Bardara has one of these small necks and she has a problem with stiffness at least a couple a times a month. You know the type where you can't turn your head. Shes tryed a lot of things such as Yoga (25 yrs) and relaxation stuff but nothing seems to help.

Heres my thing. I think she ought to lift weights! Don't you think with some strong bulky muscles (like mine) wrapped around her shoulders that would help? She says Yoga makes her strong but shes getting more and more frail every year. I get stupid and she gets frail!! What a pair!!

Anyway does anyone have this going on or have any ideas?.....Kirk

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2002

Answers

I just started homeschooling a whole group of little kids.I sit at a little table on a little chair.I am hunched over to talk to their little faces.My neck is killing me.I am taking,halibut liver oil,omega 3's, with my regular vitamins.I am also really aware of my posture when I am driving and such.It sucks to get old!!!I tried carrying some good sized logs to the pickup the other day,and it near killed me.I used to go to the chiropractor,but it makes me nervous lately ,so now when it gets real bad I use arnica,and get accupuncture.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2002

Yep, I got one of those long, giraffe necks too ;-)!!! But, from all the farm work I do here, hauling feed, hay, push mowing way too much grass, wrestling horses, hefting semi tires, and all the rest in an average week, I got muscles that allow me to swing a hundred pound sack of grain from the ground to the top of my shoulders and lug it a hundred yards or so ( I unloaded 14 sacks of feed just Friday, and, yes, I was a bit sore the day after!!!). So I got a strong set of neck and back muscles that help hold this pencil neck in firm place :- ).

By all means lifting weights (or buy a farm with hungry critters that need fed and a few too many acres to keep mowed and made into hay) will help with Barbara's neck trouble! But, start slow and easy, and work up to more weight very gradually. Strength training is highly recommended for women to prevent and treat osteoporosis as well, so she will be doing her body a double favor in addition to helping her neck, not to mention that she will be able to just toss you over her shoulder if you give her any flak ( just kidding Kirk ;-)!!!).

Make sure she is taking adequate calcium while she is doing all this so her bones have something to draw on as they get stronger as well.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2002

Here's an idea if the ache is there already and the prevention doesn't help........Get two tennis balls and put them in a sock. Lay on the floor and position one on each side of the spinal column starting high or low. Relax and let your bodyweight apply the pressure. If that is too much pressure, do this on a bed which will give some. Work these balls up until between the shoulder blades where a lot of tight necks begin. You can then move the tennis balls close together and position them at the base of the skull. Again, relax and let the pressure of your weight be enough. If any of this is painful (an 8 on a scale of 1-10), cease immediately. If she is so tender that the slightest pressure hurts, use one tennis ball (sock or no) and place it between shoulder blades while standing/sitting and leaning against wall to provide the pressure desired. The sock just keeps the balls from squirting free. Try this on the hollow of the hip for sciatica.

Massage and warmth often loosen things up to make this more effective. Liniments like icy hot work as counter-irritants and may provide temporary relief. Capsaicin liniments (tiger balm, etc.) may also help if applied every 4 hours. It is not unusual for the pain relief from capsaicin/capsicum to take a few weeks at this dosage to kick in. Good for chronic problems.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2002

How about hints for bad knees? Mine make so much noise (especially going up and down stairs) that it sounds like sitting in front of a crackling fire. Short of arthroscopic surgery (which I'm just not in the mood for at the moment!) I wonder if there's anything I can do? They are just beginning to be a little uncomfortable.

You folks sound like you've got some answers to everything!

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2002

O boy, Sheepish, have I got you plenty for "bad knees"!!! What DON'T you want to know about them, he-he!!!

First of all, have you had radiographs of your knees recently? Is there any cartilage degradation or not? Any rough edges on the ends of the joint itself? Is there still plenty of cartilage there, or is it wearing significantly?

Lets say you have some cartilage wear and tear, but the basic bone is still OK, you have several natural options at this point, you should take the chondrotin/glucosamine combo's available at Wally World (the Schiff brand is THE best for quality and effectiveness) at reasonable cost, take the highest recommended dosage for at least a month before you taper down to a maintenance dose. Take the EFA supplements to help your body deal correctly with the chronic inflammation present in your knees, my favorite is flaxseed oil capsules (organic) and evening primrose oil capsules ( because they are vegetarian and don't cause me heartburn like the fish oil does!!!)take these at the recommended dose at least twice a day. Be sure to take enough Ester C with bioflavnoids to help you build the new cartilage required to ease the pain in your knees, at least two 500mg. twice a day, or more. Calcium supplementation is a "given" considering our ages, are you getting at least 1200mg. a day you should, preferably in calcium citrate form? This is crucial for new cartilage development as well, be sure to take it in a 2 to 1 ratio of magnesium, that is, twice as much calcium as magnesium per day.

