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This Neuromuscular technique is very effective and gentle way to stretch your neck muscles. In fact, you can use this technique to relieve tension in any muscle in your body. For this stretch you use breathing, eye movements and mind/body interaction. The key is to use the absolute minimum pressure. The more tuned in to your body you are, the more profoundly you will discover the feeling of freedom in your muscles.
Click here to find out more about advanced stretches and trigger releases.
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After Jonathan Kuttner had a serious hangliding accident above the cliffs of his home coastline, he had 6 years of chronic back pain.
This lead him to specialise in treating....
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
Dear Johnathan,
I can see a black screen but it is not playing or anything. What is it supposed to do.
thank
Regards Pauline
Hello Pauline – you probably don’t have a flash player. Go here:
http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/
to download one for free.
Best Regards
Jonathan
I would like the free trigger point manual. The first one I received I was not able to open. Thanks Alexia
Hi Alexia,
the manual was sent as a zipped file to make it smaller. Just email me and I can send it go you unzipped.
Best Regards
Jonathan
Wow. Thanks for this great video. I suffer with neck and back pain off and on. My aunt is an excellent massage therapist, but she lives 3 hours away. This morning, sore and grumpy, I was searching for something that might give me relief like her massages do. I tried the move in your video and am finally experiencing some relief. Thanks!!!
Hi Jeesica
I am delighted that you have found this technique helpful. If you look around on the site, you may find other useful techniques.
I wish you all the best.
regards
Jonathan Kuttner
Dr. Jonathan,
Thank you for the video. I am learning to be gentle with my body. Your emails that you send out are a great reminder. I’ve read this a couple times, but always learn new things when I watch it. I mention your site to my physical therapists. I tell them what I’ve learned from your site and they agree, your technique is very beneficial. Your site easily explain things in a language that I understand. I am able to offer more during p.t. by what I read here.
Thank you,
Shelly
Dear Shelly,
I’m delighted to hear that you’re finding the techniques beneficial. I believe understanding is a real key to getting better and a lot of medical practitioners tend to hide behind jargon. So keep up the good work.
All the best
Jonathan
Dear Jonathan…
I was introduced by a friend to this website as she is having the pain exactly the same shown on the red spot area in your Trigger Point Manual (No.5) which occur on the right hand side of her head…But mine is a little bit more…which i had the same pain at the red area PLUS a lump behind of my neck at a size of a ping pong ball…it comes maybe 6 months once…and dissapear and come again. Please advice me on this…thanks
- tim -
Hi Tim
Trigger points are small [ less than 1/2 cm] areas within the muscle which go into spasm and cause pain plus stiffness. You can feel the Trigger with careful palpation within the muscle itself.
You are describing a swelling the size of a ping pong ball which is red in colour. This is very unlikely to be a trigger point. I strongly suggest you have this checked out by a doctor. There are a number of possibilities. When something is sore and red – then it may be infected or inflamed. The swelling could be a lymph node. There are other unusual structures which occur in some people like branchial cysts [these are embryologic structures].
So- when the lump comes up again – get it sorted out!
Kind Regards
Jonathan
[Please note- I cannot suggest a specific treatment for your complaint as I have not taken a full history, examined you or reviewed your investigations.
Therefore all comments I make can only be general - relating broadly to the problem you have described. ]
Finally someone who understands…you are a godsend..I have hundreds of TrPs from a severe fall. Even in my stomach muscles which effects eating.. is there away to relieve or massage this area.
thank you again
lynne
Thank you for your very helpful information on stretching. My trigger point is located on the right side of my back, slightly under my shoulder blade and I have had it for a long time, probably from my golf swing. Now it is beginning to get extremely aggervatged by this motion. I will try your techniques for stretching, and pressure, however, I was wondering if you have any specific stretches for this hard to reach place.
