My shoulder was a pain in the neck

The Vitruvian Man (c. 1485). Leonardo da Vinci 

A white pick-up truck fish-tailed out of control and crossed an interstate one pitch-dark, misty, zero-visiblity morning.  There is only one way for me to see the situation.  I was the most fortunate person on the planet that day.  

The truck hit my small, two-seater on the passenger side, took me with it, continuing in a spin, destroyed the front end, and finally finished impact by smashing the driver side.  I spun 270 degrees and was left crossing all lanes of the freeway.

Somehow, I walked away.

Following the accident, I saw a doctor who essentially said I was fine -- and given the severity of the accident and likely result, I agreed.

However, as long as I could remember following the accident, I have had a nagging (and sometimes, excruciatingly painful) shoulder blade.  This summer, I was on vacation and injured myself.  There weren't a lot of medical options readily available.  The pain was so severe, I had to investigate it further.  Literally, I was barely able to move and when lying in bed, I could not move at all.  Rest became impossible.

I am hoping that sharing what I learned about this injury may help someone else.

It turns out that, as the pain got worse, there were clues to its source and its remedy.  I noticed that I had numbness in three fingers on the same side as my aching shoulder.  My middle, ring, and "pinkie" finger were feeling cold and numb.  The origin seemed to run from my elbow down.

As one might expect, from a car accident, the doctor and I should have suspected whiplash at the time, but we didn't.  

I found a very helpful video series that may help you determine the source of your injury if you suffer from shoulder or arm discomfort.  Of course, I encourage you to visit your doctor and ask about "referred pain" -- pain that may originate from your neck or elsewhere.  However, in the meantime, if these exercises can help you or give you answers to the source of your discomfort, I am happy to have had the chance to save you some time or give you some options for temporary relief.

My shoulder pain could be explained as follows:

Damage to the nerve root at C6 – 7 (C7 root) will result in

• Pain from the neck and shoulder down the outside (lateral) surface of the arm, to the middle finger.
• Weakness in the triceps, with decreased sensation along the back of the hand and middle finger.
• The symptoms may be reduced if you put your hands on the top of your head, which may relieve pressure on the nerve by increasing the space between the cervical vertebrae.

This video series proved to be extremely helpful in determining the exact source of my shoulder pain.  The exercises are surprisingly simple.  I knew the moment that my shoulder responded by making the exercises difficult to perform (but not painful), I had targeted the origin of my pain.  A pain in the neck!

I didn't expect the neck movements to be felt so strongly in my shoulder blade area, but each exercise proved to be a tremendous test when I tried them.  Of course, the pain was at its worst at this point, but that was precisely how I determined the benefits of the stretches.  Surprisingly enough, after just a couple "sessions" of the exercises, I was almost entirely symptom-free.  I hope that this information may save someone from waiting, wondering, and living with the chronic condition only to find that one day, the pain leads to immobility.

Whether fitness is your thing or not, "referred pain" can be perplexing and chronic.  Don't ignore it.  Listen to the signs.  Your body is giving you clues.  Trace these breadcrumbs to the source.  Then, when you visit your doctor, you are prepared to tell them "exactly where it hurts".

Knee Health and Newton's Law

Whether you run, play tennis, enjoy team sports, or frankly, move at all, you may be at risk for a knee injury.  Joints are intricate pieces of machinery.  Prone to wear and tear as well as stress and twists.  Recovery can be long and arduous, but there are ways to build up your strength, possibly delay or remove the need for surgery, or best of all, keep them strong before you fall into the group of athletes or chronic pain sufferers known for their "bum knees".

As most of us know, swimming and cycling are the sports recommended most for those suffering from knee problems.  Swimming not only builds strength, but water workouts provide cushion and stability, as well as a healthy form of resistance exercise for our muscles and joints.  

Cycling may present an initial challenge.  You may feel a few cracks or creaks if you do have an injury.  Start easy and listen to your body's messages about when to back off a bit.  In the long term, if you can deal with the strange feeling and noises emanating from your joint, the payoffs are tremendous.  Essentially, cycling holds the key to naturally solving knee problems.  The quadriceps.  Quadricep strength and building these muscles supports your knee and takes a lot of the pressure off of the joint itself.  The "work" belongs to the muscle group, where it belongs.  Not left to a set of bones (your knee joint) and the delicate cartilage that allows the joint to provide mobility and rotation.  

Runner's World describes, "When you walk, you keep your legs mostly straight, and your center of gravity rides along fairly smoothly on top of your legs. In running, we actually jump from one foot to the other. Each jump raises our center of gravity when we take off, and lowers it when we land, since we bend the knee to absorb the shock. This continual rise and fall of our weight requires a tremendous amount of Newtonian force (fighting gravity) on both takeoff and landing."

Imagine the force we don't even consider as we enjoy the most natural sport or activity of them all!  

Cross-training is for real.  Take some of that force off of those joints once in awhile.  You'll get better mileage!  Swim if you can -- and cycle -- most definitely.  Maybe there's a reason we never forget how to ride a bike!