pain in the neck

[coyotecreek]

I'm 41 and live a crazy busy lifestyle as a teacher, coach, husband, and father of two boys. In my free time I'm doing as much hunting and fishing as I can along with farm work, graduate classes, and remodeling a house. I really haven't had time to exercise in the past 10 years (can't remember the last time I sat on the couch and watched tv) but I have stayed in decent shape (5'9 and 155 lbs) by staying active and doing physical labor. This I year I have made the decision that it's now or never to fulfill my dreams of backcountry hunting. I have points saved up in several states and I'm going to start applying for tags. I have done several backcountry camping and fishing trips so hiking with a weighted pack is not new to me, but I do live in rural Kansas so It's not like I'm in the mountains every day.

I just started the Exo Mountain workout using my new SG X Curve and Sky 5900 bag. The problem I'm having is pain in my neck and upper back. I've dealt with this all of my life from an old wrestling injury but working out with the pack seems to exacerbate the issue. I wake up in the night with vertigo and deal with a splitting headache the next morning.

My question is do you think that this will subside as my body adjusts to the pack and the weight? I'm only using a 28 lb. bag of wood pellets right now. The X Curve fits me like a dream and I have it adjusted to carry more weight on my hips. I was in the military and can mentally overcome pain but just wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

Sorry for the long post, I just thought some background info would be helpful. Thanks for any info.

 

[rayporter]

i had neck problems for seveal years.

at one point I could not shoot. trying to compete and sitting behind the rifle would cause my arms to go numb.

and it got so bad I was going to the chiropractor almost daily. he finally told me I needed to go to a back expert. one injection and I have been great for 2 years.

if you keep irritating the problem it may just get worse.

 

[*zap*]

I would get some resistance bands and attach them to something at about lower chest height. Face the attachment point and face away from the attachment point. Work the bands in full range of shoulder motion and when you feel the effected areas work resistance and hold...isometric resistance. Let off slowly and reapply pressure.

I would also treat the effected areas with a heat pad for at least an hour daily.

If packing a pack makes it hurt then packing a pack will not make it better. Isometric resistance can be used to fix a lot of muscular/skeletal/joint/tendon issues and is also good to do just to promote joint/tendon health. It is a very overlooked form of exercise and I believe Brady does it very often and he is quite old to be playing football.

 

[dingle]

Sounds like you could use a visit to the doctor and if it's not too serious, a referral to a physical therapist. That's always a good place to put work in instead of wondering - it's not worth speculating over.

 

[*zap*]

vertigo?
You wake up and when you stand your dizzy?

That could be inflammation around the inner ear. Do you take any anti inflammatory supplements? Omega 3 or Flax is very good for inflammation.

 

[coyotecreek]

I'll wake up in the middle of the night and sit up fast and it's like the entire room is spinning. This doesn't happen often. I don't drink alcohol or caffeine, and don't use any tobacco or drugs. I don't even like to take Tylenol. I go to the chiropractor once a month and it has helped a fair amount. I really haven't had the vertigo for a couple of years but it's back after starting to train with the pack. It's like I'm over stressing muscles in my neck and back. I will try using resistance bands as you stated and maybe it's time to see a doctor different from my chiropractor. I've just lived with it for 25 years and accepted that it's my normal. Thanks for the responses and keep them coming.

Matt

 

[Blacktail_Packer]

I was kind of in the same boat as you until this last October. I had a rotator cuff injury from 10+ years ago that never healed. I figured if I didn’t go crazy but kept asking a little more and a little more of it it would get stronger eventually. Well after about 8 years and finding out my wife was pregnant with our first I needed a new plan.

I’m recovering from the surgery and getting my body slowly put back into place and re strengthened. Ultimately what I found (and your results may be 180 degrees from mine) was that rather than strengthening the injury I was overworking all the other muscles that were working to compensate for the injury.

I’m lucky that I have good insurance because I was able to keep after my regular dr. until they would order an mri.

