The most common neck complaint is the base of the skull tension. Kieran has treated thousands of this type of neck pain over the years. There are four main factors why this is a common area of complaint.
- Over a dozen muscles attach to the upper neck/base of the skull, and these stem other areas of the spine, such as the mid/upper back, shoulders, and front of the neck. These muscles are prone to stress and tension.
- The joints in the upper neck are relatively pain-sensitive; the top 3 vertebrae have many muscles attached, which may aggravate the joints, leading to pain, stiffness,
- The skull, fixed and immobile, sits on the relatively mobile upper neck. This unique arrangement may lead to added stress to the area.
- Two common aggravating factors contributing to base of skull tension are stress and prolonged sitting. These are two constants in most people’s lives.
This tension can be intermittent, coming and going over a matter of days/weeks, or it can become chronic/persistent, occurring months at a time; some may first experience this type of pain in adolescence. It is connected to mid-back and upper-back tension and may lead to tension headaches. To effectively treat this neck pain, it’s essential to treat all the major muscles, not just the painful area (base of the skull).
It’s also vital to manage your stress levels, at least be more mindful of how you’re holding emotional stress in your physical body so you can adjust accordingly and try not to sit in the same position or posture for too long at one time, changing posture is more important than holding “good” posture.