Any additional antioxidants you can take are beneficial at this point, selenium 200mg. per day, coenzyme Q 10 at least 50mg. per day, vitamin E, the natural version, d alpha, at least 400mg.per day, will help stop the progression of degradation of cartilage. Plus, it is good for your heart!!!

Exercise is the most important and often is the overlooked key thing for bad knees and other weight bearing large joints, you MUST get at least 30 minutes of gentle weight bearing exercise EVERY day! Yes, every day! Walking is the best, but others can be used, whatever you can do evry day. This keeps the joint properly lubricated and functioning correctly, plus it keeps the surrounding ligaments and tendons in peak performance to keep as much stress off the joint itself as possible.

I about thought my sports medicine doctor that I saw initailly about my knees and hips was totally nuts when he told me this about the exercise thing, my joints are KILLING me, I said! Just DO it, he said, trust me, it WILL help, and after a few weeks, I could tell the difference. I am now up to 2 1/2 miles a day, which doesn't sound like much, but, we live in country where nothing is flat, some of the grades I am walking are 40%, most all the ground is at least 18% grades or better, this is a trail I keep mowed across part of our 100 acres of hayfields and woods. Unless it is blizzarding or a hurricane force wind is in effect, I am out there, often in full Gortex getup, me and the four dogs, hiking like the fool I am, in whatever weather Mother Nature dishes out. My knees and hips are 150% better, so far, and I have been doing this daily hiking thing since January 1st, my New Years resolution, so to speak. I have lost some weight as well, which helps the joints tremendously, every 5 pounds you lose will be felt immediatly by your knees in reduced pain and inflammmation.

Finally, sorry I am so long winded ;-), you must avoid ALL OTC and prescription painkillers, except when ABSOLUTELY necessary, and then never more than one dose once a week or so, or, ideally, less than once a week. Why? Because they allow you to tear up your joint without you knowing it, and, mainly, because OTC and prescription painkillers mess with your immune system enough to allow the degradation to start in the FIRST place. Read the classic book, "Anatomy of an Illness", by what's his name ( I forget, my father has MY copy of it), it will change your opinion of OTC painkillers, even aspirin, FOREVER! Over use of OTC's are what caused my joint problems in the first place, I had torn up ACL in my right knee in 1989 attempting a 100 mile endurance ride in the sands of Northern Michigan on my horse Sonny, and I refused to quit, just took more pills for the pain. Tore it up big time, and refused to allow it to heal naturally, just took even more pills round the clock to deal with the constant pain, for years and years. Now I have joint pain in all my weight bearing joints, and a totally messed up immune system to show for it. White cell counts and T cell counts are all subnormal, not critically so, but definitley subnormal. I take astragalus root capsules twice a day to help keep my white cell count in a healthy range, otherwise, I catch every virus out there.

I know this is more than you want to hear, but, it is a very complex and inter-related problem when dealing with joint problems, there is no "magic" or quick cure.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2002

Annie, no it's just what I wanted to hear! Thanks so much. I think I thrashed my knees (they had been on the decline anyway) doing that 10 mile downhill last summer on the Bright Angel Trail in G. Canyon. Steep and hard on the lower extremities. Now with my sedentary job, I don't move around as much, PLUS I have been eating ibuprofen frequently. There's a history or osteoarthrosis/arthritis in my family. I can also see my finger joints beginning to bulge. Yikes!

Well, at least the rest of me still looks like a twenty-year-old Bwahahahahahhaha.......!!!

Seriously, thanks for the info.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2002

Kirk I also have a long skinny neck. Guys love it! But I also have a blown disk and two others that are torn. I get stiff necks all the time. I was told yoga was the best thing I can do for my neck. Surgery would be maybe 50% successful. Range of motion stretches are great but I am sure if she is doing yoga it is the best she can do. Maybe an x-ray would be a good idea.

Susan

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2002

Kirk, I recommend that you go to

www.watercure.com or www.watercure2.com

and see what you think of that.

I fill up at least 4 32oz. Gatorade bottles with water every day and take vitamins. I normally drink more water than this because I do love my coffee and Cokes. Since doing this, I have no allergies and my sinus problems have almost disappeared. Ditto for back pain and sleepless nights. But, drinking that much water, it's not hard to see why I can't get much else done.

If you'll visit the site, I think you'll find an interesting solution for her problem.

Wildman, (off to the bathroom again)

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2002