Tightness of the neck muscles is a very common problem, sometimes it has an obvious and dramatic cause such as from a whiplash in a motor vehicle accident or sudden hyperextentension (bends too far) during contact sport. Sometimes it is hard to work out why it gets stiff and sore. The cause of your neck stiffness and pain maybe chronic poor posture (see posture post) from working hours infront of a computer or staring straight ahead driving long distances.

Stress is a very common cause too, it seems to be hard wired in us that when we feel under threat, even if we are not actually physically in danger (as part of the flight/fright reaction), our necks instinctively guard themselves in a self protective rigid way.

Our neck muscles like the muscles in other parts of the body need to be regularly stretched because they won’t stretch themselves, this contributes to stiffness too (never stretch quickly nor around in circles). It is possible that your pillow is past it, maybe it was not that suitable for you even when you bought it. Considering how much of your life is spent with your head resting upon it, it is wise to investigate whether your pillow is supporting the natural curve in your neck or not.

A less obvious yet still common cause of neck stiffness is the effect of your neck of being exposed to cold drafts and wind, not just outside in the weather but even inside your vehicle with the window down. Sitting beneath an overhead fan can stiffen your neck. Air conditioning  blowing gently sideways can track down the wall you are sitting up against and stiffen your neck too. Air conditioning drafts happen in buses and trains also not just inside buildings. While we are young this is less likely to really bother us but as we age we become more sensitive to weather conditions. It is easy to test this theory, just go outside with a scarf or a high necked sweater on a windy day and see if your neck feels better for it.

Riding motor bikes and scooters even if you never crash can be hard on your neck because of the weight of the helmet, especially when leaning forward. Surfers are no stranger to stiff neck either, paddling out looking upwards and frontwards will stiffen the neck too.

Adopting and maintaining good posture can be challenging if you are not used to it, if there is a better way of going about your business posturally, it can help manage or prevent neck pain. If lop-sided neck posture is just a fact of life during your work and play, like when golfing or working overhead as tradesmen often do, you need a strategy to manage your neck’s comfort and flexability.

Massage is great for a stiff, sore neck, even a short one will help. A massaged neck stretches more easily too. If you think massage or other therapies like osteopathy and chiropractic are inconvenient or too expensive for you using regular Self Massage  and stretching becomes increasingly important in protecting your neck. Whatever you do, look after your neck, you only get one.

Your upper back is the area covering your shoulder blades and the part of your spine between them and extends down to the bottom of your rib cage. Like your lower back it is also posture sensitive. Because your upper back is nervously connected to your lungs the condition of your upper back  effects the way you breath and the way you breath effects your upper back. Your upper back also contains the ganglions of your parasympathetic nervous system, that part of your nervous system that responds to sudden stress, the muscles in your upper back respond very quickly to the fight and flight response. When your stress hormones are over-active the muscles in your upper back can get very uncomfortable.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) your upper back is thought to have a particular affinity with the emotions of anxiety and grief, grief in TCM is related to your lungs (and skin) and anxiety is related to your heart. According to TCM philosophy the muscles of your upper back react to these strong emotions.

Stressed out people may feel tight all over but particularly so in their upper backs, when the muscles of the upper back are tight their shoulders look like they are too high (when they calm down the shoulders sit in a lower position). In bio-energetics this stress driven stiffening is termed muscular armouring, even though the reason we feel stressed might not have anything to do with feeling physically threatened it is kind of hard wired in us that the body goes into a self protective mode as part of the fight and flight response.

Asthmatics will often have a tight upper back with their shoulders in a raised position too, this is why they tend to breathe in a shallow way. Test it for yourself, stand infront of a mirror, make yourself breath shallowly for a few minutes and then make yourself breathe more deeply and slowly for a while and see how it effects your posture and your mood. The Buteyko  method of breathing is a therapy from Russia that makes people breath more deeply and has helped alot of asthmatics control their breathing and be less dependant on medication by using this principle.

Smokers are a group of people with tight upper backs and people who wish to quit smoking usually find it alot easier to do when they get regular massage to their upper back.

Women have a tendency to breathe more shallowly (costally) than men, men tend to have a natural tendency to breath more deeply (diaphragmatically), this is one of the reasons why women will often have more acute reactions to stress than men do….and probably need more upper back massages than men do because of it.

Finally it needs to be mentioned that men and women both use the muscles in the front of their upper body more than the muscles at the back of their upper body going about their normal daily activities, so it is a good practise to regularly (3x weekly minimum) stretch the muscles of your chest and the front of your shoulders and strengthen the muscles in your upper backs like you would when you use a rowing machine.

Lower back pain (LBP) is a problem most of us will feel at some time during our lives and it has several causes, including;

*Poor posture is by far the most common cause, slouching in your chair, falling asleep on lounges, not standing straight, sitting with your wallet in your back pocket and generally using one side of your body too much (ie being too left handed or too right handed) are habits that you should drop if you do not want to become a chronic lower back pain sufferer. (Low self esteem will make your posture sag too).

*Lifting injuries can traumatise the discs, ligaments and muscles in your spine, the injury may be a single painful event or a series of cumulative micro traumas that go mainly unnoticed in the short term but eventually result in a pain that seems to come from nowhere and lays you flat ( Cumulative muscle micro trauma even if work related can be very difficult to lodge an insurance claim for). Lifting your own excessive body weight may give you a lifting injury too.

*Diseases such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, Ankylosing spondolitis and fibromylagia can all give you chronic LBP.

There are many other less obvious causes of LBP,- PMT, constipation, uneven leg lengths, financial stress, relationship difficulties, cold weather, lack of exercise, high impact exercise ( i.e. road running) and chronic tiredness can all be a real pain in the back!.

Your back pain may be as easy to deal with as standing straight or as difficult as major spinal surgery depending on it’s seriousness. Generally speaking the younger an LBP sufferer is the better the prognosis (outcome). Over a period of many years poor posture can actually change the shape of your vertebrae (back bones), when this happens nothing will restore them to their original shape but they can always get worse so it is always in your best interest to improve your posture no matter how old you think you are.

Sometimes a bulging or prolapsed spinal disc (“slipped disc”) can apply enough pressure on a spinal nerve to not only give you LBP but also pain  tracking all the way down your leg (sciatica). Not everyone who has a prolapsed disc will suffer lower back pain  from it, infact one study showed that 70% of people who claim to have never suffered from LBP actually have one or more prolapsed discs- luck plays a part in everything.

Fortunately there are many therapies and exercises that can alleviate the cause and the symptoms of LBP, employing several different interventions in tandom can yield desirable results- therapies such as acupuncture, massage, osteopathy, chiropractic, orthotics and physio therapy. These health professionals can advise you on the most appropriate rehabilitative exercises too.

Exercise in the form of Yoga, Tai Chi, Chi Gong, Pilates, Feldencrais, Alexander Technique and swimming can help also.

Supplements such as magnesium and calcium, glucosamine and anti inflammatories both herbal and pharmacuetical help people get by.

Stress can effect people in some hard to predict ways, financial and relationship difficulties can contribute to lower back pain. if all the physical interventions don’t work you may need to investigate counselling or psycho therapy.

Whatever way you choose try it long enough for it to work, one go is usually not enough particularly if you have had your LBP for a long time.