Question
I apologize in advance if there's too much info here but I'd rather that than not enough.

Firstly (and I'm not sure if this matters or not), I was told by the school nurse in a junior high scoliosis exam that my left shoulder is slightly higher than my right but its "not a big deal". I never had any doubts about that until recently.

Two years ago, I slipped in the shower but caught myself on a rail we had recently installed. My head whipped back and I felt a very intense pain in my neck and could hardly move my head. After a couple days of "waiting it out" I went to see the family physician, which (from reading some of the responses on this site) probably wasn't the best choice. He gave me a quick exam and sent me out the door with some muscle relaxers, saying it was just a mild whiplash injury. I only took those for a couple of days because they made me very irritable for some reason.

Eventually, the pain subsided for the most part. There was an occasional bad day and occasional headaches (my first migraine ever came about 6 months after the injury), but they weren't severe enough for me to think there was a legitimate issue.

For about the past year, it has gotten progressively worse. My occasional neck stiffness has turned into daily pain. I'd say it is at about a 5 or 6 on average. 7 on a bad day. I had my first severe headache about a year and a half ago and now they're a weekly occurrence, sometimes twice a week.

It also seems to me that my left shoulder may actually be raising a little. I have a bit more pain in the left trapezius and also underneath (behind?) my left scapula. I catch myself shrugging at various times throughout the day when I get nervous and that leads to more tension and pain.

Lastly (sorry again this is so lengthy) in the past 4 - 6 weeks I've noticed pain creeping down into my left arm. Its not really muscular pain. I'm assuming its the tendons shortening but I'm no doctor. There's a pulling in my fingertips in the left hand when I stick my arms out in a "T" and try to raise my hands perpendicular to my arms.

I'm not particularly active as far as exercise goes. I drive 160 miles a day (about 3 hours) round-trip for work. My work isn't physically demanding. In fact, I'm somewhat sedentary, although I am in fairly good shape/health. My posture leaves something to be desired and has gotten worse as a result of my babying the pain. I've played the guitar for about 8 years and that's probably the worst thing on my posture, although I try to correct it when I'm conscious of it.

That's all I can think of. I've tried massage therapy and that's about it. I haven't been to the doctor since the initial injury. I've been told I should try a chiropractor and/or working out (particularly the back muscles) but I wanted to get a professional opinion before I took any action as I'd rather get started on the right foot. If you need any information, I'd be more than happy to provide it. Thank you in advance for your time. You guys are providing a great service to us.

PS
I'm a 23 year old male if that's important. Thanks again.

Answer
Hi,Justin,

It simplifies down to this:

Whiplash injuries provoke a protective, postural reflex that involves a tightening of the neck muscles.

Headaches come most often from tight muscles. (You may read my article on headaches and whiplash injuries at somatics.com/page4b.htm.)

Nerve impingements (left arm pain) also come from tight muscles.

Rising shoulders are part of the protective reflex (when the neck is involved).  The scapular pain sounds like part of that reflex.

The answer:  quiet the protective postural reflex and reclaim free control of the involved muscles.  The means:  somatic education (a brain-body training process).  You can't address that reflexive pattern by drugs, massage or by skeletal manipulation, but only by movement training.

The articles explain and point you to resources for clearing up the problem.

with regard,
Lawrence Gold