Common Causes of Neck Pain

Nearly every day I see clients with neck issues. Did you know that an estimated 40 million Americans struggle with neck pain?

Common Causes of Head and Neck Pain

1. Injuries to ligaments

2. Strain from loss of range of motion in the neck

3. Chronic accumulation of muscle tension in the muscles of the face and neck

Ligament Injuries

There are 18 ligaments in the neck. They attach vertebrae, one to another, to allow for relative movement. The vertebra have “sticky outy bits” ie., attachment points, called processes. Some are in the back of the neck (spinous processes), and some are on the sides (transverse processes) - those places are where the ligaments live.

Massage can improve some ligament issues, and/or sometimes these issues heal over time.

Strain from Reduced Range of Motion

Range of Motion diminishes for many reasons - our use patterns, or it can happen slowly as we age. We may not even notice it happening. Issues occur when we suddenly “overdo it” by suddenly doing a task that takes the neck past its end range. This can cause a strain across the structures of the neck: muscles, tendons, fascia, ligaments, and joints.

One example: imagine that for the past decade, you’ve slept on your back every night with giant, fluffy stacked pillows. Your neck is craned far forward for 5-8 hours a day on those stacked pillows. After a decade passes, even during the daytime, your head has shifted forward of your body, and you lose a lot of your neck’s range of motion. One day you are startled by a loud noise from behind you. You swivel your head suddenly and strongly to see what the issue is… past your range of motion. The next day you are sore, and it feels like you’ve strained something.

Good news! You can restore and maintain range of motion yourself by stretching and watching your ergonomics. And of course massage is always here to help.

Accumulated Muscle Tension

Millions of people suffer from tension headaches*. Chronic tension in the face and back of the head (occipital region) are a common source of these.

A good rule of thumb: a “normal” number of tension headaches is 3-4 per year. 

Massage therapy is very effective in reducing frequency and intensity of headaches resulting from muscular tension. 

*Note that migraines are different than tension headaches, with more widely varied causes. For those, massage might help, but there are more effective modalities I might turn to first.

Obviously, this isn’t a comprehensive list. These are just some of the most common neck issues, from the perspective of a massage practice. There’s also acute injuries like whiplash, and referred pain from other issues. Every person is unique when it comes to their health issues.

Massage Can Help 

If you’ve got a sore neck, and you suspect massage might be helpful for you, book a massage, and let’s get you feeling better!

Massage Gift Certificates For Mother's Day

Do You Know Someone Who Needs a Massage For Mother's Day?

Grab a gift certificate for them online, in just 2-3 minutes!

The massage studio is open all weekdays but Wed, 12 noon - 7pm.

Book Online

I'd love to see you, too! Visit online booking to grab your next massage.

Upper Cross Syndrome: How Massage Can Help

I used to have such trouble with upper back pain when I worked in tech! As a 20-something, I worked long hours in front of a computer with an aspirin bottle next to my keyboard. I eventually learned that a lot of my issues were due to Upper Cross Syndrome, and that massage was an excellent way to dial down neck and shoulder pain.

What’s Upper Cross? It’s a combination of Tight and Inhibited Areas.

Tight: Muscles along the black line are super tight and over working: in the front of the body, the Pecs are Short and Tight (hint: these are the real key to the issue!) In the back of the body, it’s the upper back: Traps and Levator Scapula are Overstretched and Tight.

Inhibited: Muscles along the blue line are inhibited. That's the neck flexors in the front of the body, and Lower Traps in the back of the body.

It feels like severe tightness in the upper back, “between shoulder blades” or “tops of shoulders.” And often neck pain.

Sometimes also:

• Limited range of motion, ex. in the shoulder, or “I can’t turn my head”

• Tension headaches

• Anxiety. Head forward posture is part of the muscular pattern of the startle response. Staying engaged in this muscular pattern can cause your nervous system to assume you are perpetually in Fight or Flight, and to release the associated stress hormones.

Common in:

• Tech workers who are stationary for long periods on laptops, or at a desk

• People who do lots of driving

• New moms. Holding a baby in your arms for long periods of time, with head to one side, looking down at them

• People with skeletal issues, like extra degrees of curvature in the thoracic spine (read: a rounded upper back.)

