Nearly every day I see clients with neck issues. Did you know that an estimated 40 million Americans struggle with neck pain?
Common Causes of Head and Neck Pain
1. Injuries to ligaments
2. Strain from loss of range of motion in the neck
3. Chronic accumulation of muscle tension in the muscles of the face and neck
Ligament Injuries
There are 18 ligaments in the neck. They attach vertebrae, one to another, to allow for relative movement. The vertebra have “sticky outy bits” ie., attachment points, called processes. Some are in the back of the neck (spinous processes), and some are on the sides (transverse processes) - those places are where the ligaments live.
Massage can improve some ligament issues, and/or sometimes these issues heal over time.
Strain from Reduced Range of Motion
Range of Motion diminishes for many reasons - our use patterns, or it can happen slowly as we age. We may not even notice it happening. Issues occur when we suddenly “overdo it” by suddenly doing a task that takes the neck past its end range. This can cause a strain across the structures of the neck: muscles, tendons, fascia, ligaments, and joints.
One example: imagine that for the past decade, you’ve slept on your back every night with giant, fluffy stacked pillows. Your neck is craned far forward for 5-8 hours a day on those stacked pillows. After a decade passes, even during the daytime, your head has shifted forward of your body, and you lose a lot of your neck’s range of motion. One day you are startled by a loud noise from behind you. You swivel your head suddenly and strongly to see what the issue is… past your range of motion. The next day you are sore, and it feels like you’ve strained something.
Good news! You can restore and maintain range of motion yourself by stretching and watching your ergonomics. And of course massage is always here to help.
Accumulated Muscle Tension
Millions of people suffer from tension headaches*. Chronic tension in the face and back of the head (occipital region) are a common source of these.
A good rule of thumb: a “normal” number of tension headaches is 3-4 per year.
Massage therapy is very effective in reducing frequency and intensity of headaches resulting from muscular tension.
*Note that migraines are different than tension headaches, with more widely varied causes. For those, massage might help, but there are more effective modalities I might turn to first.
Obviously, this isn’t a comprehensive list. These are just some of the most common neck issues, from the perspective of a massage practice. There’s also acute injuries like whiplash, and referred pain from other issues. Every person is unique when it comes to their health issues.
Massage Can Help
If you’ve got a sore neck, and you suspect massage might be helpful for you, book a massage, and let’s get you feeling better!