on various parts of the cervical (upper) spine.  So, if you are having neck issues and find it painful to rotate your head into various positions, try these simple steps to see if you can find some relief.  First, rotate your head from side to side and forward and backward in standing to find your range of motion capacity.  Then, try sitting in a chair with armrests and prop your forearms on them.  You are essentially "unweighting" your shoulders in this position.  Now, retest your head movements to see if you notice any improvement.  You can also take the shoulders out of play by lying on your back and assessing your rotation.  Gravity won't be tugging at your shoulders in this supine position.

If you notice an improvement in your available pain-free range of motion with your shoulders "out of the way" so to speak, next check your breathing patterns.  One of the reasons that those aforementioned muscles may be contributing to your neck pain is if they are working overtime to assist with your breathing.  Healthy breathing patterns, as I've written about in the past, involve the diaphragm, and shouldn't rely on these accessory muscles of respiration.  If you find that you're someone who holds their stress and tension in your upper back and shoulders, there's a good chance your breathing is out of whack.

So, next time you experience a problem with your neck, look further away from the site of your discomfort.  You may be surprised to learn what's actually driving your pain in the first place.