My Pain Is At The Base Of My Head

At the base of the head or skull, in the back, are the occipital muscle. Often, individuals with upper neck pain or headaches have tension in these muscles. The occipital muscles connect the base of the skull to the first two vertebrae. When the neck is out of alignment, or gets strained one will most often get spasm or trigger points in these muscles.

One of the best ways to get some relief is muscle massage. Here's how to do it at home on your own. Place your open hands over your ears. Notice you thumbs land right on the occipital muscles. Dig your thumbs into the occipital s, hold for 7-10 seconds and relax, then repeat 2 more times. This is "trigger point" massage!

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Source of Picture: Ehealing.us

Additional Reading Resources:

• How Muscle Spasm in the Neck Happens.. and how to handle it...
• You Wake up with Neck Pain. What Exercise Can you Do?
• Neck and Shoulder Pain
• What is the best pillow for my neck pain specifically?
• Hard or soft pillow? Which is best for me?

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How Can I Massage My Own Neck?

Here's the reason, when the muscles bind up you will lose not only motion of those muscles but of the neck spine to. Breaking up those muscle adhesions helps to allow better motion and for inflammation to dissipate. You see, when we lose motion, inflammation builds up and we get pressure on nerves. It's this nerve pressure that creates neck pain, arm pain, and headaches.

Massaging Your Own Neck Muscles is Easy to Do

Here's one of the simplest ways to do it: Reach across your body with the right hand to massage the left neck. Grab your trapezius, this is the big muscle on top of your shoulder. There is always muscle knots or trigger points there. Grab an squeeze for 10 seconds. Next move slightly to a different spot. You can do it as many times as you want; you can also do the other side too.

Additional Reading Resources:

• Exercises for the Neck that Loosen your neck muscles
• Are Trigger Points Causing your neck and Upper Back Pain?
• The SCM Muscle in the Neck- a cause for neck pain
• Wireless tens for pain relief in the lower back
• The Neck Pain Relief Kit - Solutions for Neck Pain

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief.

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Neck Pain, Upper Back Pain and Shoulder Pain Common in Cyclists

The American Bureau of Transportation Statistics states that there are more than 40 million Americans who ride bikes at least monthly. Over 5 million people ride at least 20 days/month. With so many Americans bicycling injuries sustained have also risen especially neck and upper back pain.
Because of the position that a cyclist takes while biking, this can increase a cyclists symptoms of neck pain. [Wilber/Weiss AJSM/Dannenberg] Wilber, et al. found that 44.2 % of male and 54.9% of female recreational cyclists presented for medical treatment of neck pain, while approximately 30% presented with back pain. [Wilber] Weiss also reported that 66.4 % of recreational cyclists reported neck and shoulder symptoms following an 8-day, 500-mile bicycle tour.

Neck pain can be made worse by several factors to include riding position, technique, and comorbid conditions. In the cycling position, the neck is in the position of extension with the back flexed for long periods at a time. Riding in a position with drop handlebars for long periods increases the load on the arms and shoulders as well as hyperextension of the neck, leading to muscle fatigue and pain.

If the virtual top tube length (top tube plus stem length) is too long for the rider, or if aero bars are used, more extension of the neck occurs. Prolonged hyperextension of the neck and associated muscle strain may lead to trigger points in the muscles of the neck and upper back.

Trigger points are hyper-irritable areas occurring as small knots in the muscles throughout the body. They send pain signals to the brain and contribute to a cycle of pain, muscle spasm and pain. Trigger points are frequently caused by direct blunt trauma, or by repetitive microtrauma, as is seen in overuse athletic injuries. Certain techniques common to cyclists may also cause trigger point pain. Shoulder pain is also prevalent among cyclists. Cyclists frequently present with pain in their left levator scapula caused by looking over their left shoulder for oncoming traffic frequently.Additionally, comorbidities must be assessed; in older riders, for example, it is prudent to question about radicular symptoms because a certain degree of neck pain may be secondary to arthritis in the cervical spine.

Source: Neck and Back Pain in Cycling
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