Ruy Lopez Tricks And Traps

[Rakeen Garreau]

DanielLopez, D.O. grew up with a lot of pain trying many things that did not help. Realizing that if he could not help himself, he would be unable to help others effectively, he dedicated himself to finding real answers. Since that time, Dr. Lopez has found a unique but powerful style where he has patients from around the country and the world that travel to see him for headaches, TMJ issues, eye issues, neck pain, back pain, and more. Daniel Lopez, D.O. is an osteopathic physician with Osteopathic Integrative Medicine. Prior to that he had a private practice in NYC for 6 years. He is the author of the Amazon best seller "Unwinding the Body and Decoding the Messages of Pain: An In-Depth Look into the World of Osteopathic Physicians and How They 'Magically' Use Their Hands for Healing." He lives in Aurora, CO with his wife and daughters.

Dr Lopez, thank you for this information. Could this also cause a soreness in the arm. My right arm muscles feel sore , mainly the upper arm. My upper arm appears swollen as well, could this be related to the bump? My bump is more like golf ball size.

I get the technique to help my trap but what is happening to cause my AC joint to have a problem in the first place. I like your thinking and feel you may be on to something which directly relates to my shoulder but I need to know more. Thanks

Hi Robert, thanks for the question. To put it is simply as possible, your AC joint is not working optimally in the way it was designed. It could be compressed, torqued, distracted, or changed in any manner where it is not able to function perfectly. That can happen from trauma there or elsewhere, back packs, posture, and many other reasons. I hope this helps.

GOOD STUFF!

My husband has been having lots of pain in the back of his neck, top of the shoulder, down the arm, and the back inside of the bone in his back shoulder. I first started working on his neck with no success, then the back upper shoulder with no success. Then bingo, I read your article and watched your video. The trapezious knot. Who would know without you. Many thanks for your knowledge and sharing.

I have to say I had cortisone injections for many many years. Ended up with shoulder surgery 5 years ago and now need another on same shoulder for bone spurs, bursitis and slight tear. Yes Cortisone is no good and no doctor ever told me that until it was too late. I had at least 20-30 between shoulder, elbow and in a couple of nerve blocks for the neck.

Hi Frank,

Yes, breaking your collarbone twice will have an effect on this because the anatomy is altered. Part of that depends on how it has healed. The muscle may have to knot to respond to that issue and so you would want to do whatever you can to keep the area from worsening. Whatever is working for you, keep it up. Hopefully the tip will help.

Hi Lindsay, it would be impossible for me to say for sure without evaluating and treating, but from what it sounds like, your collarbone and shoulder blade may not be sitting on your rib cage in the correct position. It may be slightly off, but the muscles would have to respond just the same. Either way, that would cause knots throughout those areas. That would be my guess based on what you have written but as I mentioned, it would be impossible to know without evaluating.

In your experience have you ever seen this pain pop up in conjunction with something else getting hurt in the neck. About a month ago I hurt my neck as I was looking off to the side. Initially I though the pain stemmed from my neck since that is the area with the deepest discomfort. Additionally, even though my torso looks horizontal it feels like my body is tilted to the right.

Thank you for the questions. Sweating does not commonly take place with this, but it suggests that releasing it is having an effect on your autonomic nervous system, which runs your body processes unconsciously. Either way, it can be a normal response and is not something to worry about. Yes, the AC joint can cause a clicking sound when moving the arm back and forth, but there can be other places that cause the shoulder to click as well.

Dear Dr Lopez, i have had fibromyalgia for decades and lots of pain in all trigger points and lately injections. i tried your suggestion of massaging the ac joint and found some relief on the first attempt. will it help the lower trapezius in the upper back which has an unrelenting very painful spasm for years? if not, what is the help for that area? i just tried the tip today. thank you so much.

I have been experiencing neck and shoukder pain which then transferred to my trapezius. The dr diagnosed trapezius muscle spasm seven weeks ago. I have been to physio and acupuncture but still have nerve pain which moves and right shoulder bicep tightening could this be some underlying spine issue? Stress and poor posture seens to be the cause but should be experiencing relief by now. Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi Sandra, thanks for the comment and the question. Unfortunately, the trapezius is a complex muscle anatomically with many points of attachment and influenced by many factors. Unfortunately, it would really be difficult to know exactly what would need to be done without being able to evaluate.

