Neck Hero

How cool would that be? A client walks into my office, and maybe I can see an aura that reveals the source of their pain. Maybe I just close my eyes and simply know—à la The Ancient One from Doctor Strange lore. Or maybe I can place my hand on an area and feel it. But wait! I actually do this last one all the time! Does this mean I am a superhero?

Well, not really. I do place my hands on the client to palpate the tissues. But the truth is that what I feel goes only as deep as what is immediately below the skin. It does not travel to the source and reveal itself like an anatomical river-raft trip of truth.

The reality is that it takes time to understand the origin of pain—time, practice, questions, and, within reason, trial and error. Understanding pain requires patience. Yeah, you know this already. But there is nothing quite like the humbling process of trying to figure out someone's origin of discomfort to drop you from your fantasy of superhero-dom.

Like Wonder Woman without her invisible jet, we are left to navigate the anatomical abyss on our own. Some regions of the body are more complex than others. And, typically, the more complicated the area, the more humbling that fall can be.

Once we have fallen, the path back to a new definition of superpower begins. Perhaps the best place to begin that journey is at the intersection of logic and the heart: the neck.

This complicated pillar that holds our heads high relies on the seven bones of the cervical spine (and their respective durable disks) for its "vertic-ability." Everything else surrounding and interacting with that beam has a very important job, including the muscles and all their intricate points of attachment.

There are some 26 muscles that move the head and neck to and fro. And even though we are not owls (although that might be a cool superpower!) we can do some pretty amazing things with these parts. Technically, there are more than a half a dozen ways the neck can move. But with all these combinations of contractions and consequential cramping, cricks, and conditions, how do we know what to work on, how to work on it, and where the pain is coming from?

First, know that though these muscles are mighty, they are small. And working with small muscles is a different art than working with big ones. Think about using your fingers to gently press into the muscles (and the even smaller muscle fibers) and find that depth that's going to produce harmony, not just noise.

Remember that a bodyworker's version of Batman's utility belt is at your fingertips.

Second, understand that the neck is the most guarded area in the body—understandable considering all that can go wrong here. So, finding depth and pressure takes time. Approaching this work more like Spider-Man and less like the Hulk will yield some amazing results. Move slowly. Watch their breath. Earn their trust.

Third, remember that the neck bone is connected to the head bone. And the back bone. And the shoulder bone. Bones—plural. But you get the picture. Neck pain can come directly from neck muscles—but it can also come from the muscles of the jaw, the shoulder, the upper back, the lower back, and so on and so forth. Asking questions about what triggers the trouble will give you heaps of information about which soft tissue elements to focus on.

And last, but definitely not least, remember that a bodyworker's version of Batman's utility belt is at your fingertips. You own a tool kit that has some pretty amazing modalities in it. Start with Swedish, then switch to slow compressions, then pull out your myofascial release, then maybe throw a proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation in there. Or, start with myofascial release, gear up your friction, utilize your trigger point therapy, then smooth it out with Swedish.

Maybe we are superheroes. And our superpower is to alleviate pain. Just remember, in the words of Captain Marvel, "Good is not a thing you are. It is a thing you do." And you do such good work!