Originally Posted By: LATH
My rheumy says I need to exercise my upper back and neck. I spoke with her about the baseline stiffness that never seems to go away in those areas. I see the Daily Exercises on this site. Let me know if you have any other ideas for developing more flexibility in the upper back and neck.


if you can swim, i found nothing better, too bad it makes my SI irritable these days.

my left upper back / neck has been one of my worst areas since this all started back in 1998. one of the first things i did was a quick movement that partially tore my rhomboid. PT and physiatrist helped it a lot in the early 2000s. i had lots of active triggerpoints for one, that induced muscle spasms for another, that weakened the muscles. had a lot of work done back there that you probably don't need.

but, band exercises are great for gentle strengthening.

and i did all the various stretches over the years, spinal twist maybe the best one.

but still my ribs were subluxating. so now, this chiro doing active release technique is gently breaking up all kinds of fibrous tissue, mobilizing joints, all kinds of wonderful things, pretty gently too. and his mantra is increased flexibility / stretching. so bought this foam roller and i lay on it and it really opens up my chest. so back to more stretching, but even better this time. and a good PT and/or chiro can really do wonders to help us along. but a good one, there really is a difference in quality out there.



sue

Spondyloarthropathy, HLAB27 negative
Humira (still methylprednisone for flares, just not as often. Aleve if needed, rarely.)
LDN/zanaflex/flector patches over SI/ice
vits C, D. probiotics. hyaluronic acid. CoQ, Mg, Ca, K.
chiro
walk, bike
no dairy (casein sensitivity), limited eggs, limited yeast (bread)