January and I already reached my goal.....

I have to say that I've learned my lesson. Gratitude makes all the difference when you are trying to slog your way through any kind of challenge. 

Finding the teeny tiny good things hiding in the weeds has helped me more than once to resist the urge to explore the wonders of recreational drug use. 

Especially when it comes to something as overwhelming as chronic pain. 

Been fighting that battle for 7 years now? Fiery right neck, right shoulder, upper back, and right bicep pain. 

It hurt to sit, to walk, to stand, to lie down. It woke me up all night long. 

And that was AFTER the good doc did a bursectomy and thinned the ligament that was thickened from overuse. 

Ice

Moist heat

Stretching

Yoga

Trying to use my left hand for everything. 

Lidocaine patches

Physical Therapy

Massage therapy

Chiropractic therapy

Essential Oil therapy

3 Ibuprofen and 2 Tylenol at the same time  would help me wake up only once from the pain. 

Some horrible pills to dampen my nerve pain because I actually DO have congenital cervical Stenosis. ( The pills made me feel awful. I didn't even make it through 3 weeks). 

Not sleeping on my right side for 7 years. 

3 different kinds of pillows

Foam roller

Tennis ball on my back

ArmRX...(THE funkiest looking massage tool that looks like something only found in the back of Men's Health Magazine)

I even tried strengthening my muscles in my upper back with weights but EVERYTHING aggravated my damn shoulder.

Any kind of repetitive activity was my enemy. But even worse than the pain was the despair. I wanted to run, to lift weights, to chop veggies without giving it a second thought. I wanted to sleep through the night. Pain management is a wicked step sister. Mad props to EVERYONE who is in the trenches on this. 

But even in spite of having tried so many other things, I made my pain management my goal for the new year. I was gonna nail this sucker once and for all. So I kept looking until.....

....I found the ONE video on YouTube that I hadn't seen. 

This guy told me to consider the one thing NO ONE ELSE had ever mentioned. 

Posture.

http://youtu.be/QKbAkFqRaBU

Turns out...I shove my chin forward all day long. My shoulders are schlumped forward. I have horrible posture. How many thousands of hours have I spent at the piano?????? Schlumped like a heffalump. It has all taken it's toll. 

So I took the bull by the horns and committed to change. I have been the posture nazi for almost three weeks now. Triple chins be damned, I'm correcting myself all day. And you know what? 

I HAVE PAIN RELIEF

The solution for me turned out to be so elegant and simple. I'm gobsmacked with appreciation for body mechanics. My body is healthy and strong. There is so much that I can do. I pray that each of the next 338 days in this new year will allow me teeny tiny moments of increased strength, stamina and progress I crave. 

May we all keep listening with different ears for the answers. And even if we don't get what we want, may we recognize the pieces that we are finding. One at a time until the puzzle comes together. 

Happy hunting my friends.