After years of chronic and debilitating neck pain I finally found a solution: the Alexander Technique! Here’s how it all started.

When my son was still in preschool (he’s now 16!) I spent a few days doing major yard work. At the back of our yard at the time, in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia, was a completely natural area full of trees, and full of all the weeds and underbrush that go along with it. I set out to clear all that out of there!  I pulled huge root systems out with all my might, and worked for hours on end. I never thought to think about my body, until my neck started to hurt – a lot.  It hurt so much that the pain that started at my neck wrapped all around my head right over my eyes. I had to stop everything. I popped Excedrin like it was going out of style. And I went to see my doctor.

My doctor prescribed anti-inflammatory medication and muscle relaxers. All that helped in the short term, but I couldn’t ever seem to get off them completely, and flare ups became more and more frequent. My doctor gave me neck exercises, which I did religiously every day. My doctor actually suggested I tried magnets, so I did. I had a necklace which I wore all the time, a pillow with magnets inside and a magnetic neck wrap. Nothing seemed to help for long, and the pain kept coming back. And, during this time I probably tried at least four different “neck” pillows ….

My doctor referred me to a chiropractor. I had adjustments at first three times a week, then twice a week, and then every week, for over a year. I got some relief from this at times, especially in the beginning, but as with everything else the pain just kept coming back, and it was getting worse. Sometimes it was so bad I’d be out of it for three days. It was really affecting my life. I started getting massages as well. And still the pain got worse. It affected what I could do with my family, my energy level, how available I was to my son and husband and friends.

My situation seemed desperate and I could see no way out of it at the time, but fortunately the solution did arrive eventually. (Find out how in my next blog!)

Have you ever found yourself in a situation that just seemed to be spiraling out of control? Did you find a solution? Please reply in the comments below – I’d love to hear from you.