So I guess all that to say I’ll echo what’s been said above, you probably won’t work through the pain as there is probably something more wrong and I’d basically try to annoy your general practice doc until they send you to a specialist.

I know with a busy schedule “wasting” a bunch of time with appointments isn’t practical or realistic but, you’ll thank yourself later.

On a side note I’d like to say thank you, I think that teachers are probably some of the worst compensates day to day heroes of this world we live in.

 

[coyotecreek]

Thank you Blacktail. I don't consider myself a hero, not like our military, fire, law enforcement etc. I'm fortunate to work in a small rural high school with 150 students grades 9-12. I know all of the kids and their siblings, and their parents, etc.

I think you are correct about needing to see a specialist eventhough that's not what I was hoping to hear. I just underwent surgery to remove skin cancer from my face this past fall and that was a big wake up call for me. I have a 3" scar on my cheek to remind me that life is short and not to take things for granted. That's part of what has motivated me to go on these hunts now while I still can.

I'm about 15 miles from a decent sized town with a good hospital and an orthopedic clinic. I'll see if I am able to make an appointment and get things checked out. I've got to get this figured out.

Thanks again!

 

[*zap*]

I'll wake up in the middle of the night and sit up fast and it's like the entire room is spinning. This doesn't happen often. I don't drink alcohol or caffeine, and don't use any tobacco or drugs. I don't even like to take Tylenol. I go to the chiropractor once a month and it has helped a fair amount. I really haven't had the vertigo for a couple of years but it's back after starting to train with the pack. It's like I'm over stressing muscles in my neck and back. I will try using resistance bands as you stated and maybe it's time to see a doctor different from my chiropractor. I've just lived with it for 25 years and accepted that it's my normal. Thanks for the responses and keep them coming.

Matt

The vertigo probably can be brought under control with a short course of prednisone. Its most likely inflammation near the inner ear......You might think about starting to take an anti inflammation supplement regularly for a while....I had the same thing and take flax oil gel caps. Foods that will help a lot are : spinach, kale, broccoli, blueberries, salmon. Tumeric is the top anti inflammatory herb.

The bands fixed my shoulder impingements in about 2-4 months but I did around 12 band workouts a week and went from.... laying flat on my back my front delt would hurt a lot, sharp stabbing pain....dr wanted me to get operated on....I told him no, thanks anyway....to 100% fixed.

The bands also helped a lot with wrist, elbow and hip pains...now I do it around 3x a week for 20-40 minutes.

I am the only one at the gym that I see doing actual isometric band exercises, most folks just use them to warm up and never hold at extension. If I feel my posture and shoulders slacking forward I do more bands and lengthen the sessions and it fixes it in short order. Went from not being able to lift my arm over my head to pretty heavy dumbbell benches with no pain...Started to lift again a few years ago and that's when things got worse but the shoulders had bothered me for quite a while... fine now without any operation. Plus all my joints feel a lot better. It definitely works but is not very popular at all. Plus if you do it for 30 minutes hard it is a very good workout and will wear you out.....

The weight of the pack is most likely compressing something and that is causing the inflammation ....if you use the band isometrics to lengthen that area ….it will most likely get better. You might also try adding some padding to the shoulder straps....or less weight while you get this under control.....maybe just walk for a while.

Heat will also promote the blood flow in that area and that will take away more waste products and bring in more nutrients to that area of the body.....I believe that heat expands the smaller capillaries that bring and take blood away from the individual cells which speeds up recovery and healing from exercise and injury. It also helps to have the correct nutrients in the blood.....so diet is very, very important. Hope it all works out for you.

 

[coyotecreek]

That is some great information Zap and I will definitely try it. Got to be better than surgery and an insurance copay. I have access to a lot of different band sizes in the school weight room and a few a home. Do you have any experience with an inversion table? Wondering if that would help to relieve some of the compression as well.

Thanks!

Matt

 

[*zap*]

I have never done inversion but it may work well. With the bands you can just start working them and holding at every possible angle/way and see what works for you. The negative return to start done slowly is also good.