What’s Happening in the Tissue? Short and Tight pecs are overactive, engaging for nearly every upper body movement, even when they shouldn’t. Over time, Short and Tight muscles are unable to return to a resting state, which inhibits the muscles responsible for opposing movements. The pecs act as pulleys - they pull the upper body and neck forward, sometimes with great force, causing muscles on the upper back to stretch all the way to their end range and beyond, and stay there. So, upper back muscles become overstretched, tight (actually taut), and painful.

When your chest caves in from tight pecs, your head moves forward of your body. And it takes a lot more strength to keep your head up and your eyes level to the horizon from here. (Think: the strength it takes to hold a bowling ball up, with the weight centered over your forearm, versus holding it shifted a few degrees forward.) Stabilizing your head becomes more difficult, and your body begins recruiting nearby muscles to help, usually those overstretched upper back muscles - Total overload!

Massage can help! The physical impact of massage is mostly to relax, ie, elongate muscles. So this is one of those interesting cases when getting “massage where it hurts” in the upper back feels good in the moment, but is actually elongating an already overstretched area, without addressing the shortened muscles that are pulling you forward - in this case, only working where it hurts puts you farther into dysfunction.

A massage plan with more lasting impact: Release the pulleys. Releasing the “short and tight” pecs allows you to return to a more normal posture. This, in turn, releases the force on the overstretched upper back muscles, letting them return to a normal resting length. (Yes, we typically work on the upper back as well, to check for trigger points, and also... hey, it feels really nice!) Pain levels go down, you see more ease of movement, and more normal range of motion.



Does this sound like you? Book a massage, and let’s get you feeling better!

When was the last time you felt awesome?

It’s Valentine’s day at the massage studio

At the root of Valentine's Day is appreciation. Appreciation for small gestures of daily support, and for all the hard times you've been through together. And yes, it normally focuses on romantic love and our partners. But I think it extends to our ultimate partner - ourselves.

It's often easier for us to notice when our partner is having a hard time and needs some care, than to notice the same thing in ourselves. I've seen this repeatedly in my clients - someone with serious muscular issues that are preventing them from the daily activities of living, will get off the table and say, "I feel awesome! But, you know who needs this though? ...My partner!" Inevitably, they book in their partner, who, sure, is maybe stressed out, but not in nearly as bad shape.



You are allowed to feel awesome. In fact, taking care of yourself helps those around you. I'm a big fan of that airline adage, "Put on your own oxygen mask before caring for others." Do I always remember to do it? Nope. But hey, here's a small reminder, for both you and me.

So book a massage, take a walk, or make room for whatever small thing brightens your day. I hope your Valentine's is one of appreciation.

Gift certificates Are Available Online

For those of you doing the traditional Valentine's thing of gift giving to a partner, massage gift certificates are available online. (I know mine puts up with a lot, y'all!) Choose your favorite design - there are some fun ones! Then email or print it. Someone is really going to appreciate it. Buy a gift certificate here.

Book a HSA or FSA Massage

Lots of clients are booking sessions with Health Savings Account or Flexible Spending Account funds right now. Many of those programs get topped up at the beginning of the year. Most of these programs are use-it-or-lose-it, and massage is an excellent way to care for yourself.

Massage can address the aches and pains you feel, or just give you an assisted way to get centered.



Here's how:

• Check with your program to see if massage is covered. (It usually is!)

• Make a massage appointment

• You can either pay with your HSA or FSA card, or, if that doesn't work for any reason, I can email a receipt with the codes needed to get you reimbursed.

Holiday Hours at the Massage Studio, 2023

I'm not sure how the end of the year snuck up, but here it is again! So sneaky! If you've got HSA funds (that's a health savings account) to use by end of year, massage is a great way to do that. Learn how at the end of this newsletter.

Holiday Hours For December

The massage studio will be open normal hours through Christmas Eve, and closed between Christmas and New Years.

Fri Dec 22 - Open

Mon Dec 25, thru Mon Jan 1 - Closed

Tues Jan 2 - Open

The massage studio will reopen for normal hours the rest of January.

Book a HSA or FSA Massage

It's an excellent time of year to use up Health Savings Account or Flexible Spending Account funds before they expire at the end of the year. Most of these programs are use-it-or-lose-it, and massage is an excellent way to care for yourself.

When was the last time you felt great? Massage can address the aches and pains you feel, or just give you an assisted way to get centered.



Here's how:

• Check with your program to see if massage is covered. (It usually is!)

• Get on the schedule, before the end of the year

• You can either pay with your HSA card, or, if that doesn't work for any reason, I can email a receipt with the codes needed to get you reimbursed.