Joined: 20 Nov 2005 Posts: 30 Location: San Francisco
Neck And Shoulder Pain With Headaches Posted: 11-20-05 20:57pm
I frequently get headaches and lately it
seems when I get a headache I also
experience severe tension and pain in my
neck and shoulders. My boyfriend thinks
I need to see a chiropractor because i'm
so tense. Does anyone else notice these
symptoms occuring simultaneously? Also I
have allergies and get a lot of sinus
headaches, could the muscle soreness be
related to allergies too? Also, I am
very well endowed and have a petite frame.
Geez, this could be any number of things
causing my neck pain. I'm a wreck.
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kayakmom
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 21 Jun 2004 Posts: 252 Location: Conn
Thanks: 2
Thanked:0
Posted: 11-21-05 17:44pm
I have a lot of allergies, headaches as
well as neck pain. I also see a
chiropractor for the neck problems. I
find a lot of relief as far as better
mobility with my neck with a good chiro
adjustment.
For the headaches that tighten things up,
I have found that using a soft cloth ice
pack and moist cold helps a great deal!
Wrap the pack in a damp paper towel and it
is really cold. Just for 10-20 minutes.
Be careful you do not freeze the skin
though....
I have had 2 sinus surgeries for cysts and
still have a lot of infections. I am
finding that when an infection is coming
on, I drink a lot of water and use saline
spray and this seems to help. It loosens
it all up and I geet well faster.
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Synergi
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 5
Posted: 02-03-06 14:37pm
I get them every single day..Every 6-8
hours when the med's starts to wear off..
My symtoms are this..
It starts with tension in the
shoulders/upper back, moves to the back of
the neck..And if left alone..Will become a
a throbbing heache that feels like a
migrain. The only thing that has worked
for me so far is plan old excedrin migrain
aspirin. Works far better then the stuff
the Dr.'s have given me which doesn't
work.. But I am concerned because I take
2 aspirin every 6 hours on average..
Now I am looking into what it is aspirin
actually does. Anti-inflammatory, and
thins the blood. I think these two things
are key to keeping the headaches away..So
now I am reaching herbs that have the same
kind of effect that wont eat away the
lining of my stomach :)
anyone else have headaches the way I have
described?
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Mellie310
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 08 Feb 2006 Posts: 12 Location: Oklahoma
Neck And Shoulder Pain With Headaches Posted: 02-08-06 18:14pm
I have the same kind of headaches that you
are describing. Mine started two days
after I moved our massive christmas tree
out of the house. The thing was so big
and heavy, and I had been sick with
dangerously low blood pressure for a year
and a half, and therefore, wasn't able to
do much. Pretty much inactive, even
gained weight because of it. Anyway, 2
days after I moved that monster tree, I
noticed neck tension. I have an
alcoholic husband who had been on one of
his binges, but had sobered up. The last
binge he went on was horrible, lasted a
month, he ruined christmas for everybody,
etc. Then, when he wanted to sober up,
he kept me on the run for about a week and
a half. Keep in mind that I had not been
used to doing all this stuff. So this
neck tension starts, my neck wasn't stiff,
it just was so tense. And stayed that
way then started moving down into my
shoulder blades, between my shoulder
blades, basically my whole upper back. I
have a messed up lower back also, ten bone
spurs on vertebraes l1-l5 plus spina
bifida occulta. Well, all this tension
got worse, took my husband took my Dr. To
be put on meds to help control drinking,
and while I was there I told my Dr. About
the headaches across the back of my head.
I have gad so I always worry about
recurring headaches, they terrify me. He
felt my neck and shoulders and told me
that they were hard as rocks. On top of
my left shoulder there was a knotted
muscle the size of a golf ball. He gave
me a cortisone shot in that it was so bad.
