Get relief from back, neck & shoulder pain in just 7 seconds!

If the stiffness is due to muscular tension the first course of action is generally painkillers. These should not be seen as a long-term solution as they will mask the problem and not address the cause. Massage, either self-administered, by a partner or professional, is another option. This does bring some much needed relief for the sufferer but again if the cause is not addressed this will only be temporary.

The most popular treatment is to prescribe neck exercises. The conventional view is muscle weakness or imbalance is the cause. Neck exercises will be given to the sufferer in an attempt to correct the perceived problem.

However, even this approach has its limitations and does not go far enough to address the root causes of a stiff neck. In my experience as teacher of movement and posture the most useful course of action for a long-term sufferer is re-education. If there is a muscle imbalance or weakness, poor habits are usually the culprit. These habits can develop whilst compensating for an injury by holding the neck in the least painful position; long periods of sitting at desks or the common stress response of holding tension in the neck and shoulders. Once a habit is learnt it is difficult for the patient to do anything differently because the habit will feel right.

Exercises may make the condition worse because the patient will do the exercises with their poor habits. The best intentions of the therapist are undone once the patient returns home and performs the exercises unsupervised. Repetition of these exercises performed poorly will only re-enforce the bad habit.

Re-education involves taking the patient back the basics of movement. These movements will initially feel wrong because they are very different from their everyday feelings associated with turning their head or even just holding their neck. The tension has become a habit and they unknowingly hold this tension just to sit. Until the patient can relearn how their body can be naturally poised again all attempts to strengthen or rebalance muscles will complicate their existing habitual movement patterns.

In place of using exercise, a stiff neck sufferer can learn how to move and balance with less tension and condition their muscles by performing everyday tasks without the need to exercise. I have seen this approach work time and time again whilst conventional exercises have failed the individual.

Get relief from back, neck & shoulder pain in just 7 seconds!

Roy Palmer is a teacher of movement re-education and author of 7 Seconds to Pain Relief, secrets of lasting relief from back, neck & shoulder pain. He has helped back pain sufferers, sports people and performing artists over the last 12 years. He is also the author of three books on the subject of performance enhancement, injury prevention and rehabilitation for athletes.

Spinal Decompression Therapy for Diabetics

Today, people suffering from diabetic neuropathy may also benefit from spinal decompression.  As you may be aware, high blood sugar levels can cause all kinds of peculiar symptoms.  In particular, people with diabetes must often deal with chronic pain that comes from the destruction of nerve, bone, and organ tissues.  While getting blood sugar under control is a key element to controlling pain, there will also be times when the damage requires some other type of treatment.

Interestingly enough, diabetic neuropathy also includes situations where the blood supply may be cut off to certain parts of the spine, or the cartilage in the spine.  This, in turn, can cause swelling that will pinch on a nerve, or create enough pressure to cause a disc to slip out of position.  Typically, pain killers and other forms of treatment will not work in these situations.   In most cases, if the disc remains out of place, it will cause the surrounding tissue to swell even more.  As this unending cycle continues, it will lead to more and more pain, as well as loss of flexibility and mobility.

Aside from not having to worry about postoperative spinal decompression treatments will directly address the mechanical causes of the pain.  For example, if there is swelling within a disc, the vacuum pressure created by the traction weights will help relieve it.  As the pressure elves are further manipulated, the disc will slip back into an optimal position.  Once the muscles and cartilage readjust, you can look forward to complete pain relief.

Anyone that is diabetic can tell you that neuropathy can cause an enormous amount of pain all over the body.  On the other hand, if the damaged area happens to be in the spinal column, computer generated traction can help alleviate the situation.  At the very least, this form of treatment will not cause blood sugar levels to rise because of infections that may occur at a surgical site.

If you are diabetic and have chronic back pain, sciatica, or pinched nerves, you may want to ask about alternatives to painkillers and chiropractic services.  Without a question, if you are already at a risk for developing kidney disease, you will need to find some way to alleviate your pain without taking medication.  Today, spinal decompression can offer you a safe, non-invasive way to cure back pain, as well as avoid diabetic complications that tend to occur with other forms of therapy.