Saturday, May 17, 2008

Side-Wagging the Head - a Cure For Whiplash?

It is amazing what other cultures can teach us. In particular, I am discovering that India has built into its culture many things that are extremely intelligent.  How they gesture with their head is one example. We have all seen people from India do this "side wagging" movement the head. I think it comes from their dance tradition. It is like there is a hinge (actually there is) right between the ears and the head is side-bending at that hinge. The chin swings left and right, the ears go up and down, and it is as if the head is pivoting on an imaginary rod going from a point between the eyebrows directly to the back of the head. As body language, it communicates "I hear you, I am with you, yes, I am present and flowing with what you are saying". It does not necessarily mean either "yes" or "no" - so my friends from India tell me. 

Why do I encourage this movement from India, but not the way some Americans tend to nervously wag their head around? It's because:

1) The top of the spine, C1 and C2, has an easy capability to side bend. I've noticed that as Americans age, side bending, particularly right there at the top of the spine between the ears becomes frozen. This negatively impacts neck mechanics, blood flow to the brain, balance and much more. In my opinion, easy side-wagging of the head, hinging at C1/C2 between the ears, would probably correlate to higher intelligence, compared to a population of people who don't do it. I am waiting for that study to confirm my intuition about this. 
2) It's a human movement, the neck is built for it; the weight of the head remains entirely supported by the spine, not by overworked neck muscles. It does not resemble a whiplash.
3) The nervous habit of random hyper-velocity head-wagging as a constant conversational gesture makes the head goes in any direction, and it is like a constant mini-whiplashing; the head is being man-handled by the poor neck. It's too fast, and hard on the eyes to even watch it. It hurts!  On the other hand, side-wagging is restful, easy and visually soothing to watch if it is done properly. It communicates mental suppleness, willingness to bend and adapt and flow. 
4) When that movement is not there, when it is not available, what is communicated is "I am stiff necked. I do not fully hear you. I am stubborn, but I am not quite aware of it". While this is not a deliberate body communication, unfortunately, it is there, for those who can read it. 

If you've ever had a whiplash, the muscles that bind the upper neck to the skull (sub-occipital muscles and others) often become tightly locked, more or less permanently. And then, there is a lifetime of adaptation, neck compression, pain and poor circulation to the brain - unless you get skilled somatic intervention.  

Many persons have noticed that  "after my whiplash was when all my health problems began". Most commonly, the thinking is that nerves were pinched, discs were torn, vertebrae are out of joint, other tissue was damaged, and that is the cause of all the trouble. Very few understand that the somatic aspect is also crucial - meaning that after a whiplash, chronic muscle tension, neck compression, rigid protective holding patterns, adaptive movement, impaired balance, inefficient movement becomes the norm. During the injury and tissue-healing stage this may serve a useful purpose (stabilize and protect the neck and head), but eventually it is just a collection of bad habits that creates inflammation, further tissue damage, and a more pain. 

These well-practiced bad habits obviously cannot be corrected by traction, manipulation, medication, adjustments, surgery, massage, stretching, or strengthening. I believe that is why I see so many clients who say "I've tried everything, nothing is helping my neck pain". When their pain is gone they think a miracle has happened; actually all we did was very basic movement educational protocols. So,we need to simply re-introduce the proper movement habits and practice them until they become the norm. Usually this takes some weeks or months of intensive, skilled somatic mentoring, along with willingness on the part of the client to actively explore and participate. 

Changing habits requires patience and commitment, as we all know; unfortunately, many of us (due to medical treatments that require little active involvement on our part) are unable to make this leap when it comes to neck pain or back pain.  Plus it can be a little daunting to face the truth, and see how much time and work might be needed to restore function back to fully normal. It is really much easier to go the medical route.  You'll need to find someone who has studied human movement, not just anatomy and physiology and various interventions. In my own case, it took at least 3 years of a Feldenkrais Training (but then I had a very serious full extension, high-impact whiplash to contend with)

The good news is that healing is possible, even if you have been told nothing can be done, or that nothing can be diagnosed that is responsible for your pain. Medical diagnosis, as good as it is, cannot diagnose poor habits of movement and posturing, which often underly chronic pain of any kind. Medical doctors and even physical therapists too often have negligible training in movement education. 

If you've had a whiplash, there is an easy way to tell if you are still holding too much tension in the upper neck. That area will feel overheated, even hot, and any experienced body-worker will feel it as soon as his/her hands go to that area. That increase in temperature is caused by continual muscle exertion. It can overheat the low brain, and possibly set the stage for chronic metabolic disturbances or chronic diseases such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, MS or other auto-immune disorders.  See "What is Really Wrong With You" by Griner, for more information on this topic. Are you very uncomfortable in hot weather? This may be one reason. Remember, the low brain is mostly what orchestrates what goes on in the body. You don't want to stick it in the oven! While ice-packs to the upper neck and body (some folks with MS actually do this) can help, somatic intervention can also greatly help. And side-wagging the head is an easy first step. 

While this movement is long ways from being a complete cure for "whiplash neck lockdown" it can go far to create healing and normal movement if you do it in a relaxed, unhurried fashion.  

I recommend that everyone learn this movement and do it many times a day. If you don't care to be seen imitating people from India, when talking to friends,  do it when you are alone, say a few moments before you brush your teeth, before meditation, or while you talk on the phone at home.  Make it a habit (a little now and then, every hour or two)  as you sit working at your computer. You need to start easy, go slow, relax into it, and give yourself some days or weeks to get the hang of it. 

Please, please, don't force this movement. Your neck muscles are most likely already too tight, preventing the movement, and force will create further damage and bad habits related to neck usage. Unless  you can fully relax into it, you will only get a grotesque kind of muscular overwork, and you'll be quickly discouraged from doing it by pain or out-of-joint vertebrae. This is why somatic interventions and "miracle cures" are seldom, if ever, produced just from reading a book or a blog and practicing what is written there. It really takes an experienced teacher to see where you are holding too much tension, how to bring that to awareness, along with how much work is too much, the best approach to reeducation of lost movement patterns, etc. These are intuitive, creative judgement calls customized for each client - then the magic happens, usually not before. If you really can't get the hang of it, then see a Feldenkrais Practitioner, show him or her this post. Or you could start hanging out with Indians, and maybe you'll get it by osmosis. 

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