My Aching Neck and Back – by Suzanne Jolly

Me climbing. Four pitches up on the apron of the Stawamus Chief (just outside of Squamish, BC).

I was a passenger in a car accident in 2005 and I have had chronic headaches and neck and back pain ever since. The pain is horrible and can take me out of commission for at least a day (sometimes a couple days in a row).

Top Ten Reasons I Hate My Sore Neck and Back (and the Headaches That Come With)

1. I keep trying to fix them and they are stubborn and go back to bothering me
2. The car accident wasn’t very severe, so I’m still struggling to have insurance pay for even SOME of my medical fees. (and they always make me feel like a faker and a wuss).
3. You can’t see when my neck/back are out, so people don’t understand/know when I’m in pain.
4. I get moody (so it can effect my personal relationships) and I lack mental clarity when I have a headache (so I have problems focusing at work).
5. I’m never sure when they’ll come around or what brings them on, and I’m never sure how to get rid of them.
6. I should be better by now. It’s been four years.
7. Every time I have a little fall or do something physical, my neck/back get royally messed up again. It’s my greatest weakness now.
8. I worry that if it hurts this much in my late 20’s, how will I feel when I’m 80?]
9. If I get sick and have to stay in bed, then I end up being sick and getting a really sore back and neck and headache.
10. As an administrator, most of my job is at the desk in the office. This is really hard on my back and neck.

What I’ve Tried Thus Far

• Chinese acupuncturist (once a week for 6 months)
• Cranial-sacral therapists (once a week for a few months)
• Neuomuscular and massage therapists (once a week for a few months)
• Chiropractors (1-3 times/week for months at a time)

New Strategies

1. Drink More Water
   • Starting this week, I will replace coffee with water in my diet. I’ve been drinking 1-3 cups of coffee every day since I started working at UBC in April. This can’t be good for my digestion, let alone staying hydrated. Dehydration has been linked to headaches, so I think this might help me.
2. Incorporate Stretching (my health assessment stated that I should work on my flexibility)
   • When I’m at the desk for hours, I need to get up and move. Starting this week, I’m going to actually put into my work day a few little reminders in my outlook (for the first couple of weeks) that will pop up on my computer to remind me to stretch, or at least get up from my desk.
   • I’m going to start taking a yoga class once/week. Yoga is supposed to help with neck/back pain, and I know my muscles are regularly really tight. It will also help prevent injuries for my main physical activity: rock climbing. I’ve only taken a couple of yoga classes before, so this will be an interesting (and amusing) challenge, I’m certain.

Ultimate Goal: Reduce my neck/back problems to a point where I only need to see my chiropractor monthly (at most!), and I don’t have headaches on a regular basis.