Did you know that there are nerves that run right over the top of your head? These nerves come from your neck, and if something in your neck is a little out of place or swollen these nerves can get pinched. I’m going to tell you how to achieve relief from the symptoms that cause this headache at the base of your skull. Around the time your headache developes do you also feel you muscles in your neck and shoulders tighten? Do you feel like you need to stretch your head from side to side to gain relief? When the nerves in your neck get pinched you not only get a terrible headache but you are also blessed with muscle spasms, and after long enough the pain from both will shut you down. The combination of both creates a cycle where the pinched nerve causes the muscle spasm, and the muscle spasm keeps the nerve pinched. I want to tell you today what I do to intervene in this cycle and stop the headache and neck pain as soon as it happens.
Step One: One of the most beneficial things I have found for muscle spasms, or muscle cramps, is a Ten’s Unit. A Ten’s unit basically sends a very small voltage signal to your muscles wherever you stick a pad. Once you turn it on you can feel it tightening and releasing your muscles, and after a while it makes the muscles you targeted to get tired and relax. Using a Ten’s unit is a very beneficial part of this process, but you can just do step 2 and 3 and still get rid of your pain.
Step Two: You can either go to a physician and get a referral to go to a specialist that will eventually prescribe you some expensive and highly addictive muscle relaxers, or you can by a bottle of this Magnesium Lotion. Both relax your muscles, but the lotion is much easier. So, the first step is to break the cycle and relax the muscle spasms with magnesium lotion. This will loosen up your neck, and remove the inflammation from the nerve.
“Magnesium activates over 300 enzyme reactions in the body, translating to thousands of biochemical reactions happening on a constant basis daily. Magnesium is crucial to nerve transmission, muscle contraction, blood coagulation, energy production, nutrient metabolism and bone and cell formation.”
Step Three: Lidocaine is a great pain reliever that we can buy without a prescription. People with arthritis love this stuff because they can carry it around with them and rub it on their hands, or elbows, or whatever is bothering them. After I release the muscle spasm I then go after the pain by rubbing this Lidocaine Cream all over my neck. Within a short amount of time I am back to hanging out with my family, and enjoying life.
So here they are again:
First aid for a painful back muscle spasm
When your back goes into spasm, the first step is to get some immediate relief from the intense pain. The initial goal of treating the muscle spasm is to get the muscle to relax, thus relieving the pain. Some effective treatments include:
Muscle relaxants
These are prescription medications that do not directly target the muscles; rather, they have an overall relaxing affect on your body. They are typically only prescribed if there is intense, acute pain, and only on a short-term basis. Some examples of muscle relaxants medications include Valium and Flexeril. Magnesium supplementation can be a good alternative that has seen huge success.
Cold therapy
cold packApplying ice wrapped in a protective sheath or towel, or a cold pack, to the painful part of your back is another way to help relieve an acute flare up of pain. As a general guideline, cold therapy will help reduce local inflammation, which in turn contributes to relieving pain. You can use a commercial ice pack or make one yourself. For example, you can put some ice or frozen vegetables into a baggie, add some water to smooth out the lumps, double bag to prevent leaking, cover it in a towel to protect your skin from ice burn, and apply it to the painful area of your back.
Elasto-Gel Hot & Cold Pack is the best Cold pack I have ever used.
NSAIDs
A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication (NSAID) can help reduce inflammation and pain. Examples of over-the-counter NSAIDs include ibuprofen (e.g. Advil, Motrin), naproxen (e.g. Aleve), and aspirin. Some people find that acetaminophen (e.g. Tylenol), which addresses pain but not the inflammation, is effective. Beware of taking too much NSAIDs. This can lead to stomach ulcers, and gastric upset.
Nonpatch Type Topical Pain Relievers
Topical pain relieving drugs include preparations applied to the skin as a cream, ointment, gel, spray, or patch. This article discusses the use of non-patch type topical pain relievers. Topical drugs seek to reduce inflammation below the skin surface and soothe nerve pain. Some of these drugs are available only with a physician’s prescription and others can be bought over-the-counter.
In 1980, the first ‘through the skin’ (TTS) therapeutic, or transdermal product, was introduced. Since then scientists around the world continue to develop safer and more expedient methods to deliver drugs, hormones, and supplements into the human body. Administering medication and health enhancing formulations through the skin is becoming more popular.
Treatment Through Skin Cells
Skin is the largest organ of the human body. It serves as a protective water barrier, regulates temperature, controls fluid loss, and performs many other functions important to homeostasis (healthy internal balance). Skin is comprised of many layers supported by an intricate blood supply. The blood vessels pass below the skin in a framework of connective tissue including fat and fascia (the “gristle” that holds the tissues together. Below that layer lays the bone and muscle. The skin also contains nerve endings which carry touch, temperature, and pain signals from the skin to the spinal cord and on to the brain.
Scientists have developed compounds to safely carry medications and other compounds through the skin layers into the blood. It is thought that certain compounds help to penetrate the skin barrier by opening naturally closed channels for a period of time. These penetration enhancers help the skin to absorb the drug.
Topical Pain Medications and Spine Pain
Spine-care physicians and pain specialists may recommend a topical pain-reliever to help relieve the symptoms of various back and neck disorders. For example, a topical medicine may be used to treat the pain associated with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, neck or low back strain, whiplash, muscle inflammation and spasms, and some types of nerve pain.
Advantages
Base (cream, ointment, gel, spray) makes application easy and controllable.
Onset of symptom relief is usually faster than oral preparations.
Symptoms are relieved at a steady rate and relief may last longer.
A smaller amount of medicine may be needed when applied in a topical form.
Formulations diffuse through the skin and enter the bloodstream, initially bypassing the digestive system (called ‘first pass’). Many systemic (whole body) side effects, such as irritated stomach lining, may be lessened or eliminated.
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