Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Physical therapy - need encouragement

I had x-rays done, they showed cervical stenosis. I have suffered with chronic headaches for years, and just got a referral for physical therapy.

I had my first appointment yesterday. Some of the exercises caused immediate knife-stabbing pain - so my therapist then said do not do those.

Even then, I woke up this morning with a more severe headache than I've had in months and months. For quite some time now, I have been trying hard to correct sitting posture and sleeping positions. And it seems to have kept the headaches from reaching a level 10, where I wake up vomiting from the pain and unable to function at all. So now I am scared of the exercises, and have not done them today because I have been completely incapacitated all day long. If I wake up feeling any better tomorrow I will try getting carefully started with the exercises I was given, but I could use some encouraging stories of how physical therapy has helped.

I so very much want this to work.

I did physical therapy twice a week then once a week for years.

The first PT I had did something that really flared me up. When I told her, she insisted I was wrong. I never went back to her, but found another PT.

She was good. Listened to me. Believed that she should be making me feel better, not worse, and if something flared me up, then we would not do that again, or we'd be much gentler. I was with her til she took maternity leave.

Then went to a few PTs who flared me up but again didn't listen to me and so I kept searching.

Found another very good one who listened to me and made me feel better.

Bottom line. PT and PT exercises, IMO, should not hurt, should not make things worse. See if your PT listens to you and hears you and modifies things for you. If not, find another.

A good PT can be a wonderful thing. But make sure they are helping you and not making you worse.

I have bone spurs in my neck that press on nerves. That has caused a lot of muscle spasms in my neck and upper back.

Things are much better now.

The good PTs were manual PTs. The PT things that helped me the most were manual traction, soft tissue work, ultrasound, ice, swimming to strengthen my neck muscles gently.

Hi boel,

You seem to making an association between posture and headpain.
I'd be interested to know if your shoulders are uneven, that is, if one shoulder is dropped relative to the other when standing in a relaxed pose.

Cervicogenic headpain can be caused by the head being misaligned (usually manifesting in a rotational misalignment) on the top two vertebrae. If this happens the body will respond by misaligning below the head in a predictable (and treatable) manner.

There is a lot of info at upcspine.com and a list of North American practicioners if your interested.

Regards David

Thank you for your feedback. She listens and is responsive and when an exercise caused pain she immediately said "let's not do that one". I have had an aversion to trying because of my reaction, but I think I need to get going. Gently, gently...

Thanks. There is a very strong positional association. If I look straight up I can get a headache, sharp as a knife, instantly. If I look to the side for even a short period of time it also causes a headache, but not as sharp. I will check out the website you gave me.