need help - nerve pain - neck

Since Friday was my last day at work until I return early in January, I will finally be taking a much needed break from the rat race and spend some time with myself.

I have so much reading to catch up on and have so many approaches I wan to try, that I will have difficulty budgeting my time wisely.

However, Feldenkrais' work is simply fascinating that I really want to immerse myself in both the theory and, hopefully, application.

Although there are many metaphysical concepts we might consider but never be able to prove, one concept I want to explore further is how psychological, physical and spiritual/etheric traumas imprint on each other in some order of operation and how to undo the process. The adage that you don't need to know what started a fire to put it out is certainly not an absolute, especially when we consider the possibilities of how trauma is reflected in the various spheres of human existence.

I recently read How to befriend your shadow (2001) by Jean Monbourquette and am working toward trying to reintegrate aspects of myself that I relegated to my shadow as proposed by carl jung.

Feldenkrais' approach (from what little I've read so far) seems to blend nicely with Jung's shadow and there is room to consider that if we relegated aspects of ourselves that others might find undesirable to our shadow in our childhood, then something similar might also occur in both our tissue as well as whatever metaphysical equivalents we might have (ex. Subtle energy body).

If this is possible, then I wonder if we would have to do something specific to each affected sphere completely heal or would dealing with the initial injury in whichever sphere was first affect be sufficient?

Along those lines, I see how Fledenkrais's approach might perform healing in all spheres simultaneously

Gonzo
 
Gonzo said:
Since Friday was my last day at work until I return early in January, I will finally be taking a much needed break from the rat race and spend some time with myself.

I have so much reading to catch up on and have so many approaches I wan to try, that I will have difficulty budgeting my time wisely.

However, Feldenkrais' work is simply fascinating that I really want to immerse myself in both the theory and, hopefully, application.

Although there are many metaphysical concepts we might consider but never be able to prove, one concept I want to explore further is how psychological, physical and spiritual/etheric traumas imprint on each other in some order of operation and how to undo the process. The adage that you don't need to know what started a fire to put it out is certainly not an absolute, especially when we consider the possibilities of how trauma is reflected in the various spheres of human existence.

I recently read How to befriend your shadow (2001) by Jean Monbourquette and am working toward trying to reintegrate aspects of myself that I relegated to my shadow as proposed by carl jung.

Feldenkrais' approach (from what little I've read so far) seems to blend nicely with Jung's shadow and there is room to consider that if we relegated aspects of ourselves that others might find undesirable to our shadow in our childhood, then something similar might also occur in both our tissue as well as whatever metaphysical equivalents we might have (ex. Subtle energy body).

If this is possible, then I wonder if we would have to do something specific to each affected sphere completely heal or would dealing with the initial injury in whichever sphere was first affect be sufficient?

Along those lines, I see how Fledenkrais's approach might perform healing in all spheres simultaneously

Gonzo
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Hi Gonzo,
I hope that you are enjoying your much needed free time and are able to read and :zzz: and heal your neck pain even more.
Back in the 90's I did some Feldenkrais and found it very helpful in releasing some patterns [programs!] but fwiw, I rarely had any specific memories of trauma when I wanted them or thought I should have them. I agree with you that Feldenkrais works at many levels, and it is in my thinking, a gentler more natural approach than let's say rolfing or massage is. That's what I really liked about it.
There is so much out there, and living where I did then (Boulder, CO) was a veritable cornucopia of things I just fell into, like re-birthing, hypnotherapy training, past life regression, some Wilhelm Reich workshops and some body work like massage and acupuncture... It all helps, but one thing I have noticed, that you may have noticed too, is that it all happens organically anyway--the right type of healing work just appears or someone tells you about it, just when you need it and are ready for it.

Another thing is that back in the 90's it was a big thing for people to REMEMBER the trauma, really go into it, and then 'release' it. There was so much pressure to do it 'right' that I think I might have forced some 'memories' just so I could feel better about my 'progress' and such. When I did have any specific memories of infancy or childhood, for instance, they always came when I least expected them, and the timing was so perfect!
These days practitioners seem to say, 'Whatever comes up, just let it be there. No need to go back to the original trauma, Your cells remember, your body is wise in its timing and methods. Well, that seems like a good way to approach all this.