Took the knotted muscle away, but that's
about it. I finally got so scared I took
myself to the er and had the Dr. On call
do a ct scan of my brain which came back
normal except for complete opacification
of the right maxillary sinus. She also
put me on skelaxin, which helps, but when
it wears off, the tension and headache
always come back. My problem now is
this.....I have heard horror stories on
this internet about how ct scans are
useless in detecting brain tumors. How
could they be? The hospital I went to is
in a big city and is a branch off an even
bigger hospital in a bigger city. I
asked the radiology tech before the test
how accurate the machine was, and if there
was a mass, would it show up. She told
me that the machine they use is new, a 16
slice scanner, compared to the old 6 and 8
slice ones, and was top of the line. It
can detect aneurysms, small bleeders, but
it can't detect brain tumors? I walked
out of that hospital sooooooooooo happy
and relieved, but now i'm convinced I have
a tumor again. Can't win for losing.
But.....My headaches never get severe,
they're very dull, it's my neck and back
that the pain is severe in. Husband
rubbed my back last night and he found
another knotted muscle the size of another
golf ball and said that there were so many
knotted muscles it was unreal, he said it
felt like there were rocks under my skin.
So, I took a skelaxin and a hydrocodone,
and the headache and tension went away.
I spend hours at this computer as I do
computer graphics and I sit very slumped
over. So I don't know, I can't stop
worrying about it. My Dr. Told me that
he has diagnosed people with brain tumors
via ct scans vs. Mri's, so why does the
internet say that ct scans are useless?
I would think if they were, they would get
rid of them completely.
Sorry for such a long post, but this
tension, headache thing is getting old,
and it's comforting to know that somebody
else out there is experiencing the same
thing. However, that doesn't mean i'm
glad you have them, i'm very sorry that
you do.
Next time I post I promise to keep it
shorter.
Melanie
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Synergi
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 5
Posted: 02-10-06 16:26pm
Hi mellie!
Im sorry for all the troubles your
having..But like you its nice not to be
completely alone. I sometimes felt I was
nuts because no one really ever gets down
to why I have this.
Anyway, I dont know if this will help you
or anyone else..But in my first post I
mentioned I was researching herbs and such
to see if there was something naturally
out there that would help relieve the
neck,back tension like your having. The
headache is easy.. One aspirin and it
usually wipes it out..Its the back, neck
and shoulder tension that is just killer.
Anyway, I by accident found omega 3 (fish
oil) it naturally is a blood thinner and
anti inflammatory. I went to gnc and
told them I wanted the strongest stuff
they had.. I ended up with 60 gel caps
of nordic naturals, pharmaceutical grade
ultimate omega. Keep in mine i've tried
everything..Only oding on alot of aspirin
has helped me.
Onward to my experiment.. My neck
tension is like clock work..Every six
hours if im awake..Strangely..If im sleep
im usually fine..
So I took a omega gel cap at about 11am..I
usually start get the back tension with
the following headache by 2pm.. So
having only takened one..I figured it was
to early to tell if it was really
helping..So I took my normal 2tabs of
aspirn the moment I felt a twinge that
something was starting.. Ok good, fine
so far.. I took another omega around
4..Then I started to notice something..
I just felt relaxed, calm..Almost like a
sense of well being.. Well by 8 when
its normally time for another dose of
asprin..Guess what..Notnhing..No creeping
of tension in my shoulders or back..I took
another omega by 10pm..And I think I was
sleep around midnight.. But I went
through the entire day one 1 dose of
asprin! This is unheard of for me..
Ok still afraid to really get my hopes
up.. I started up the next day..This
time I took an omega soon as I woke
up..Around 9am..By 2 I started getting a
migrain but no back tension! This to is
a big deal for me.. So this time I took
1 aspirin and the head went away ..I think
about 5pm..I felt a tiny twing of
stiffness in my neck..Nothing that was so
bad I needed to medicate myself with..And
for this I use a little minerial ice
bought at walgreens..And that took it away
as I took my next dose of omega 3. This
bottle cost me 26.95 for 60 gel caps and
i've been on them for 3 days now.. I
dont know if it will help you or anyone
else out there..But it is really making
life easier for me. I actually am
starting to feel human again..I felt
terrible on aspirin..But it was the only
thing that would work..