Thank you SO much for this information.

I went to a private school, here in Australia, and the amount of books you have to carry back and forth is back breaking. I generally would carry my bag, mainly with one strap, on my right arm. Since year 7 (age 12) I have had this extremely saw knot in my shoulder/trap.

There are many super tender points on my neck starting from the base of the neck to the base of the skull. But in particular, I feel the need to rub the base of my neck, next to my collar bone as well as certain lumps on and around the collar bone. This is extreme pain but it sometimes subsides my headache and pains.

I have to say i have suffered from knots for a long time and have been lifting weights for some time now as well. i would always get knots in my trap and it would pinch a nerve causing some uncomfortable pain. After reading about this and trying it out myself the pain went away immediately and instance relief. This was a god sent.

Hi Dr. Lopez,

Glad to find your post on Trapezius. I was diagnosed [originally] by my doctor as having a Rotator Cuff injury, which has been very painful at times and to the extend i cannot swing my arm around , it is very stiff. Anyway, after another visit I have found out it is not a Rotator cuff injury as previously diagnosed but a Trapezius Muscle Spasm. When I press it it is like a hard lump and tender. Although i can do normal things I still have to think about every movement i do. For example if i was to throw a quilt over the bed I have to be careful how i do this. Months ago I would be in great pain doing so. Now it is not so bad however I still have limited movement in my right arm. If I rotate it around, for example, my left arm can swing around in one big circle whereas my right arm can only do so in half and not a complete swing without having to stop slightly.

Do you have any advice what sort of exercises i can do to gain strength back?

I recently took a knock to the left hand side of my chest playing rugby, in the same game I was also tackled high hurting my neck and head. After the game the neck was alright but around my collar bone was sore to the touch, a little inflamed and hurt to sleep on my left hand side for a few days. A couple of days later I developed a tight trap then a day later my neck began hurting with shooting pains going up my neck to behind my eye. I saw a physio and she said I had a trap spasm.

Hi Jennifer, pain over the rhomboid area could also be a rib that has become stuck or not working underneath. They often will refer pain up into the neck. You might try looking for tender areas on your chest on the same side as your pain. Sometimes resolving those will help get rid of the pain. Otherwise, I could not help you without seeing you and you would probably need to see a qualified osteopathic physician that does osteopathic manipulative medicine. I hope that helps.

I have been dealing with neck, shoulder and upper back pain for a better part of 2 years now.

The occurrence is on a daily basis.

I have gone to a number of doctors over time. None with any real success.

A few times, assigning me to phys therapy with exercises that I do within a normal workout.

At times, I get headaches associated to the neck pain.

As of late I have had spasms on the top of my shoulder (specifically to the trapezius).

I have also has pain down my (left) arm, a tingling sensation. At times, during movement, it feels similar to when an arm has fallen asleep with an odd uncontrolled movement.

Can you suggest anything for treatment, exercises, etc.

I do have lovely knots at the top of my traps, that are a challenge to work out on my own.

Not sure if this is the culprit. But I do roll on top of a ball on my upper back to try and work out knots and relieve pain.

Help.

Dear Dr. Lopez

I have enjoyed reading your posts. Four months ago I had a full thickness rotator cuff repair. My physician explained my tear was bad and kept my shoulder immobilized for 5 weeks before any therapy was started. Once therapy was started my neck (trapeze) muscle became terribly tight. Within the week my hand in the same arm as surgery became swollen and my fingers hurt to bend. The doctor had me stop shoulder therapy and put me on steroids for 4 weeks. Swelling went away in my hand. It came back when I started therapy again. I also have a lot of shoulder hiking when I try to left my arm above shoulder level. I just cannot get my range of motion back as the muscles in my back are so knotted and my shoulder cannot move independent of my scapula. My doctor just thinks it will resolve over time. Meanwhile, I now not only am dealing with stiff and swollen fingers, but now I get some numbness and pain in two of my toes in both feet. What is your opinion,?

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