Then it comes to mind what Laura says in her Secret History book about how programs are passed on to us, and put into us (you can even see them in a correctly done astrology chart!) and about how the emotional brain works in releasing neuropeptides when we are triggered somehow, and how this knowledge and watching self teaches us to become more objective.
I was wondering if you have had the chance to read that section...Chapter 2: The Chemistry of Alchemy in Secret History Of the World. That would be my 2 cents worth, and perhaps a good reading companion to the Feldenkrais work.
Oh, and i am sure you have quite the reading list already!! :/

Although there are many metaphysical concepts we might consider but never be able to prove, one concept I want to explore further is how psychological, physical and spiritual/etheric traumas imprint on each other in some order of operation and how to undo the process.
Click to expand...

I would love to hear more about what you are exploring regarding this possible order of operation. I am wondering also about concurrent lifetimes affecting our 3D everyday life. Seems like there is a heck of a lot of bleed throughs happening as well!
 
Hi Gonzo, I am confused with your search for a modality which will reintegrate aspects of yourself that you relegated to your shadow. Do you not find EE efficacious? It is my understanding that it is the gold standard for this type of healing. According to the C's it reintegrates past life trauma as well as our current life traumas.
 
Hi aaron r,

You ask a great question.

Although the EE program is beneficial, if not the de facto standard here, I believe I would benefit from releasing tension and trapped emotions in the deep tissue as a companion to EE.

The spasms and nerve pain have continued long after I started both the USD and EE program and, although they have been reduced in frequency and intensity, the spasms themselves as well as chronic nerve pain in my legs and arms are interfering with my ability to relax both my body and mind, interfering with my ability to do the complete EE and meditation program. They are also interfering with my ability to concentrate at work, which only increases my stress level.

I had some success with acupuncture and massage, but the tension and pain continued.

I have also gone to a chiropractor (something I thought I would never do again, since it was a chiropractor's violent manipulations that sent me to the emergency room twenty years ago with organ failure due to further compressing an already compressed nerve root in my lower back). The new chiropractor administered A.R.T. (Active Release Technique) which was painful enough to make me nauseas and nearly faint, but could not get sufficient release the tension in my neck, back and upper legs.

I had also attended massage therapy, but the deeper tissue would still not release and whatever gains we made would return the next day.

Since I have been suffering from chronic nerve pain down my legs for 20 years and down my arms sporadically for nearly as long, my body has learned how to accommodate the pain through posture and movement changes and I believe if I can help my body relearn proper movement while releasing stored tension, I would be able to better benefit from the complete EE program.

I am always open to suggestions though.

Gonzo
 
Laura said:
Rolfing.
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I can vouch for this. recently I had 3 sessions of rolfing. It is very rough and I was shouting with pain( I am sensitive physically too ), but the emotions that came out are exactly similar to what I was getting for one and half years from EE and some emotions doesn't go away, what ever I did. I was disappointed and impatient. I am surprised that after Rolfing, the impact of them reduced considerably. Again these emotions are layered. if some physical layer is stuck, how much intellectual realization happens, the pain will still stay.
Now I started realizing more that every reaction is a program and mechanical.
 
I believe if I can help my body relearn proper movement while releasing stored tension, I would be able to better benefit from the complete EE program.
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The reason that it is difficult to change our pattern with out outside help is that the familiar pattern feels right kinaesthetically - even thought it might feel painful our overall sense of how head/trunk/ limbs relate to one another will feel familiar and 'right' Now say for instance your shoulders are too far forward pulling down on your neck forcing you head forward therefore throwing something else back to counter balance. What happens when you decide I will put my shoulders back - its going to feel unfamiliar - now it could unfamiliar and right - or unfamiliar and wrong and another wrong relationship - how will you know? If its unfamiliar wrong then sooner or later its going to cause another readjustment in the wrong direction another layer of tension on the onion.