Next, is magnesium and ginger root..Both
of these are suppose to help with
headache. Ginger root I believe is also
a natural anti inflammatory..And magnesium
is suppose to help with the headache part
of it. Then there is another one called
fever few that is suppose to be great for
migrains. My next test is on ginger root
and magnesium..Just waiting for the mail
man to deliever them so check back in a
week and i'll let you know how its working
out.
About the tumour..I thought that too..But
i've had this for about 10 years..Migrains
i've had about 20 years..So I wouldn't
worry if they didn't find them..But you
might want to look up the benifits of 35%
food grade peroixide.. Thats something
else I will experiement with at a later
date. My guess, is you got a pinched
nerved from moving that heavy tree...Thats
about the only thing my Dr. Agrees on is
that I have a pinched nerved in my
neck...My back lower back like yours got
messed up some years ago.The things your
Dr. Give you..Pay attention to what it
actually does.. Msucle relaxer/anti
inflammatory etc..And look for a natural
product...Since i've suffered with all
this for so long..I've given up on
anything curing whatever it is.. But im
looking for mor healthy, natural
alternatives *huggles* get better hun..
Kim
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Mellie310
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 08 Feb 2006 Posts: 12 Location: Oklahoma
Posted: 02-11-06 13:46pm
Did you have headaches everyday?
Like...Were they recurring? I finally
went to the chiropractor yesterday, he's
different than most of them, he didn't
just throw me up on a table and start
prodding a probing on my spine, he did all
kinds of x-rays, did an ultra-sound
massage with some kind of lotion that
started out really cold and then turned
warm, then started working on my lower
back. He found no pinched nerves, no
herniated discs, nothing except a bone
spur on one of the vertebraes in my neck
which he said was not significant and
shouldn't be causing me problems. Most
people's spines in their neck have a curve
in them, but mine was straight. He said
that could cause problems, like headaches.
And he found 10 bone spurs in lower
back, arthritis and spina bifida occulta.
He said that I was so tight that it would
take a long, long time to fix it. He
found countless knotted muscles and the
muscles that weren't knotted he said were
tight as a drum. He thought it was due
to the fact that I had moved that
christmas tree after being so inactive for
a year and a half. Compared it to him
picking up a pickup truck and the damage
that doing that would cause him.
I haven't had a headache for the past 3
days, but I talked to my best friend last
night and she made one comment that scared
me so now i'm back to worrying about brain
tumor again, even though the chiropractor,
which has ordered ct scans on other people
told me that they are very accurate in
detecting abnormalities of the brain.
Even explained how they work to me. I
spent the rest of the day feeling like I
had been drugged I was so relaxed and
relieved, then she made that comment
thanks for the info on fish oil. I think
i'll try it. I've heard that fish oil is
good for many, many things, and have
considered trying it in the past. One
question about it though.....Do you burp
up a "fishy" taste when you take it? :
)
all the best,
melanie
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Synergi
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 5
Posted: 02-11-06 14:55pm
Hi mellie,
i have that too..My bones in my neck have
no curve. Every since I was a child I had
a habit of walking with my head
down..Looking to the ground. My
chiropractor said that is more then likely
what caused me to loose the curve and he
also said that is probably what cause my
headaches.
I get headaches every single day..Last
year I went 4 days headache free..And the
only reason I can tell you that..It was
like such a big thing not to have to take
asprin for those 4 days..
Im on day 4 of the nordic naturals
ultimate omega fish oils.. Yesterday was
a really good day.. No stiffens, no
tension creeping up the shoulders, back
and neck...Two slight headaches..One I
took one asprin for..The last cleared up
on its own...I just used a little
headon..Its like a lip balm but you rub it
on yoru forehead and it makes it cool...
The nordic fish oils are the
puriest...They have a slight lemon taste
and no fish oil burps what so ever.. I
heard you get that with the cheaper fish
oils and that they aren't as pure as they
should be.. I would have to say this is
the best 27 bucks i've spent in a while..
