Questionhello
thanks for the quick reply. do massage therapists and physio therapists do the same thing? how would they check whether there has been shortening of the muscles?
i read somewhere that the worse thing to do is not to exercise a little when you get hurt somewhere on your back because your muscles get weak. i really didnt use my neck alot during that time, do you think i could have wasted my muscles or caused them to become very weak?
how do you balance leaving it alone to rest and still doing exercise on it?
thanks
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Followup To
Question -
hello
i am a student and i used to train moderately with weights, doing things like military presses , bench presses etc. close to exam time, i was studying for a long time, probably looking down , and i strained some muscles. thinking it was normal i continued to train on it but it got worse, and on checking with some physios and doctors, i had some knot in my neck.
i got given some exercises to do, but it seems that my neck just isnt as strong as it was, i cant stretch it for as long, nor can i bend as i did before. i was recommended to go for dry needling, but i am sceptical. what should i do?
thanks
Answer -
In all honesty Husain I'd go see a massage therapist. Depending where you live they can do different things to the muscles in your body.
From a therapists point of view it sounds like since you were studying and looking down for a great period of time then the muscles in the front of your neck may have shortened and the muscles in the back have lenghthened.
Since I'm al the way over here and can't do a proper assessment on you myself then thisis what I'll do. I want you to try these ok?
Try:
(1) gently allowing your head to lean back but not all the way
(2) there's 2 major muscles on the front of your neck I want you to gently grab them between your thumb and index finger, one at a time, don't do both sides at the same time and pinch the muscle in between the 2 fingers gently and hold the pressure until you feel it loosen, once it does let go.
(3) go see a massage therapist, they can do wonders for your body, preferably go see a remedial massage therapist because this is what they specialize in. You can find them in clinics and sometimes in spas, but try a clinic first.
Don't Try:
(1) do not do head circles
(2) when you are at the gym do not do shoulder presses (the one where you pull the bar behind your head and down to your shoulders) these will damage your shoulders in the long run and can contribute to neck problems. If you really want to do them that badly then do them in front of you, but never behind.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you need anything else.
Zira
AnswerWhen you are hurt it is wrong to exercise that injured body part until it heals. If you want to work out then do it every other day until you feel better, but don't over do it, you need to ease yourself back into it.
Massage deals with muscle manipulation. A physiotherapist will show different movements and help you to rehab. the injury. Massage therapy has a series of exmas that they do to find the problem. Depending on where you live is how they work.
With myself if I get a client with a sore neck I will put them through tests to see if they have a compressed nerve, a herniated disc, blocked arteries, and then general range of motion to find out the problem. I was taught not to put my hands on someone unless I know its safe. If I feel they have a hernited disc I'm going to send them to the doctor and not touch them.
Muscles need quit e a bit of time to become weak. But when I say weak its a different thing. To you weak is the muscle not being able to do the strength it normally does. To me weak is the muscle not being able to support what it should. Massage works with tight and weak muscles. The college I went to our motto was if you can't do it I'll make you.
Tight muscles have the strength, but they can't lengthen the amount they are supposed to therefore weak muscles have the length, but not the strength.
Good Luck.
Zira
