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Modern technology has rendered the traditional ridge tent obsolete as with so many other worthwhile things. I am sure some readers will have experienced the pleasure of pitching one.My own attempts usually resulted in the poles pointing in contrary directions with the tent itself sagging in the middle and letting in copious amounts of water.What possible relevance can this have to the neck and back I hear you cry. Well imagine that instead of having a tent pole made up of perhaps three long bits you had a tent pole made up of 25 short bits. Imagine that instead of one guy rope you had 12 or so ropes each attaching to parts of the 25 short bits. Got that? Right. Now you have to pull on each guy rope so that the 25 bit tent pole stands up straight for 70 years or so? Begin to see the problem? The spine is essentially a flexible tent pole which is kept up by its guy ropes -the muscles.Any problem with the guy ropes means the pole is wonky(medical term).Any problem with the pole means the guy ropes are wonky. Wiith this in mind it is truly extraordinary that any of us can stand upright at all let alone move around.

Most back and neck problems can be attributed to either a problem with the pole or a problem with the ropes(muscles and tendons)In this article I will concentrate on the ropes and in the next I will deal with th e pole. An acute strain stretches the ropes and makes them temporarily incapable of doing their job. Bed rest is only appropriate if you are in so much pain you cannot move. Whiplash injury represents an injury to the guy ropes around the neck. Once again rest is no good. I have coined the term active rest for the most appropriate behaviour following muscle injury. Active rest means putting the muscles through their normal movements but without strain (the difference between Training and S--training).By and large painkillers do not help muscle pain very much.This is why I occasionally see people who are taking strong painkillers experiencing lots of side effects but not obtaining any relief.For muscular pain physical treatments are best -massage, wamth ,radian b rubs or a cold spray(Such as PR spray)..Sometimes if muscle spasm is severe as in an acute wry neck a muscle relaxant such as diazepam can help. There is no doubt that anxiety and tension make muscle pain worse. I believe this is one reason why treatments such as aromatherapy reflexology and acupuncture help. Apart from their other effects they provide protected time, during which the patient can relax and think about their body(not something we often do).Physiotherapy actively encourages the muscles to work in a controlled way and is very important in restoring normal function to muscles which are not working properly. Moving the muscles yourself might cause severe pain but there may be no or little pain when they are put through their movements by someone else.

Studies have shown that people with a good posture live longer than those with poor posture.Increasingly I see patients with dreadful posture complaining of back ache and neck ache.Often these problems are caused by weak muscles and lazy habits. So whenever you feel like slumping in front of the telly remember those guy ropes and what a difficult job they have to do and take yourself off for a walk instead. Your muscles need all the help they can get and for people with back problems I usually recommend they try to walk every day.