Remember I told you day one or two..Can't
remember which..But I had a slight tingle
of tensioin but nothing I needed to
medicate myself for.. Well I increased my
dosage yesterday..One fish oil cap every
3.5 hours..And that did it..No tinge of
tension...And it just leaves me feeling
relaxed...But not codene drugged kind of
relaxed..Like natrually relaxed..Like this
is the way I should have felt... It also
gives you a sense of well being and a
clearer head.. Im really amazed...If you
make it to your gnc store, give it a
try..Hopefully it will work well for you
as it does for me..
I really wasn't a believer in taking herbs
or vitamins..But this stuff made a
believer of me..Im so encouraged now..Im
going to try other things..Just waiting
for the shipment to arrive..But now that I
seem to have licked this annoying,
miserable tension..Going to see if I can
do something that will keep the headaches
away...But if I find nothing to help with
that part of it.. I am very thankful that
tension is now under control..Naturally...
And I feel so much better then I did when
taking all those asprin..
Speaking of the loss of the curve in your
neck..My dr told me to get one of those
round neck pillows and lay with my head
back on it for 20 minutes a day...Problem
with that is.. I still have a habit to
walk with my head down..Not sure how im
going to break a 40 year old habit..
Well if you manage to find something that
works for you let me know.. I've gone to
the Dr. Off and on for 4 years..And they
could never really explain why this is
happening..Alot of guessing..The drugs
they gave me really didn't work.. My
mother thinks mordern medicine is over
rated and about making money..And not
curing. She's big into herbs and
vitamines..So it got me thinking..I've
tried everything else..Im going to see if
there is something that will work.. Since
asprin was the only thing that helped me..
I broke down what it is asprin actually
does..Then I looked for something natrual
that did close to the samme thing...Thus..
I am now a big believer of fish oil :)
if your that worried about tumors..Maybe
you should have your Dr. Refer you to a
specialist.. But on the bright side..You
didn't start getting headaches til you
moved the tree..So it doesn't seem like it
would be tumour related..
Write soon
kim
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Mellie310
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 08 Feb 2006 Posts: 12 Location: Oklahoma
Posted: 02-12-06 01:01am
How did you endure headaches every single
day with the exception of 4, for a whole
year? Didn't that drive you crazy? It
would've me, I know that. Did you ever
get a ct scan done, anything? Obviously
you're okay, or you'd know it by now if
something was wrong. My husband's aunt
had headaches at the back of her head for
a whole year too. She told me that she
used to beg god every night to let her
wake up the next morning headache free.
In her case I would've been terrified
because brain aneurysms run high in that
family. But she never worried about
that, when one killed her sister (my
husband's mother), one almost killed her
aunt and one killed her 11 year old 2nd
cousin, all on my husband's grandfather's
side of the family. His grandfather had
a massive stroke that killed him. But
these people never worry about recurring
headaches. My husband gets them often in
the back of his head, and he describes
them as "debilitating". But it doesn't
worry him.
I think I have a brain tumor phobia right
now, and I think it's due to being under
an enormous amount of stress, constant,
everyday, horrific stress for the past 4
years. Won't go into detail, but believe
me, it's been bad. During that four year
period, I lost my dad suddenly and
unexpectedly and due to other reasons, I
have not dealt with his death. Sometimes
I think i've just snapped, had some kind
of an emotional breakdown, I really do.
I'm so severely depressed and can't seem
to snap out of it. I've never been
depressed like this before. But i've
never been through what i've had to go
through the past 4 years before either.
So I think that maybe, at least I hope,
that all that stress, anxiety, depression,
anger, rage that I feel inside is
contributing to all this neck, back,
shoulder and head pain.
The chiropracters visit was great,
however, i'm so sore today, feel very
tensed up and unusually sore, is that
normal?
Didn't mean to unload on you, just wanted
to let you know that all this is going on.
Maybe the reason I can't shake having a
tumor, stress!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ( having
anxiety/panic disorder doesn't help
either, neither does going through
menopause : ( oh, the joys of being a
woman!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hang in there, and keep me posted on that
fish oil, I really think i'm going to try
that.
