29 August 2008

Where can I get someone to fix my achey neck for good?

| Lilli
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I was attending an unnamed chiropractor earlier this year twice weekly – $40/session/5 minute alignment – but have found that since ceasing what I interpreted as quite costly care that my neck pain has gotten much worse. I find I am cracking my neck several times a day in an attempt to ease the stiffness and pain.

Has anyone had experience in Canberra with alternative therapies or massage? I am an office worker and have definitely found that sitting in front of a computer all day has exacerbated the problem however I can’t do much to change these circumstances. At only 21 I am quite concerned that this may develop into a long term issue and would love to get this fixed soon.

Any suggestions for practitioners or advice are welcome 🙂

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I agree with adamr, Om Shanti College in Griffith is the best I’ve found. Or anyone trained by them.

The best massage clinic I’ve found is at Om Shanti College in Griffith Shops (near Manuka). Professional, therapeutic and cost effective. All of the therapists are excellent. They teach massage there so the standard is extremely high.

Hope this helps, bone crunching has never been a fave of mine.

Good for knees (and ankles and other such bits) is a physio at Kingston called Craig Wisdom. Very sound, very effective.

I can highly recommend Michael or Robyn at ‘Adjust for Health’ (chiro/osteopath) in North Lyneham.

Friendly and professional, they both do a great job and explain to you whats happening and help you work to fixing the problem, not just the pain. Also quite good cost for service.

A kiss and a bandaid?

Holden Caulfield2:03 pm 01 Sep 08

Any suggestions for a hurty knee?

Thanks so much for all your comments and advice. It seems there are several tracks I can pursue to try and get this fixed up. I’m going to speak with my manager today about getting a workstation assessment and concentrate more on my posture and loosening my shoulder/neck muscles. I think that some regular exercise/stretching might help in this case too – I haven’t been doing too much over winter and it’s probably about time to start with the weather getting better by the day 🙂

I have had the same problem, recurring throughout my life. I’m 21 also.

I found that acupuncture and massage eased the problem temporarily but it always came back.

I find that after sitting at my desk all day, nervous tension tends to build up in my back and neck muscles and the only way to expel it is to get some decent exercise.

Although, I also discovered that too much caffeine makes it much, much worse so I am off the coffee and onto some stuff called Muscle Eaze which is like a vitamin powder which contains lots of magnesium. You can pick it up from the Health Food store.

It worked very well for me, although I presume, that as with most vitamin supplements it will work on some people, not on others, and just be a placebo on some.

I’m an office worker and have had a similar condition for over 20 years (brought on initially by a rugby accident). I’ve found the best permanent cure is to work on one’s posture. Sitting at a computer one’s head tends to jut forward with the chin out and the back of the neck compressed, making the cartilage cushion between the vertabrae thinner, causing the clamping down on nerves in your spine.

Imagine a thread suspending your body from the top of your head – this is how you need to carry your spine, in a hanging-from-head alignment.

Chin in and down (yes, even though it exacerbates double-chins – it’s worth it), back of head lifted up forming a straight vertical line down to the spine. Also, don’t lean your elbows on arm rests, at the desk or in the car. Don’t lean your forearms/wrists on your desk when typing or most particularly using your mouse. Let your arms hang from your shoulder sockets, allowing the muscles from your neck across the top of your shoulders to remain in a relaxed, elongated position.

So now you ask “If this works, why have you had the problem for over 20 years?”. The answer is when I stop doing the above and fall back into bad postural habits. Good posture needs to be constantly maintained, with a concious checking of how you are sitting, standing, or whatever. It is a lifetime task, but one well worth doing.

Regular exercise within your current fitness/strength/flexibility level assists with posture, as well as so many other things (circulation of blood and lymph improving immunity, moving metabolic byproducts, stimulating the production of important hormones and enzymes, stimulating bowel movement, time to let the mind wander and recharge, etc).

thanks astrojax – I’m enrolling! I’ve been looking for something like that for ages.

ooh, that said, i can also second adrian rumore – he was a boon when i moved to canberra having had a fantastic blind physio in sydney after a couple whiplash injuries as a young’un.

http://www.pandf.com.au/

not just ya achy neck – but all you achiness… this is an astounding practice and one you’ll never regret – for life.

sepi said :

The physio at Kaleen has fixed my neck for good. It only took about 6 sessions, and he gave me some exercises to do to stop the pain re-occuring. Adrian Rouline is his name. Highly recommended.

No, Adrian Rumore. He is a physio who also offers a range of other therapies. He will certainly emphasise stretches and appropriate strengthening exercises. He has helped me enormously over the years with a bad neck and upper back as a result of OOS. Highly recommended by me.

Gentle swimming using a variety of strokes for 20 minutes a day, two or three times a week is great for neck pain.

Back in Balance at Pearce Shops is great. They don’t condone twice weekly visits as that would indicate something more serious. After a few months of ongoing pain, mine referred me to get x-rays which ended up showing I had curvature of the spine (bizarre). The diagnosis helped with treatment. They also do alternative therapies there.