If you want to be active and learn a new skill that puts you in the driving seat as regards your body tensions and habitual then I would suggest Feldenkrais or Alexander Technique (Alexander Technique will also begin to highlight that as well as habitual muscular patters you have habitual thought paterns that run like a record groove.) I would advise against self teaching Alexander as you will use your own uncalibrated and most probably out of alignment instrument as your guide. Feldenkrais has exercises tha can be done safely and a re revea;ing after time.

If you just want relief then there are many other possible alternatives such as rolfing as Laura suggested or the gentler Bowen Method.

Massage : I personally found deep tissue manipulation massage benefits to be short lived as they never changed my pattern of movement or pattern of thinking or pattern of emoting so gradually tensions came because I recreated them.
 
Yes, I agree, getting rolfed would be beneficial. It was the June 9 session that initially got me thinking about it. But I have to admit, my aversion to pain after the massage and the chiro's ART sessions has increased somewhat. When Stevie Argyll mentioned Feldenkrais, I was hoping I might have found a gentler way to get me over the hump.

I have a doctor's appointment in a couple weeks, to get a prescription for massage so that I can try to get it covered by my benefits plan, otherwise I just can't afford it.

I do think Feldenkrais is quite interesting. Bringing my awareness to your body both in motion and at rest while also paying attention to specific emotions proves more difficult than I originally thought it would. It reminds me of the first time I learned how to scan my body, starting from my head and working downward, just taking note of every sensation as I went down my body. Heck, after a few minutes I was still near the top as there was so many sensations going on that I never noticed before.

I am trying to get back into physiotherapy, where they do the kinesiotaping but I will need a prescription for that as well. I wasn't able to get my pre-cut shoulder tape for Christmas, as I had hoped but, in the end, it might be a good idea to have the physiotherapist's take on it anyway. The clinic I am going to try to visit is a sports therapy clinic that seems to specialize in sports injuries and I've met a few of their clients who seem quite happy with their work.

I am continuing my reading up on DMSO and applying it when the pain gets bad. Amazing how quickly it works.

Gonzo
 
SA
If you want to be active and learn a new skill that puts you in the driving seat as regards your body tensions and habitual then I would suggest Feldenkrais or Alexander Technique (Alexander Technique will also begin to highlight that as well as habitual muscular patters you have habitual thought paterns that run like a record groove.) I would advise against self teaching Alexander as you will use your own uncalibrated and most probably out of alignment instrument as your guide. Feldenkrais has exercises tha can be done safely and a re revea;ing after time.
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I agree with this Gonzo. Did you get the chance to try it yet? Hang in there, you are in my thoughts. :flowers:
 
Gonzo said:
Since I have been suffering from chronic nerve pain down my legs for 20 years and down my arms sporadically for nearly as long, my body has learned how to accommodate the pain through posture and movement changes and I believe if I can help my body relearn proper movement while releasing stored tension, I would be able to better benefit from the complete EE program.

I am always open to suggestions though.

Gonzo
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A rolfer will suggest 10 sessions, which will address the entire body and can be costly. An interesting thing about a rolfing session is that the practicioner will have you walk around a few times each session and look at the way you move. Then, she or he will suggest ways to improve your posture and the like. I was living in another town than my family when I had the sessions done, and when my family saw me again, they thought I had grown a couple of inches!

If you are worried about the roughness, a good practicioner ought to be able to tell you rather or not the treatment can help you or is too rough at the moment. Also, a good practicioner should be able to gauge how much you can handle, but a rolfer may very well take you to your limits. Mine always told me that if I could continue to breathe she would keep going. It is an extremely transcendental experience and some kind of release will happen. However, it is like Stevie Argyll mentioned. If you have not understood your machine sufficiently well, then the release won't change you. But emotional release... Oh yeah...

I see you mentioned a sports clinic. My brother had herniated discs in the upper and lower back and had a lot of positive things to say about his physical therapy. He was taken through exercises designed to strengthen certain muscles that would help support the spinal cord. He also liked his chiropractor, but it was a chiropractor who had positive reviews from MANY patients as in 20 or 30. Essentially, it was the unofficial chiropractor for my brother's place of work. By word of mouth, he had built a practice there. There is such a huge variation in quality amongst chiropractors that I personally would not go to one unless I were in my brother's situation where I heard from 20 or so people that the quality of treatment is good.

