Question
Thank you so much for your answer. The Somatics website looks very interesting but will take me awhile to go through it all. I now remember reading and being very impressed by a book by Thomas Hanna many many years ago. I guess I felt I didn't need somatics at that time and filed it away somewhere in my mind. Thanks for reminding me of it. I do have a couple more questions if you don't mind--I recently read a book by Pete Egoscue on pain and was planning to start doing some of his exercises. If you are familiar with the Egoscue exercises, could you tell me what your take on them is? I think I'll want to do either them or somatics. Also, in my case I think you're right that the pain and lack of range of motion is caused by tension but could bone spurs and pain be caused by a lack or inbalance of calcium or other dietary/internal deficiency?
Thanks again--Steve-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
I had an x-ray because of neck pain. The x-ray showed I had a bone spur. Do you know what causes a spur and what might get rid of it?
Answer -
Steve,

A bone spur forms at the attachment of tendon (muscle-end) to bone and forms in the direction of the pull as a result of long-term muscular tension pulling on the bony attachment.

It can be prevented by retraining the muscle to a normal level of relaxation/tension.

Bone spurs have been known to dissolve once the tension is relieved.

Bone spurs are not usually the cause of pain, however.  It's the muscular tension (soreness) and grinding of bone against bone, as vertebrae are pulled too close together by the tight muscles.

You need to retrain those muscles in yourself.  See somatics.com for an approach that works.  (Massage/chiropractic won't work in the long term because they don't retrain the brain, which controls the muscles.)

Lawrence Gold

Answer
Steve,

The matter of dietary deficiency (or excess) wouldn't explain why bone spurs form WHERE they do.

As to Pete Egoscue's exercises, I have seen pictures.  They don't seem to take coordination into account, which makes a difference where movement (the function of muscles) is concerned.  For the muscles of the neck, coordination is particularly important, as those muscles balance the head and interact with eye movements.  Find out what he has.

with regard,
Lawrence Gold