QuestionI recently had a bit of a rough time with a condition I have never experienced before. I was sitting on the couch, reading something, not moving much. Suddenly, I started to feel uncomfortable. I experienced twinges in my chest and upper back area, though they were difficult to pinpoint, as they seemed relatively deep in my body. Shortly after that, certain muscles in my neck started hurting and feeling...crampy. It's a little difficult to describe the feeling exactly, but it -was- painful and it wouldn't go away. It was centered in those long muscles that run from the collar bone to up around the ear and stick out when you turn your head to one side or the other - sternocleidomastoids? Anyway, the discomfort stayed all night in my neck and made it difficult to sleep. I tried massaging around the area, but I felt something move in a bit of an odd way near my throat when I did, and that only seemed to make it worse. Also, something that didn't feel like a bone seemed to pop back into place every time I swallowed for a while. During the next few days, I felt uncomfortably tight around the shoulder blades, someone else thought the area around my upper chest near my collarbones may have swelled up, and the muscles around my throat were constricted and made swallowing a tight ordeal. It was quite painful at one point. It all evened out and faded away after several days, but it's left me curious as to just what it -was-, and what to do if it happens again? As a side note, I do have dancing classes a couple times a week, but I don't tend to throw my head around a lot in them, so I'm not sure if they contributed significantly to my condition or not. o.0
Thanks for helping!
-Allokai
Answer
Dermatomes
Hi Allokai
Thank you for the detailed description of your experience. From what you have described what comes to my mind is a mild nerve compression in your neck. The symptoms you describe leads me to believe that your cervical vertebrae are being compressed.
There is a map of the body's nervous system and how it relates to the vertebrae of the spine called dermatomes. (see picture) Dermatomes that you are irritating are C2 through C5. The "C" refers to cervical meaning neck and what nerves are associated with it.
Depending on the type of dance you perform, you can compress any vertebrae when two conditions exist. Your nutrition and pre/post stretching.
First are you eating food groups that support healthy lifestyle (such as a dancer)? Organic, all natural foods, diary, yogurt, fresh fruits and veggies? If not your body simply cannot maintain its resilience if it's not getting the nutrition to maintain the physical demands of dancing.
My wife and I dance Latin styles and it's imperative that I stretch before and after to avoid, guess what? Disk compression muscle injury. Drinking spring water and omega 3 supplements. Have you heard about Omega 3 oil? This is a key oil to keep many systems in the body optimal condition especially your nervous system.
Your body is healthy enough to recover from the slight compression in your neck, however you had to experience discomfort in the process. This tells me your body is on the threshold of pain/comfort levels. By improving your nutrition and pre and post stretching you move away from this threshold and enjoy many years of dancing without any risks of a repeat event or injury.
It took me years to figure this out what we eat and proper stretching are key in living life to the fullest.
The results? Most people that meet me for the first time think I am 32-33. I'm approaching 41 and loving it!
Yoga would be ideal (I do it) for you and yoga balls work wonders for back stretching. Barleans Essential woman Omega 3 oil can be purchased at any health food store.
To your continued health and passion for dancing.
John Nickolas