As for finding a rolfer, at the time I received my treatments there was only one place that certifies rolfers. It is the rolfing institute in Colorado, and there is a list on their website of certified rolfers. I certainly would not get a rolfing from someone not on that list. The certification process is demanding enough that someone on that list should have an acceptable minimal competence.

Finally, I would like to mention one more modality but with a little caution: cranial-sacral therapy. I say "with caution" because my estimation of this method is based on 2 sessions with one extremely skilled practicioner. I mention it because I think you are saying you might want something a little gentler than rolfing at the moment. It is VERY gentle; so gentle that it was difficult to call it bodywork with respect to the modalities I had previously experienced. However, I found the emotional release to be every bit as powerful as rolfing.

The theory behind it is a little odd. They say that they are doing micro-adjustments of where bones fit tightly together in the skull and in the sacrum. I can't quite wrap my head around this, but the effect of the treatment for me was deeply relaxing and deeply releasing. Frankly, I would want to trust my practicioner for this type of treatment because I found that both times I entered a state of deep relaxation and deep hypnosis. It was rather undescribable, and like I said, every bit as releasing the rolfing though it could be that the fact I had already gone through the rolfing sessions in the past could have made such an experience more possible. I simply don't know. I also can not speak for the quality consistency of those claiming to do this type of therapy though it is well enough known to be a "minor" at the rolfing institute (every student "majors" in rolfing there but must also have a "minor"). I would also like to reiterate that I was worked on by a master bodyworker.

I can certainly relate with finding meditation more difficult due to back problems. I am recovering from a bulged disc (thought it was herniated like in the past but recent scans said otherwise) in the lower back, and I am distinctly uncomfortable moving things around down there with very deep breathing though it is getting much better.

If you are feeling a strong urge to get bodywork, maybe now is the time. Best wishes for your recovery.
 
Hello, I was looking into this thread for some information about neck, nerve pain that others might have had and it seems I'm not the only one.

about a year and a half ago i was attacked by the most horrendous neck pain, after the most horrendous tooth pain I have ever felt that ended in the removal of my tooth altogether, they both happened witting weeks of each other but anyway.

I would describe my neck pain as a sharp, intense pain that would twist my neck in one direction with any small move, I also couldn't sleep for several days, and this went on for at least a week and a half after some care, massages, water, ice, and even DMSO. well, I thought of it as your common torticolis that goes away, but read on it anyways, and it felt way too much for a normal pain.

after that and until now I've felt an annoyance there that seems to intensify gradually with certain activities but never as bad as the first episode, but now recently I felt it again very bad, and after some thought on it I decided that aside from the care I could provide myself at home I would try a chiropractor.


I would first like to ask Gonzo if you healed fully since then, how you feel is now (2014) or how your neck is doing and if if you ever tried going to a chiropractor?. (this thread was in 2010)

I already did my first visit (and I was in panic I must say) and felt incredibly great after, still some weakness but great nonetheless but the second visit I guess the nerve was upset and bothered which triggered inflammation, once again, I'm trying not to lift anything, massage and every so often put DMSO, and put some turmeric on my food since it has anti-inflammatory properties I read and although I'm not falling off I feel very tired and sore.

I am still trying to figure out the tapping that is best for me for that particular part of my neck.

Thanks in advance.

PS: other symptoms of the 2 strong episodes were mental fogginess, tingling, loss of sensation to some degree.
 
Hello Felipe,

I've had pretty bad neck pain too, although not to the degree you describe yours.