I hope you feel better, I did not like the vertigo at all.

 

[toadmeister]

OP I’m in a similar boat. Had neck and shoulder pain getting worse and worse over the last few until I could no longer pull the bow back at all. Bicycling got painful with numbness n hands too.

Did some cortisone shots and PT with rubber bands, definitely all helped. Had to cut back on the heavy lifting and physical stuff a bit.

Finally got a MRI scan done. Found I have a bulged/Herniated C6-7 disk. Bad stuff. Will probably require surgery soon me day.

I did a spinal epidural and it helped some. Have done needling therapy for upper back and shoulder muscles which has helped a lot.

Go get an MRI done




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[rayporter]

I have an inversion table and have used it a lot.

there has been a few times it helped the lower back. the neck-never.

I went to therapy for my neck and had a table that pulled on my head to stretch my neck as I laid on the table. it was torture- and did not help.
the chiropractor had a rig that pulled up as I sat. there was a pully over me and a wt behind me. it did not hurt but did not help.

 

[toadmeister]

I have an inversion table and have used it a lot.

there has been a few times it helped the lower back. the neck-never.

I went to therapy for my neck and had a table that pulled on my head to stretch my neck as I laid on the table. it was torture- and did not help.
the chiropractor had a rig that pulled up as I sat. there was a pully over me and a wt behind me. it did not hurt but did not help.

Oh yeah, traction. It can hurt and it can help, YMMV.


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[coyotecreek]

You guys are making me feel better about myself all the time! I don't have constant pain, only when I do too much, or do things that I shouldn't, but not being able to use a pack bothers me. I've never had that problem before and bought a quality pack to hopefully avoid these issues. I'm considering going to a different chiropractor who also offers PT and decompression and see what he has to say. It's time to do something different.

 

[JWM]

I am 33 and have had problems with pain in my neck/shoulder/back the last couple years when wearing a pack that I couldn’t figure out. Ending up being my first rib. Did physical therapy to mobilize it which made the pain go away. It will come back if I stop doing the exercises and don’t watch my posture.


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[Mike7]

Try to get the weight off your shoulders when you carry a pack. The shoulder girdle muscles attach to the neck and when over used can aggravate for instance a bulging disc from past wrestling trauma.

The aggravated neck & shoulder muscles provide proprioceptive input to your brain and also attach to the temporal bones of the skull which house your inner ear, and can thus cause vertigo, with actual inner ear inflammation not really playing a role in that case.

Consider avoiding regular high velocity chiropractic manipulation of the neck. And consider evaluation by a doctor, which will likely lead to starting with physical therapy.

If you do cervical traction, make it gentle and only do this if helpful and prior to a planned rest for the remainder of the day or evening, as this is a very vigorous stretch.

 

[Mike7]

If your chiropractor is one who says that your need back and/or neck xrays in their office at least yearly and that you have lost your spinal curves, and that you need neck adjustments 1-2 x's weekly for the rest of your life just to not have worsening pain, then consider running, not walking from the office. This in the manipulation world is akin to selling potions from a traveling wagon.

 

[*zap*]

The aggravated neck & shoulder muscles provide proprioceptive input to your brain and also attach to the temporal bones of the skull which house your inner ear, and can thus cause vertigo, with actual inner ear inflammation not really playing a role in that case.

That is interesting...thanks for posting this info.

 

[coyotecreek]

I've done a little research and found out about first rib mobilization. I have done some of the exercises and my neck feels really good without my pack. However I had my pack on for less than 5 minutes this morning and started noticing stiffness in my neck. This is with a 28# load but without the shoulder straps even touching my shoulders. All of the weight is on my hips. I didn't notice this with my Krux frame but I definitely do with the XCurve. The Krux frame caused pain in my hips where the XCurve doesn't. The XCurve seems to fit me like a glove. I really want to love it but I'm wondering if that's my problem. Maybe it's time to look into Kifaru or EXO. Any thoughts?