problems with scalenes and compressed nerve

[mcgirkz]

i've been getting a sharp pain down my arm for the last month and a half. i have been getting chiro adjustments and massage. the massage seems to help the most. but it's too expensive to get regularly. my therapist told me my scalenes were like piano wire.

what can i do to loosen the scalene muscle group of the neck? it is negatively affected my training.

 

[Zyglamail]

Often times when a muscle is tight and simply wont relax its due to ligament injury and weakness. If the ligament gets stretched and damaged the muscle has to contract just to keep proper tension that a normally non-crontacted muscle would. Over time the muscle knots up and causes pain, this is usually followed by anti-inflamatory meds like aleeve, ibuprofine etc and all of these prevent the inflamation in the ligament and hinder healing. Massage not only helps relax the muscle but also promotes blood flow to the injured area which in turn is beneficial to healing. It should heal on its own if you let it, use heat, not ice and avoid anti-inflamatories, if you need something for the pain stick to tylenol since it wont hamper inflamation and reduce healing. If you have had this problem for a long time and it just wont heal, prolotherapy maybe a good solution to your problem. It will cause direct inflamation on the injured ligament and promote healing.

 

[mcgirkz]

thanks for the info. i have never heard of prolotherapy. but i will do a search on it. i've been using ice thus far. why is that not reccomended?