All the best,
melanie
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Synergi
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 5
Posted: 02-12-06 18:06pm
I guess when you've had them as long as I
have..You just sort of get use to
them...They are miserable to have believe
me. But I think the tension in the back
shoulders and neck are the worse to deal
with..The headache will go away without to
much medication (one aspirin) the back
tension took two and was reoccuring soon
as the aspirin wore off..If I tried to
ignore it..It would fester into another
headache..So I was taking aspirin...2
every six hours for as long as I was
awake..
This last week since started this omega3
is the most relief i've had in years.. It
gives me alot of hope and really has me
searching now for the natural stuff that
is good for me.. I to have had alot of
life altering changes in the last 8 years
that I wish on no one..I was also told I
was in depression by my Dr. I tried anti
depressants..Different kinds..Nothing
seemed to help that either..But the omega3
helps your brain cells and gives you a
sense of well being..Its really worked
wonders for me..
I have ginger root and magnesium coming
tomorrow..Can't wait to see if that helps
the headache side now that I seem to be
managing the tension part of my ailments..
Even if they dont..Having the tension not
flare up is a godsend..
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Synergi
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 5
Posted: 02-13-06 20:00pm
Well just to keep you posted, I started on
ginger root and magnesium today...To early
yet to tell if its working..I had a slight
headache before my shipment came...Which I
took my normal aspirin for..But that was
at mm..About 1pm...Its now 8pm..Shipment
came about 3pm and I started taking the
those around then along with the omega..
So far so good..No headache as of yet..But
like I said its to early to tell..Could be
just a fluke but normally I would have a
headache by now or atleast feel one
creeping up on me. After I make it
through a full couple of days on this
stuff i'll let you know..
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jerez
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 14 Location: US
I Am Finding Help With Headaches And Stiff ... Posted: 05-18-06 08:57am
Neck, etc
for many years I have had bad headaches,
stiff neck, and other problems, like pain
between shoulder blades, I was prescribed
zomig for migraines.
I also have pain in my face, eyes, cheek
or sinus areas, also tmj, pulse heard in
ear, and ringing in my ear ( left).
I certainly haven't resolved al of it,
but I must tell you, I haven't had a
headache for a week, very uncommon.
What am I doing?
I am using a product that is a skin
analgesic, ( there are many) but
thera-gesic was recommended by my
pharmacists for muscles knots in neck .
I wasn't aware until recently that I had
these knots. My shoulder was hurting, and
swollen, and I was massaging it, the pain
went up to the crook of my neck where I
found a big knot.
So I went looking for one of these
creams, well, I have been using it daily
and no headaches since then.
I am amazed.
I really believe we can all help one
another by communicating about these
problems.
I have an mri scheduled for a week from
today to rule out acoustic neuroma.
I don't think I have it, however, I am
not sure what all this is due to , I have
been under stress, I do have low blood
pressure, ok pulse, and high oxygen in
blood, but I have high cholesterol, and I
can't imagine why. :d
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stevie_23
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 10 Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Headaches Beginning As Neck Ache Each Week/month Posted: 05-18-06 23:27pm
For most of last year i'd get a
headache/neck thing that would be as
follows, every week.
Began on the left side of my neck, up near
where the neck meets the skull and it
would be so sudden, just this feeling of
tension and like there's a lump there
almost. No amount of massaging, deep heat
or any sort of gel would help at all.
Then within about an hour or so the left
side of my head and face would hurt, all
over that side and it would make my head
and face get really hot, like with a fever
almost.
Then it'd move over to the right side of
my neck where it would stay for about
another hour..Before moving up to the
right side of face and eye and head, where
it'd make me feel very nauseated and
miserable. So painful it'd ruin my
day/night.
It pretty much always would come either in
the late morning/early afternoon and then
no matter how early I took them, or how
many, pain killers would just not do a
single thing.
I'd go to sleep and usually wake up
feeling weird and drained and a bit of
tension and residual pain but then within
an hour of being up i'd be fine. For
another week.
Most of this year, these things only come
once a month so I assume, especially since
I was on the pill last year, that they are
hormone related.