Hello Car
This sounds like you could have TrP’s in your rhomboids. We are in the process of completing videos which explain diagnosis & treatment of most areas in your body. One of these is the rhomboid. These will be out in a few weeks. In the meantime – check out specific stretches for rhomboids. The best resource is Travell & Simons.
regards
Jonathan
Hi Lynne
TrP’s do occur in the abdominal muscles- in the rectus abdominis [central strap muscles] & in the obliques which are on either side of you abdomen. You can use the same acupressure techniques to release these TrPs. Follow with local heat [I have found a wheatbag the best]. There are specific stretches for each muscle group which require you to extend your back and twist – similar to the camel or sphinx position in yoga.
Regards
Jonathan
i couldn’t open and see the videos, do you know why? I clicked on the arrow and nothing happened.
Thanks,
Erik
Hi Erik,
The most likely answer is that you need to update your flash media player. You can do this by going to this link to download the free adobe flash player: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
hi jonathan,
a wonderful technique, i was sitting with my sore neck muscles going thru the mails. got urs tried it and saw the effect. will surely try this with our patients.
thanks.
regards,
shikha
Hi Jonathon, I have a noggle which is also a trigger point in my tibia shin muscle and sometimes the pain goes down into my angle and I take circulation supplements.
hello Shikha
It is very exciting how rapidly you feel relief if you treat triggers accurately. as you get better you can both diagnose and treat successfully in a very short time. please do try the techniques on your patients.
kind regards
Jonathan
Hello Marlene
I assume that you mean a nodule. Trigger points in the muscles in the shin area can refer pain down into the ankle and foot. If you apply the following technique found in this link– http://lifeafterpain.com/info/muscles/trigger-point-treatment/
this should settle the pain down if nodule is a trigger point.
Kind regards
Jonathan
PS As I am not able to take a full history, examine you or to view your investigations, my comments will be general suggestions which you may choose to pursue with your own medical practitioner.
Hello Jonothan,
I have a trigger point about the lower shoulder blade area, very hard to press, can you recommend something I could use as to press with my finger is difficult.
I was thinking something along the lines of a squash ball!
Regards, Jude
Hi Jude,
tennis balls, squash balls and lacrosse balls all work just fine – use the same principles of ischemic pressure to do the trigger point release.
thank you Johnathan, Im getting excruiating spasms that last up to 3-4 hours in my neck and Trapezius, will definitely try this technique.
I have heel pain and a nueroma in between my toes on my left foot. I have been in severe pain for 10 months. Hope that you can help.
Wonderful advice, this really helped relieve the pain i’d been experiencing in my traps. Thankyou
Dear Jonathan,
Thank very much for all your information e-mails till now.
I try to follow your advices and read it again and again, I can’t go far yet.
Just want to say I really appreciate.
Best regards,
Jariya
i have back muscle spasm, could that cause me paralyzed?
Wow… I have been in pain all day and this video has finally given me some relief… Thanks a ton.
The video becomes useful at 1:34 in.
my neck has been stiff since last night. this technique works, thank you. going to try it on my elbow now.
Dear Jonathan, thank you for the video.
Do you have a youtube chanel ?
May your path of blessings.
Hello Abdul,
yes, you can find other videos of mine on Youtube here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/DrJonathanKuttner
all the best
Jonathan
Wow! Neck tension and pain for days with no relief from pills or stretching…that is until I came across this video. Truly astonished. My neck is no longer stiff. Thank you!
Fantastic! Glad to hear it Jessica
Dear Jonathan,
I’ve been trying out your stretching technique and it works wonders! I can get a good stretch on my hip flexors, quads, and neck muscles, but Im having difficulty stretching other muscles with this technique. Maybe my mind-body connection isnt strong enough? Also, After you breath out and stretch, once the muscle turns back on do you stop the stretch? Is it effective to do this multiple times in a row with one muscle? You were talking about the muscle having a spindle and letting go with relaxation. Is this the same with the myo-fascia during this stretch?
Thanks,
Caleb
Thank you Dr. Kuttner for sharing this video on neck stretch. I have been in pain for over three days with a tight neck, and stretching with physiotherapy methods made my neck more and more tight. I only need to do two of you neck stretches to provide relief, and it feels good when I do your stretch rather and feeling worse. I will tell my physiotherapist of your method. Is there a name to it? I will watch your other videos with extreme interest. Thank you very much again!!!
Is that hypnosis cause it really worked
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