Question
Hi, thanks for your time. I am a 33 year old male and currently work as a Flight Attendant.

I have had an upper back and neck problem for over a year now, and it still shows no sign of healing. I cannot put this injury down to a particular incident, so I assume it is repetive strain injury.

I am stretching twice a day, which includes cat stretches and touching of toes (to stretch hamstrings) as well as swimming 3 times a week.

The pain is undoubtably worst in the morning. Sometimes it hurts so much I wake from it. I was previously taking Naprosyn for the pain which was effective, but I have stopped taking this as I didn't want to become dependent on it. I also have a foam underlay on my bed which has not helped.

I am desperate to get rid of this pain as it will not subside. The pain is worst in my upper back, right hand side (just below my shoulder) where you can sometimes feel a raised muscle, and also across the middle of my back, on both sides of my spine.

I have been considering doing a low weight, high repetition gym program to strengthen this area, but am reluctant in case it aggravates instead of helps.

Any information you can offer would be invaluable. Thanks again.

Answer
Andrew:

Thanks for writing!

I like the fact that you are taking the initiative in creating health in your body and that you are trying to avoid the destructive, short term solutions such as Naprosyn.

Pain such as this can be a real drag on life,it never quite stops one but it certainly slows a person down and destroys the joy of life.

This could have a number of causes. First there is dehydration. Second, would be a oxygen-carbon dioxide imbalance in the body. I doubt that you have that, since you are getting aerobic exercise which will generally balance the two.

This could be a rib out of place due to a repetitive motion injury. Or it could be a bone in your back getting in the way of the nerves as they try to do their job.

The muscles pain you feel can also be a reflex from an organ. The liver is a common reflex origin for a right sided pain. This is not a disease of the liver, it is malnourished or slightly out of tune.

The muscle spasm you feel is part of the situation but if one does not get to the root of the matter, the muscle pain will just return after stretching.

Have you had X-rays?

I would not do the touching of the toes. It is much more likely that this is connected with a quadricep contraction. The hams and the quads balance one another, but the quads need the stretching.

To get to the root of this, you need to see a good chiropractor and get it checked out. Go to www.sorsi.com, www.soto-usa.com and www.icak.com and look for a good chiropractor in a location convenient to you. The chiro can usually find out what is going on and correct it quickly, at a reasonable expense without drugs or surgery.

Does this answer your question?

Dr. Rozeboom