3 . Address the stress. While this is important for any painful condition, it is especially important for neck and shoulder pain. There are 2 major problems with stress and neck / shoulder pain. The first is that gravity is always pushing down on us. In a relaxed state (andwith good posture), our bodies canmanage the pressure that gravity exerts on us and utilize the proper muscle firing patterns to perform our daily tasks without adding undue strain on our neck and shoulder muscles. When we are too tense, stressed or constantly in a hurry, we tend to push back against gravity by holding our shoulders up towards our ears, creating an excessive amount of tension and overworking our neck and shoulder muscles. Many of these are muscles that are designed to contract, then relax (phasic muscles). When we keep them contracted for extended periods of time (acting like tonic muscles), they become overworked, inflamed and the muscle fibers can develop “knots” called trigger points. Trigger points are well-known contributors to chronic pain. We need to be aware of not carrying constant tension in our neck and shoulders that create these trigger points. Secondly, stress can put our bodies in a state called sympathetic mode where we remain in a heightened state of tension and stress. Sympathetic mode is the fight or flight response intended to preserve us from mortal danger and puts our bodies in tense state where muscles are overactivated and make it very difficult to relax. Most of our daily lives are not filled with mortal threats, so we must strive not to live in a state that creates that unnecessary tension in our muscles. One quick assessment you can do is measure your resting heart when you are in a relaxed, resting position. Then, as you are working, (preferably still seated and not moving around) measure your heart rate again and see how much higher it is. If it is more than 10 – 20 beats per minute higher, you are possibly working in a sympathetic mode and need to learn to breathe more deeply, release tension from your body and activate your parasympathetic system which slows your heart rate closer to your resting level.
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