Cervicalgia

[Thanksdoctor]

For almost a year I've been dealing with pain in my upper back and lower neck. I think the pain started from constantly looking at my phone with my neck slanted, the phone on the arm of a sofa and me sitting there looking at it. Maybe contributing is Poor posture slumped over shoulders I've had my entire life.

Been to several orthopedic doctors, now on my second round of physical therapy. The latest doctor diagnosed trigger point pain and last Thursday gave me injections in 5 trigger points in myofascial bands. He explained that the trigger points, the constantly contracting muscles is what's causing the pain.

Until today I've been convinced that the trigger points are what's causing the pain and that I might not be able to use TMS to stop the pain. I'm trying to get back on my bike trainer but it's been difficult to ride holding the drop handlebars. So I've been mostly limited to sitting straight up in the saddle and trying for a minute at a time to hold the bars. Just today though I was holding the bars and started to feel pain in my right shoulder and decided just to keep going and not be afraid of the pain. As I continued the pain dissipated and I was able to ride for three minutes without significant pain.

So I wonder if this is pretty standard TMS? Does the existence of the trigger points indicate any special techniques I should use? Thanks in advance.

 

[Cactusflower]

TMS is TMS no matter where it is. To get a better understanding of chronic pain (3 months or more) reading a book by Dr. Sarno is a must. Doesn’t matter the book, back pain or trigger point, fibromyalgia or CRPS.. no matter what, the approach is the same.
May I also suggest that instead of giving your pain a medical name, you just call it neck pain. Naming it will legitimatize it in your brain as a structural problem instead of TMS.