Chronic Neck/Shoulder (trapziues?) Pain.

[Dextah]

Hi thanks for the reply, im not sure about intervertebral discs or Facet joints but i had an MRI and Xrays and it didnt show anything that would be causing my pain. And for trigger points my physio said i have some in my neck but im not sure what to look for to find them, but i dont think i have reffered pain when pressed on them in the neck, the tissue in my neck/area thats highlighted green has quite a few very sore tender spots that hurt alot when pressed along sides of the spine and about an inch outwards is pretty tender/sore to touch. And he hasent said anything about forward head posture i mentioned that i seem to lean forward alot but he didnt say anything. Also one thing i forgot to mention which is pretty big is it seems that using my arms to do anything brings it on and makes the pain worse for example if im slicing onions or gardening, it feels like its tearing in the back of the neck area when i bend over and let my arms hang or use my arms when bending over also. Also doing anything above my head with my arms like installing a ceiling fan KILLED so bad when i tried to do that about 3 months ago. Also today he gave me some stregthening exersies to work the muscles between my shoulder which is holding my arms out like a W and pulling backwards with a resistance band like 5 reps and 3 sets twice a day. What i cannot figure out is why the stretches/exercise exasterbate my discomfort so much. It makes it impossible to do any exercises without being in more pain. Im really losing hope my physio says to see him once more next week to see if any improvement its been about 6 weeks(6 sessions) with my current physio and almost no improvement so he says theres not much point in continuing to go if im seeing no benefit. My doctor cannot help me and now my physio cannot help me .

Thanks for the help!

[alexjgsr]

Also today he gave me some stregthening exersies to work the muscles between my shoulder which is holding my arms out like a W and pulling backwards with a resistance band like 5 reps and 3 sets twice a day. What i cannot figure out is why the stretches/exercise exasterbate my discomfort so much.

That's a pretty high load to start doing 'W's. It sounds like your getting your pain because your mid and upper traps are working to stabilise your shoulder blade, rather than lower traps and seratus anterior, which makes them over active and tight, linking in with previous comments re: trigger points. The idea of these exercises is that you're meant to use the smaller muscles of your back to stabilise your shoulder blade while you're moving. Doing them with a band straight off means you'll just use the muiscles that are already overactive, which just exacerbates the problem. try doing them without the band, and hold each rep for 5-8 seconds. You shouldn't feel like you're having to work really hard to stabilise. If you are, try doing the same exercise, but give your hands some support and just raise your elbows up.