The tightness and restriction in my neck are still present. Mobility has not gotten worse, which I contribute to last night’s movement session. However, pain has set in at the end range of motion for both neck left rotation and extension. Now I have to work on moving with neck pain.
It is not a major pain, not at the point of calling it a crick in my neck. I don’t even notice it with most movements… only at the end range. At this point, this is a good thing. Normally, when I feel neck tightness/restrictions, it turns to a major crick in the neck that affects all movements. So again, I’m thankful I made the effort to move last night, and need to be extra mindful to move the next few days to continue to work this issue out.
This session is a short five-minute movement session. I don’t want to get overly focused on the “where I’m feeling pain”. Instead, I’m paying attention to other areas of my body that are also tight/restricted.
I’m noticing the pain in my neck moves down into either the left shoulder or beneath the scapula. I feel movement restriction in my right low back with rotation and lateral extension. And my left knee has been a bit more painful in deep flexion than usual (level 3 or 4 on a scale of 10).
I finish with deep squat combined with neck mobility. This was a good start to the day.
Moving with a Neck Pain-
The neck discomfort is still present but has actually improved since the morning. I still have pain at the end ranges of left rotation and extension.
In this evening session, I’m connecting the tightness/restriction/pain on the left side of my neck to the larger kinetic chain. I start with a little soft foam roller work through the spine. I noticed a tender spot on the right side mid back erectors (T11-L2) area.
I worked this area out a small amount. The purpose is not to get a full release, but to just soften up the neurological connection to the tissue.
I then go into movement exploration focusing on moving through my spine, with extra focus on connecting it to the neck. I like to think of this as wringing out the spine. Towards the end, I felt restrictions of movement in the neck and got the foam roller out again. I finished up with shoulder mobility with the staff.
I feel pretty good about how I’ve worked through this recent neck issue. In the past, this is the kind of thing that would really affect my life negatively. It would affect driving; any kind of focused time like reading or studying; my emotional state… my fuse would be super short (especially with my son); I would have nasty headaches, and overall I would just feel tired and depleted.