[griping, health]

[wispfox]

My muscles tend to get really irritable about a week before my monthly massage. With variation on just how irritable, of course.

Usually, this means neck/shoulder/upper back area, as it appears to be where I carry my tension.

For some unknown reason, this time through, my left shoulder/neck is exceptionally irritable around my shoulder blade, such that my range of motion when turning my head to the left isn't as far as it ought to be, and I can't do a normal head circle (a neck loosening move I try to do with some regularity). I can't figure out how to stretch it out, much to my frustration. It was somewhat better (but the apparent source of the problem refused to go away) after metahacker (one of brynndragon's two nifty roommates. In theory, there is a third, but I'm not sure I've met the third roommate. That, or I just don't remember them due to insufficient interaction) kindly massaged at it for a while.

There were far too many parentheticals in that last paragraph.

I'm suspecting that - as with most of the time when I get nasty cricks in my neck/shoulders - there isn't much to be done. Massages help, but don't make it go away. Same with muscle relaxants and pain meds. IIRC, they goes away on its own, although I'm never sure why, or why they happen.

And, much as it feels like something needs to crack, cracking my neck (which tends to happen whether or not I try to cause it) seems to only make it worse.

I hate my muscles. I wish they would stop randomly getting irritable! (not that this a new behavior; I can't remember a time when they _didn't_ do this)

Comments

[randysmith]

Have you tried shiatsu/pressure point work? I/psongster have some success with that (on her body).

[dilletante.livejournal.com]

if you find something that helps, i'd love to hear about it. i've been having weird neck-stiffness problems lately myself. first noticed when i discovered i couldn't hold a telephone between my neck and shoulder anymore (yikes!)...

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

Did you end up trying heat? The more I think about it the more that might help; heat (and purposeful relaxation), followed by massage...(Must! Fix! Everyone! Sorry.)

Have you ever investigated Alexander Technique? It might also help, if this sort of thing happens regularly. It's basically techniques for guided relaxation, and learning how to live life in a (kinesthetic) fashion that doesn't cause you to tense up again.

Re: housemates...galaneia's the one you met; <lj user="hfcougar" does, in fact, exist, but didn't get home until just after you left... ;-)

[ayalanya.livejournal.com]

as a side note, my world just shrunk considerably. i've known metahacker's (fiance? S.O., certainly, a term that i learned from her when younger) since i was about...6 years old. her brother and his wife are people who introduced me to the SCA (along with the mother of the aforementioned siblings, though she's mostly just been there, as opposed to poking me in vague directions of interest).