Have Lifelong Wellbeing Newsletter

December 2024

Welcome to the 123rd edition of the Have Lifelong Wellbeing monthly newsletter! 

If you are a new reader, please know it's my life's passion to erase pain from the world and empower lives to age with strength, truth, wisdom, and joy. This newsletter is a cherished labor of love and I thank you for allowing me into your inbox each month. I'm humbled by your trust in me to provide content of value and I will continue to strive to that end. 
- Eileen

UPCOMING CLASSES

This Month's LIVE MELT Class: Whole Back Release

December 10th at 5 pm Eastern   Recorded if you can't make it live

Join us for a new MELT Class each month! Purchase 5 classes and get a class FREE! Special discount for Academy and paid level Private Club members.

On-Demand Virtual Classes

For those with a challenging schedule ~ recorded classes to access 24/7, INCLUDING an effective four class series for Urinary Incontinence done on your feet!

DECEMBER EVENTS FOR HLW ACADEMY STUDENTS

Monthly Reward Event

December 3rd at 12 pm Eastern

Special Education: Movement Tweaks in 3 Planes

Student Choice Workout

December 3rd at 11 am Eastern

Student request topic: TBD

Office Hours with Eileen

December 4th at 12 pm Eastern

This month's teaching: Posture Perfect - What it means and why it matters for lifelong wellbeing.   ~15-20 minute teaching followed by Q&A on any pain, aging, nutrition, or health topic!

This Month's Article

Pain in the Neck

Everything's Connected

Before I begin, I want to thank the nearly 500 people who registered for the Busting Aging Myths 3 Day Event that began Nov 18 and ended Nov 24 (replay access). I think it was the best event I’ve ever hosted! Not because of me, but because of the shifts that occurred with the attendees.

The emails I received and the comments posted in the zoom chat were so moving. The special guests that spoke truths based on their life experience resonated with all who joined us live each day. Two of our guests, both in their 80’s, one still playing basketball and the other climbing over a dozen flights of stairs every day to stay fit, were VERY inspirational! I’m still getting emails thanking me for this event and it ended 11 days ago!

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to impact your lives in the best way I know how; with sincere appreciation for what I do. Teaching you how to move without pain and have lifelong wellbeing so you can age really stinkin’ well is my passion. I LOVE what I do😊!

Ok, now onto the topic at hand…

Pain in the Neck

I believe we’ve all experienced a pain in the neck at least once in our life and I’m not talking about family members😊. Sadly, many experience neck pain quite often, even on a daily basis☹.

Since I haven’t written on this topic very much, nor have I hosted any online event specifically to help with this problem, I thought now would be a good time to rectify this neglect on my part. I want to share some mostly unknown reasons for neck pain to occur AND what you can do about it.

First, we’ll take a peek at the so-called known reasons…

Commonly reported reasons for neck pain

Some well-known reported ‘reasons’ for neck pain are osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, herniated disks, and what are commonly termed ‘pinched nerves.’ Some other commonly reported ‘causes’ include physical strain, poor posture, and even mental stress.

Hmmm…it seems stress is blamed for pretty much everything. If you missed my two-part newsletter on the Vagus Nerve; click for Part 1 and Part 2 to help you understand why this may be. 

Back to neck pain. I used quotes around reasons and causes as a lot of these diagnoses are based on imaging results. The thing to know about this is imaging results (MRI’s, X-rays) are not necessarily accurate in determining the real cause of the pain. Numerous studies have shown conclusively that symptoms and imaging results do not line up all that well.

Herniated Discs

For instance, a 2015 study¹ reported cervical disc bulging was frequently observed, via imaging, in asymptomatic subjects, even those in their 20s. Asymptomatic means they had no symptoms, no pain reported, even though they had bulging discs in their cervical spine.

Why does this matter?

This matters because this means bulging discs can be present; yet not cause any pain. This means if someone has neck pain and a bulging disc shows up on imaging, it’s likely that the reason for the pain will be blamed on the bulging disc. So... the bulging disc is what will be treated with commonly recommended injections or surgery.

If the reason for the pain is NOT the bulging disc, no one will be looking elsewhere for the actual cause…and the surgery WON’T fix the pain! OUCH!!! Adding insult to injury, often the arm pain can be alleviated with surgery; yet the neck pain will not as neck pain can be due to multiple causes that surgery can’t fix.

Now, let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. If a person is experiencing weak grip and dropping things, surgery may be the wisest course of action before permanent nerve damage occurs. This is why it can be troublesome, to say the least, in knowing what to do based on medical advice. A good guideline is to get a second opinion prior to surgery whenever it’s not an emergency.

My professional opinion is to seek out a neurosurgeon with a good local reputation. When it comes to the spine, neurosurgeons are the most expert; despite what other professions may state about their credentials. Remember, we PT's see the results of surgery in our clinics. We see those who are really good at what they do with successful patient outcomes. We also see the opposite.

In my experience neurosurgeons won’t generally recommend surgery unless it’s absolutely necessary and the odds of a good outcome are really secure.

So, a bulging disc can exist where there is no pain reported. How about if there is pain reported?

If a herniation is the causative factor, there will likely be tingling and/or numbness (decreased
sensation) to the area the nerve root innervates. Example: a disc at the C5-C6 level compressing a C6 nerve root would lead to pain, tingling, and/or numbness in the thumb side of the hand and possibly weakness in the biceps and the muscles that extend the wrist. This tends to be one of the most common levels in the neck to herniate.²

The most likely level to herniate is C6-C7 with compression to the C7 nerve root and resultant
symptoms into the hand and middle finger and weakness in the triceps, finger extensors, and other muscles.

