Shoulder/Neck injury rehab

[nm87710]

I’m new to the JP injury/rehab forum but a friend recommended it so I thought I’d give it a try. I did search the forum for similar issues/sysmptoms with no success. Any rehab suggestions/ideas greatly appreciated. Here's my story...


1. When did the pain begin? 6 weeks ago

2. What were you doing at the time? Or did the pain come on gradually over time? Crashed in bike race going over the handlebars landing on the back of my head(cracked helmet) and right side. Finished race. Pain/stiffness started in shoulder/neck 3-4 days after crash. Dr. said the sudden impact at the back of my neck strained the ligaments and time would heal it.

3. Where, anatomically, is the pain? Back of left shoulder and up the neck. Using Bodysmart it is across the trapezius and up the levator scapulae.

4. What does the pain feel like? Sharp? Dull? Aching? Stabbing? Shooting?
Started as constant aching pain/stiffness which lasted for 2-3 weeks(while I stopped training) then improved to what is now an achy/dull pain/stiffness with some sharp pain occurring after ~2 hrs of riding.

6. What motions make your pain worse? Turning head all the way to the left or right to look behind or looking up/down. Overall though, I don’t feel my range of motion has changed much – just stiff and pain at the limits.

7. What, if anything, makes your pain better? Ibuprofin and stretching seems to help. Regular stretching of my shoulders and neck on longer rides provides some relief but it always returns. Pain has not stopped me from doing normal activities or training but is literally a pain in the neck.

8. Does your pain radiate to any other part of your body? No.

10. What is your main concern regarding the pain and its consequences? Pain/stiffness/pinched nerve in neck will limit ability to train. Looking for rehab guidance/ideas.

11. Have you ever injured that part of your body before? If so, how?
No, but I did have similar pain 15 years ago(not result of injury/trauma) with the other shoulder and cured it with PT.

12. Is your pain getting worse over time? And if so, how much worse over what time period? No. 3 weeks after injury I was ~80% recovered and after 6 weeks probably at 90% but seem to be stuck at 90%. Not improving or getting worse.

[UConnJulie]

Sounds like you strained a facet joint or two. The fastest treatment would be mobilization ... I'm a big fan of Geoffrey Maitland's techniques. You can look for someone trained in his methods here. Osteopathic treatment or chiropractic would work too.

If you want a do-it-yourself approach ... get out your lacrosse ball and start rolling that whole area. Do levator and upper trap stretches. Focus on your posture by sitting/standing as tall as you can. Do upper cervical nodding exercises (low effort to recruit postural muscles only).

HTH,

[nm87710]

Thank you very much for the suggestions!