HOW TO GET RID OF A NECK STRAIN WITHIN 3 DAYS.
It was a very busy week. Too many sessions… definitely more than I should have done. I was trying to avoid tightness with stretching, was eating really clean and all done upfront with my meal prep.💪🏼
My Friday's morning 1on1 session went great and I felt I was ready to wrap up the week with energy. Then I got into my car and it just happened.
As I was sitting there I realized a huge tension kind of spasm on both sides of my trapezius running down from my head, through the neck and shoulders and in between my shoulder blades. I couldn't move my head properly and it was hurting in my jaw and in my ears.
Yet another invoice for thinking I could cope with everything… I thought to myself.🤦🏼♀️
When it comes to muscular pain, I have a huge advantage being a certified massage therapist helping people with this every day. So I can say I understand how this thing works and what understanding does is, it eliminates fear.
Acute pain caused by muscular injury, such a strain or a pulled muscle, is very intense at the beginning, but with a good plan it's gone within a few days.
The key is trying to stay calm and not to use painkillers (if possible), so that your body can give you feedback about improvements.
When you take a painkiller, no matter what you do after you will have no idea if it worked or not, because your nervous system is numbed.
Another important thing to do is to stimulate the circulation around the affected area using cold or heat depending on the type of inflammation.
The basic rule is - when it's red and swollen - use ice and when it's not swollen but very tight - use heat.
Activated circulation means that you can deliver more nutrients to the area, so you accelerate the healing of the tissue. I prefer to use heat most of the time, because it relaxes the nervous system. Trying to keep the nervous system chilled in these situations is gold, because when we are nervous or worried, we unconsciously tense muscles around the affected area and that tension is compressing the circulation and limiting the delivery of oxygen and nutrients.
So instead of worrying about the pain I suddenly had in my neck and thinking I might need to see a doctor and take painkillers, within a few minutes I had a plan of action in place without needing to see anyone and without using harmful drugs.
And on top of that I knew I´ll be perfectly fine and pain free by Sunday.
So here is what I did.
I looked at my schedule to see what I can reduce. I knew I had 2 more sessions in the afternoon that I didn´t want to cancel, but I´ve decided to eliminate everything else, especially computer work, because in that position my neck would get worse.
Oh yes, there was a lot of internal struggle about that in my head, blaming myself for being inconsistent, no blog entry and no newsletter would arrive to my subscribers and it felt unprofessional.
But then I thought to myself… wait a minute… if all that I´m talking about is wellness and self care, not taking time for my own body´s recovery would make me a hypocrite!
Decision made - no computer work until Sunday.
From the first moment I started with gentle and slow stretches. Again, movement stimulates circulation and even if it hurts it´s good for you.
But I´ll repeat it again - GENTLE.
In my case it looked like I was moving my head slowly to different positions and stayed in those where it was hurting more, taking a few deep breaths… yes, you read it right - I kept those positions where it hurt more and was trying to relax with breathing. Just the opposite that we usually do - running away from the pain.
Being curious during these gentle stretching moments will teach you a lot. It is like a real time anatomy session with a real feedback from your nervous system.
And here is another not so obvious pain approach - acknowledging the pain and being present.
Not fighting it or pretending it’s not there, because it will make it stay longer or convert it into a chronic issue.
When we surrender and acknowledge it as a temporary fact, trusting the body’s ability to heal itself, the mind relaxes more and there will be less tension and less stress in the body.
DAY 1
My target of the day 1 was - accepting the pain as a temporary visitor, keep stretching the neck, keeping it warm wearing a turtleneck sweater for the rest of the day, avoid computer work and get to bed as soon as I came back home, skipping the dinner.
Now you might think… wait, what? Why skipping dinner?🤷🏼♀️
First of all, when my body needs to heal from something, what I feel is no hunger but usually I’m really tired and just want to sleep. By skipping a meal I’m saving a huge amount of energy that doesn’t need to be used for digestion, rather it’s used to repair the tissue.
Imagine you have an army fighting an important battle, would you send half of your troops away in the middle of it?
It’s called intermittent fasting and it really works for reducing the inflammation!
DAY 2.
I’ve had a really long, more than 10 hours of sleep and the next morning I realized my pain was almost gone on 1 side. The right side was still tight and painful, but a significant improvement on the left side confirmed that I was on the right track.
I took a long shower, pouring hot water on my neck to stimulate the circulation again and continued with gentle stretching all day.
I was committed not to work at the computer, although I had a few sessions during the day, I knew it’s gonna be fine if I just kept my approach - a huge green juice in the morning packed with nutrients, ginger and omega 3 (inflammation warriors), hot teas and soups to warm up my body and relax the nervous system, gentle stretching and loads of rest.
DAY 3.
After another long night of sleep I woke up on Sunday and I was pain free.🤸🏼♀️
Now, this approach is valid for acute muscular strain or tension. You cannot expect the same results if you suffer from chronic pain, because it is usually a result of long term lifestyle decisions and can be repaired holistically through lifestyle changes.
But the 3 basic steps are common in both situations.
You need to accept the pain as a temporary visitor, not denying it or pretending it doesn’t exist.
You need to let pain teach you - being curious about the positions where it hurts and those where it doesn’t, find out what works better - cold or heat, adjust your nutrition packed with anti-inflammatory foods and figure out the best healing ways to rest.
You must NOT let the pain stay with you for a lifetime - you need to commit to some serious self care based on anti-inflammatory lifestyle.
Doesn’t matter what kind of pain visits you, believe in your body’s ability to heal itself.
Surround yourself with a like minded community where you feel supported on your journey toward a pain free version of yourself - you can start with my FB group HOLISTIC PAIN RELIEF THROUGH HEALTHY POSTURE AND LIFESTYLE, where you will find weekly postural alignment classes to follow and uplifting conversations.
Cannot wait to meet you there - are you ready for a pain free life?🌸