We’ve all been there: a long day at the computer entering data into a spreadsheet, typing out blogs for your business, or ripping through newbz in Call of Duty Warzone. That spot in between your neck and your shoulder blade begins to ache. Maybe you’ve got a pain at the base of the skull but you certainly have trap pain.
Like the smart steward of your body, your search for a solution leads you to Google or YouTube. “Trap pain relief,” you search. There, you find a plethora of options. Some providers group your trap pain into a symptom descriptor called Upper Cross Syndrome. There are upper trap stretches. There are lower trap exercises. Which rhomboid strengthening exercise will you do? Do you use a posture corrector?
Let’s clear up the confusion. In my career as a healthcare provider, I’ve prescribed exactly zero trap stretches. I’ve prescribed exactly zero lower trap exercises. I’ve prescribed exactly zero rhomboid stretches. In fact, I’ve treated the trap directly only a handful of times.
C1-C2, C5-C6, and C6-C7 are the most statistically relevant offenders. The compression is caused by either degeneration to those segments or adhesion in the muscles and ligaments that traverse the joint. The former is unfixable and must be managed. The latter is easily fixable in our office, where we specialize in removing adhesion to reduce chronic pain.
The other option for your trap pain is a bit more complicated: the accessory nerve. Cranial nerve eleven, the accessory nerve, starts in your brain, travels down the neck, and innervates the trapezius muscle. Due to stress, overuse, or a lack of blood flow, adhesion will cross-bridge the nerve to muscle. As a protective mechanism, your trapezius will hold tone in order to prevent the nerve from becoming compromised. There’s nothing more dangerous than tearing a nerve. Your musculoskeletal system will protect your nervous system with tension.
Because posture is a large factor in any neck dysfunction, it's your job to begin to make postural changes at home. The two biggest positions of offense are looking down at your phone and your desk set-up. Avoid looking down at your phone. With your neck straight, bring your phone closer to eye level while tucking your chin. This will keep your neck more organized and prevent making the pain worse.
Elevate your monitor while working at your desk. Try and have the lower-third of the screen at eye level. Get a comfortable chair with a firm back. Keep both feet planted on the ground while sitting and try to stack your shoulder-blades back while working.
Postural changes will help manage the pain, but the source needs to be fixed. An accurate diagnosis is required. Does your trap pain surface while bending your neck or your upper back? Does it come about from rotating your neck? You might have adhesion in your serratus posterior superior. Is your range of motion full but still have tight traps? It could be your levator scapulae muscle.
Every effective care plan starts with a diagnosis and ends with durable treatment. It’s a confusing road to self-diagnosis. It’s an impossible road to self-treatment.
Once we've identified the aggravating tissue, we can use Shockwave therapy to break up scar tissue, regenerate joints, and get you back to doing what you need to and want to on a daily basis.
At Wildcard Spine and Sport, we specialize in fixing pain that’s lasted longer than six months, even if you’ve seen two or more providers. We are the only practitioners in the five boroughs certified to diagnose and remove adhesion. Click the button below or call the office today at 917-908-0055.