Spring Neck and Shoulder Pain

Why does my shoulder hurt?

I love Spring! Here in the Lake District its like a Walt Disney film! Little birds fly around singing in a blue sky, lambs are impossibly sweet and everywhere breaks into blossom.

It’s beautiful! There are smiles on faces again at last and a feeling of growing happiness and excitement everywhere.

In my clinic I can hear it in the quiet, happy buzz outside on the street. Particularly welcome after this last, difficult, Winter Lockdown.

And this year, like every year in early Spring, my clinic has filled up with people with sore necks and shoulders! Some things haven’t changed! In fact aches and pains in lots of different places. At this time of year old injuries seem to play up, everyone’s skin causes trouble and there’s a general feeling of tiredness going about too. But mostly it’s every-body’s neck and shoulders that are hurting.

Every year this seems a puzzle. It’s Spring! Trees are coming into leaf, we’re seeing friends more, out in our gardens again, walking, exercising - so what’s the pain and tiredness about?

This weekend has been a perfect example of the answer. The weather has been truly gorgeous! I was still gardening outside today in bright sunshine at 7pm in the evening after a morning start. We get nearly 4 hours more daylight every single day compared to 6 weeks ago and the light intensity has just about doubled in this time. With the increase in light we are much more alert, looking around and moving more without even thinking about it (I particularly noticed how much more I was moving, chasing chickens off my new plantings over and over again today!).

At this time of year all that increased activity comes at the end of a long, hard Winter which has left us a bit tired and run down, often without knowing it. So we’re looking around, moving more quickly and with more alertness, moving things and working slightly longer hours with cold, tight, under-used necks and shoulders.

Often by the time I see someone their ache has turned a bit more complicated. Depending on what’s happening I might use heat, cupping, massage and of course acupuncture. I also like to get to the bottom of why things have gone wrong in that particular way, so I look at movement too and often give exercises to increase specific strength and flexibility.

What could we all do that would make it easier for our bodies to adapt to the fast paced change of Spring? Rest a bit more; warm up before we start digging and lifting; keep our necks and shoulders wrapped up when the wind’s cold outside even though the sun might be shining; and lots of lovely ginger tea!