Question
I live in spain and have had a very painful neck and arm for 4 weeks now. I have been to the doctors who have given me pain killers and god knows what else. I even resorted to the hospital a week ago and they said i had a trapped nerve and gave me more tablets and I am now at my wits end with the pain. i have a small 3 year old dauhter who needs a lot of attention and my husband is out at work all day. I really do not know what to do any more and do not want to walk around like a zombie because of the tablets. Please tell me if there is just one movement i can do to get rid of this. Surely it only took one to get like this and I cannot function anymore with one arm. Living in spain is a whole different kettle of fish bedcause everywhere is so far away and I dont have a lot of money to pay the prices of private medical. Please help. Maybe there are some Exercises I can do. HELP

Answer
Ouch!  It would be great if you could get a few chiropractic treatments--altho there is no guarantee that would help it would be the most likely thing to make a big difference.  I know there are not too many in Spain and they are not covered by the national health plan.  I know only one--a man in Barcelona named Guru Das Khalsa.

The one movement that *might* be helpful is a simple maneuver called the "chin tuck."  It's a subtle exercise in which you simple retract your chin straight backwards as far as you can (even if it's only a fraction of an inch).  Do not tilt your head backward at all while doin this--it should be a very slight nodding motion of the head.  Hold the chin tuck for about 5 seconds, then relax, and repeat several times.  You can repeat this several times per hour.
Another thing that might help is to lie on your back and have someone gently traction your neck by cupping one hand at the base of your skull and the other on your chin, and gently stretching straight up.  They can hold the stretch for 30 to 60 seconds, relax, and repeat as often as you like as long as it feels good.

Good luck!