Friday, October 12, 2007

Kinked back?

You know how sometimes if you move suddenly in an odd way you can get a kink in your neck? WELL, I'm not really sure what happened, but somewhere in between the time I picked up my clean laundry from the drier and when I set it down in my room (after lugging it up 4 flights of stairs) I discovered that I seem to have kinked my entire upper back. Yes folks, I can no longer turn my chin past either shoulder and it not only hurts my neck, but every muscle in between my shoulder-blades. Sometimes I amaze myself with what I am capable of... Anyway, I slept on a cold pack and now I'm trying to get my mini hot pack to be situated such that it will cover a maximal amount of afflicted area. Any advice on how to over-come would be greatly appreciated.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, ow.

I'm not a physical therapist but I've been to a few, and I had a neck injury. I don't want to steer you wrong, but I'd keep up

1) massage (self-massage and massage from someone else)
2) gentle range of motion exercises; keep the muscles stretched and moving as much as you think won't further stress them

It's hard to give more meaningful tips from afar. Good luck and here's to speedy healing!

MommaMcCarthy said...

Thanks! Though I'm still in pain, I already have increased range of motion! (ie I can look directly over both shoulders w/out pain now) I'm glad to know that massaging is okay, so I'll keep doing that :)

Anonymous said...

Libby, You really should call me when these things happen! I don't check your blog daily, you know. As your big sis, I ALWAYS have advice. :) On this one, I'd try a castor oil pack. I've been doing three days on, two days off (an hour each time) for about 3 weeks and it is working really well. The other thing is POSTURE POSTURE POSTURE!! Sitting for hours in a weird position will do it every time... and carrying laundry can set it off! I have a series of exercises from my PT (from the car accident) that will really help you. Call me lady. xoxoxoxxoxoxo and let's crack that kink!
N