Where can I get someone to fix my achey breaky heart??

gun street girl10:36 pm 29 Aug 08

Cervical manipulation is cervical manipulation, regardless of who performs it. Most of the literature (and my anecdotal evidence) points towards chiropractors as the main perpetrators (unsurprisingly, given that they likely perform it the most, statistically speaking), although others (including physios, doctors, homeopaths etc) have also been documented as causing the same injury via the same mechanism.

kean van choc10:26 pm 29 Aug 08

How about an Osteopath, Gun Street Girl? Have you seen similar injuries as result of their neck manipulations?

gun street girl10:18 pm 29 Aug 08

I’ve never admitted or cared for a vertebral artery dissection who’s sustained the injury from the hairdresser’s washing sink (although yes, agreed – the mechanism would theoretically put you at risk). The same can’t be said for chiropractor neck manipulation patients.

gun street girl said :

grunge_hippy said :

you might enjoy the vertebral artery dissection you’re putting yourself at risk of, too.

Neck manipulation – just don’t consent to it. The hospital is already full enough.

I dont really like chiro’s either but vertebral artery dissection is more likely to happen at your hairdresser when getting your hair washed…

D

gun street girl9:28 pm 29 Aug 08

grunge_hippy said :

I used to go to a chiro, and occasionally still do when i cant into the osteo, but like someone has mentioned, they dont fix the problem long term… but i am a saddist, I like the cracking!

That being said, you might enjoy the vertebral artery dissection you’re putting yourself at risk of, too.

Neck manipulation – just don’t consent to it. The hospital is already full enough.

grunge_hippy9:17 pm 29 Aug 08

I find that osteopaths are also excellent. I would recommend mine but they are not taking new patients, too busy.

I used to go to a chiro, and occasionally still do when i cant into the osteo, but like someone has mentioned, they dont fix the problem long term… but i am a saddist, I like the cracking!

Oh, and do NOT go to chiropractors. They don’t actually fix the problem that caused the issue, they just fiddle around the edges, ease it for a while, and then it comes back and they do it all again. Physios are so much better for musculoskeletal things.

And WRT the computer, try changing the screen’s position. put it up, put it down. Keep fiddling until suddenly, the problem eases. Telephone books are good for this. Or annual reports.

Crap necks suck, don’t they? Mine’s a lot better since my physio, while treating me for a knee thing, took an interest in my headaches and diagnosed it as being caused by… pillows. And she was right.

Low hard pillows = head/neck spent the night fighting the pillow. = frozen shoulder/neck, and headaches. Tried big puffy pillows, big improvement (thanks Ikea for all the feather/down pillows) but the best thing I found was Wal-mart memory foam pillows with a neck bulge. Cost all of 12 bucks. I’d buy them and leave them in the US each year, but last time I flattened it with one of those luggage-bag things where you push all the air out, made it flat and brought it home. Love it.

So, a physio is the go. Mine specialised in musicians’ injuries, and her name is Ackerman.

A couple of years ago (when I was 21 too!) I had recurring neck pain just like you. Things like massage will only stop the pain temporarily – if you want to fix this for good, you need to work on strengthening your muscles, and using them the right way. The ergo check from your OH&S rep is a great idea, but I’d recommend also seeing a physio who can not only relieve the pain, but show you what you need to do to stop it coming back.

I can highly recommend all the physios at Capital Clinic Physiotherapy in Civic – I had about 5 sessions with Rob Erikson back when my neck was really bad, and have had very few problems since. I’ve also found pilates (in a class taken by another one of their physios) has worked wonders on making sure things stay all well!

The physio at Kaleen has fixed my neck for good. It only took about 6 sessions, and he gave me some exercises to do to stop the pain re-occuring. Adrian Rouline is his name. Highly recommended.

1: as mentioned get an OH&S assessment done for your desk and chair. make sure you do what they say. If you have arm rests on your chair, lose them, they just push your shoulders up.

2: stretch and exercise. For stretches a phsyio, chiro or soft tissue therapist should be able to provide the right ones.

3: regular visits to therapist type of your choice. Not all types suit all people. Me, I would never go to a chiro, and rarely to a physio, much prefer soft tissue. However some people need chiro, or phsyio. Just remember having treatment isn’t going to help much if you don’t stretch and then go back and sit in a bad position.

I go occasionally to Om Shanti in Griffith for a massage (which reminds me that I need to book in next week). You can reduce the cost in two ways. One is to get a massage by a student, which is at a reduced price. The other is the student practice clinic. I reckon massage works for me. Call 6295 2323 to book.

See The Canberra Complementary Health Practice in Hawker, if you are on the northside, some soft tissue therapy with exercise will help you manage your neck…

Stop cracking it and excercise at your desk. Your shouldn’t get a sore neck at work if you’re set up properly so get an ergonomic check with your OH&S rep at work and you’ll find it will make the world of difference.

I used to do ergo checks at my work and was amazed that people would complain of sore necks and backs but then I’d find them treating their work desk as lounge furniture… not that I’m saying you’re doing that but at 21 you may not have been shown how to adjust your surrounds to fit your body rather then adjusting your body to fit your surrounds.

I get neck pain and unless you have an injury or condition, its just inflamation and muscle problems. A good couple days of rest, exercise, massage and no more cracking.
1. find a friend to massage the muscles, if ur 21 even i may help you lol
2. try not to crack it anymore, get some exercise, eat a filling meal
3. Take some Valerium root and maybe a glass of wine then have a restful sleep.
4. Be careful not to make any mistakes while sleeping (this is important)

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