You may have noticed I used bulging disc in one statement and herniation in another. There is a
marked difference. There is an ‘inside’ part to a disc, called the nucleus pulposis. A bulging disc is like pressing down on a balloon causing it to bulge out on one side; yet no air actually escapes. The nucleus pulposis stays inside the disc.

A herniation is like pushing down on a jelly donut and the jelly (nucleus pulposis) leaks out. The worst is if it’s sequestered, which means the nucleus pulposis that leaked has completely separated from the disc and sitting where it doesn’t belong. If there is a herniation present and symptoms line up with imaging; there is still something aside from surgery that can be done. 

Of course, if the person is dropping things or tripping on their toes (lumbar disc), surgery may be warranted and quickly before nerve damage is permanent.

If the main symptoms are pain and/or tingling/numbness; I have utilized the McKenzie Method to alleviate pain, restore sensation, and resolve the issue overall quite successfully in the patient population. I highly recommend the books written by Robin McKenzie and strongly urge consulting with a certified McKenzie therapist for a successful, surgery free, outcome.

I’ve seen patients reduce their pain in as little as 15 minutes. There are very specific strategies that require good compliance on the part of the patient to achieve success. The best part is once a person learns these strategies, they are equipped for a lifetime to remain pain-free from this issue.

The last thing I want to share regarding herniations is the fact they are reported to resolve without surgical intervention in as little as 6 to 8 weeks.³ It’s termed spontaneous resorption. Of course, no one wants to be in pain and the drive to get your life back is a strong one when pain takes over. 

I’ve seen the McKenzie method provide almost instant relief and resolve the issue in a much shorter span of time. The best part? The person is empowered to NOT have it happen again…yes, recurrence is common if the person isn’t addressing the reasons it happened in the first place.

Osteoarthritis (OA)
OA has been blamed for joint pain more than any other factor. Yes, sometimes it is the culprit. If the joint is severely damaged and inflamed the odds are it’s the cause. This is when we want to ask the all-important question, “What caused the joint damage?”

So many have been told that OA is genetic, and they believe they inherited their OA. This is not
accurate. What they did was consume a diet that promoted the OA in their body. There may have
been a genetic predisposition for OA, but food is made up of molecules that ‘turn on’ or ‘turn off’ your genes. We inherit our family recipes and food habits. 

The Stanford University School of Medicine did a study to determine the cause of joint damage.⁴ They confirmed it is not old age or wear and tear (or genetics). It’s chronic inflammation.

What causes chronic inflammation?       

D – I – E - T

I have seen countless attendees at my local community college classes and online events report
much improved (often resolved) joint pain when applying what they learned about diet.

Food is either positive or negative.

It either promotes inflammation or fights inflammation. There are no neutral foods. Yes, injury can lead to joint damage over time; yet food has a powerful influence.

I can’t tell you how many times I relieved the pain in a patient who came into the clinic with a
diagnosis of arthritis, and I found the cause of the pain had nothing to do with the imaged OA or disc bulge. I didn’t wave a magic wand over their ‘arthritis’ or spinal disc and have the pain magically go away. There was a biomechanics impairment in other areas of the body that caused the stress to the cervical spine.

The arthritic changes or disc bulge may even be a result of those other areas not working well, not the cause, but no one has done a study to confirm that☹. There's no ROI for that kind of study…

This brings us to the mostly ‘unknown’ causes of neck pain. Stay tuned for the January newsletter for Part 2.

Next month: Pain in the Neck Part 2

References: 
1. Nakashima H, Yukawa Y, Suda K, Yamagata M, Ueta T, Kato F. Abnormal findings on magnetic
resonance images of the cervical spines in 1211 asymptomatic subjects. Spine (Phila Pa 1976).
2015 Mar 15;40(6):392-8. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000000775. PMID: 25584950.
2. Rainville J, et al. Comparison of symptoms from C6 and C7 radiculopathy. Spine (Phila Pa 1976).
2017; 42(20):1545-51. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000002353.
3. https://www.mayoclinic.org/medical-professionals/orthopedic-surgery/news/cervical-
radiculopathy-its-the-decision-not-the-incision-that-dictates-outcomes/mac-20568261
4. Wang, Q., Rozelle, A., Lepus, C. et al. Identification of a central role for complement in
osteoarthritis. Nat Med 17, 1674–1679 (2011) doi:10.1038/nm.2543

Would you like to locate the core issue(s) of your pain, balance deficits, or weaknesses and learn how to address them with powerful (safe) self-care methods so you can move without pain and age without decline? You can work with Eileen one-on-one! Just ask a question or schedule a consultation via Zoom by clicking the button below.

You CAN resolve pain and age independently by training authentically and nourishing well.

Recipe of the Month: Marti’s Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats

Since so many holiday meals are loaded with things that don’t necessarily breed good health, how about starting your mornings with something that does? AND there’s absolutely nothing to do except enjoy it because you prep it in just a few minutes the night before! This recipe comes
from someone I worked with many years ago. Enjoy!

Serves 1
Ingredients

• 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats

• 1/3 cup plant milk (use your favorite)

• ¼ cup pumpkin puree (not pie filling with added ingredients)

• 1-2 teaspoons maple syrup (or to taste) 
  

• ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon)

• ½ teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

Optional toppings: sunflower seeds, chia seeds, chopped nuts, etc.
Mix all ingredients in a small bowl or jar. I often use a 12-ounce jelly or Mason jar. Add
optional mix-ins, as desired. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Sprinkle with toppings of
choice. Enjoy cold or gently warm, if desired. Oatmeal will keep for approximately 3
days in the refrigerator.

Want peace & joy instead of fear & stress?