My mum also used to get migraines each
month until menopause when they stopped
forever. But i've had migraines before
(with aura) and they're not like these
headaches.
I wouldn't mind the headaches so much if
any pain killer would actually work, but
nothing ever does! I've had my neck
manipulated and cracked, many massages,
physio things, etc...They all help me but
they never change anything in terms of the
headaches unfortunately.
At one point I was considering ordering
pethidine online illegally just cause I
know it'd get rid of the pain!
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jenrninmi
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 11 Dec 2005 Posts: 35 Location: U.S.A!
Posted: 06-13-06 16:57pm
Most of the time when I get my headaches I
also have the tension in my neck and
shoulders. Especially on the left side.
I actually get a sort of lump between my
neck and shoulder. A chiropractor has
helped me so much. I rarely have
headaches anymore and I used to be a
walking headache.
Hi - I started having really bad left
temple area 'migraines' though I don't
have a history of migraines. Along with
dizzy/vertigo, sleep problems, neck
pain/tension, ear pain/fullness, all on
the left side ...
I"m seeing a chiropractor ... It's just
been 8 weeks and i'm not finding much
relief. Anyone else had issues or
thoughts on this muscle and what to do?
In the beginning doctors thought I just
had migraines, I was prescribed every
major migraine med available on the market
none of them worked, i've tried some other
main pain meds, the most effect of course
are anti-inflammatories. But I would
really like to fix this and stop just
trying to 'cope' or 'mask'.
Thanks,
epi
|
Descartes241
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 08 Feb 2006 Posts: 5
Posted: 09-16-06 21:39pm
I understand that ultrasound massage is
excellent for relieving the tension in the
neck muscles. You might look into that.
|
Thomas007
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 13 Oct 2006 Posts: 5 Location: Ohio
Posted: 10-14-06 08:32am
Constant 24/7 headaches are enough to
drive a person crazy. Or pretty darn
close. I have learned to deal with them
for a long, long time.
I would absolutely love to have just one
day of freedom from my headaches. That
alone would be heavenly. 4? Mylanta,
you're lucky!
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HealthResearcher
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 14 Oct 2006 Posts: 7
Posted: 10-24-06 09:50am
If you are keen on trying alternative
remedies for your headache, this is a book
that I highly recommend ==>natural
headache remedy or remedies
the ebook comes with 40 or more ways in
which you can get rid or reduce your
headaches.
All the best!
Lim
edit
|
medical
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 32
Thanks: 1
Thanked:0
Posted: 11-06-06 08:33am
Hi everyone, I ran into your messages
quite accidentally while researching about
some details on ‘headaches’ and
thought of sharing some of my findings.
I’ve read at
‘http://www.Medical-health-care-informat
ion.Com/encyclopedia/h/headaches1.Asp’
that
headaches are one of the most common
pain-related health problems in both
children and adults. Common causes of
headache includes:
alcohol, caffeine, or other drug use or
withdrawal.
Coughing or sneezing, dehydration,
dental problems or procedures, eating or
drinking cold foods and fluids, emotional
stress, exposure to smoke or fumes from
chemicals, eyestrain,
fever, medical procedures, such as the
aftereffects of a lumbar puncture,
medications. Many medications can cause
headaches.
Muscle strain in the neck, upper back, or
shoulder muscles.
Upper respiratory infections.
I hope the above is of some help to you as
well.
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stevenajones1122
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 13 Location: Kelowna
Magnesium For Headaches Posted: 01-31-07 18:51pm
Magnesium supplementation has been shown
in several studies to benefit headaches
and migraines. Try a more absorbable
form of magnesium such as a magnesium
chelate (e.G glycinate) or orotate, or
aspartate.
My father had headaches for several months
- he is a diabetic, they commonly are
deficient in magnesium.
After taking 400mg daily for a couple of
weeks he felt much better. Now he has no
headaches. He bought trophic magnesium
chelate from
i know a few people that take myalgia - x,
a suplement that contains magnesium, malic
acid, boswellia and bromelain.