Felipe4 said:
about a year and a half ago i was attacked by the most horrendous neck pain, after the most horrendous tooth pain I have ever felt that ended in the removal of my tooth altogether, they both happened witting weeks of each other but anyway.
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Interesting, because I've also noticed a connection between my teeth and my neck pain. Specifically my wisdom teeth. You may want to look into the concept of tensegrity as it relates to osteopathy, it's a significant feature in their literature/teaching. After describing all of the different connections I felt in the various areas of my body, my OCF (osteopath in the cranial field) mentioned this term to me. After a brief search it seems like this might be a good starting point:

_http://www.osteopathic-research.com/paper_pdf/Pflueger.pdf

Felipe4 said:
I would describe my neck pain as a sharp, intense pain that would twist my neck in one direction with any small move
...
after that and until now I've felt an annoyance there that seems to intensify gradually with certain activities but never as bad as the first episode
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I'm no expert, but it sounds like the root of your problems (in 3D terms) are mechanical. The intensity and sensitivity sounds like you have a pinched nerve or something.

Felipe4 said:
but now recently I felt it again very bad, and after some thought on it I decided that aside from the care I could provide myself at home I would try a chiropractor.
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If that works for you, I think that is great. But chiropractic has some serious limitations. Namely they focus on the bones, making the tissue like muscle and fascia a secondary concern, if a concern at all. Additionally they don't typically advise you on diet. From personal experiences, and from those of many people on this forum, it's very likely that something you are eating is causing flare-ups. For example, if I eat seed oils (like canola) my neck hurts like heck.

Felipe4 said:
I already did my first visit (and I was in panic I must say) and felt incredibly great after, still some weakness but great nonetheless but the second visit I guess the nerve was upset and bothered which triggered inflammation, ...
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Probably because a chiropractor is not trained to address the underlying tissue, which is what holds your bones in place. I went to a chiro for 2-3 times a week for almost a year, and I noticed little to no long-term gain. I would recommend seeing a Rolfer and/or an Osteopath that focuses on manipulation - an OCF is a good choice. An OCF has the advantage in the States of being insurance-approved. Between the two there is a lot of overlap in training and skills, but an OCF in the US is actually a doctor, and has gone to medical school + a few years if they specialize like an OCF. A Rolfer will tell you they work on fascia, whereas an OCF will tell you they work on fascia, muscle, bone, and fluids. I have seen both extensively, first a Rolfer than an OCF. For me, both helped a lot. I first saw Rolfers for years, but I reached a point where a Rolfer didn't have the training or education and then the OCF was very helpful.

Felipe4 said:
... and every so often put DMSO, and put some turmeric on my food since it has anti-inflammatory properties I read and although I'm not falling off I feel very tired and sore.
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Again, I am no expert, but if your underlying root issue is mechanical, DMSO and other anti-inflammatory's are only going to alleviate the problem, not solve it.

Felipe4 said:
PS: other symptoms of the 2 strong episodes were mental fogginess, tingling, loss of sensation to some degree.
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Something else to consider, is your intestinal health. Gut issues/inflammation can definitely cause mental fogginess. Cleaning up your diet, and eating things like sauerkraut, onions, and garlic can help in that regard.

Ps. An Osteopath is called something else outside of the US, but I can't remember what. The school of medicine that is Osteopathy originated in the States, but I remember reading that European countries have a similar school.

Good luck to you,
 
I'm certainly going to look into that,
and well, I cut down sugar almost completely (I'm working on the chocolate department), wheat completely, I eat mostly meat (cow 50%,pork40% chicken or other 10%) rarely veggies, and rice (still has gluten in it). Himalayan salt, avocados, eggs. that is what my diet looks like at the moment for the most part.

The chiropractor's conclusion was mainly that my neck had lost its banana shape curve to it, and the theraphy consisted in the correction of the neck with the aim of regaining the curve, now I agree in the sense that I feel the difference when I walk I even felt incredible after the first visit, but his approach IMO is mainly to correct the pain via the correction of my posture meaning that once the bones are align the nerve will fall into place so to say, given off course that it's just my bones and not other tissue interfering, I even thought it might even be a cyst!

the x-rays didn't show any formation there though, so It really has me thinking, all it showed is that i didn't have the banana he described, and its true my neck looks straight with these two crooked vertebrates dancing around. (I was hoping the x-ray showed something on that spot)


And the other thing was the mental fogginess, I doubt it was intestinal, because I feel it immediately after any mayor annoyance happens there.

so maybe an osteopath is my next move.
 
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