prognosis- sort of

Body: 

Hi Ladies,

Quick recap- I'm in my early 40's and have been doing WW work for 1 1/2 years now. Will never look back. I've got both celes that, thanks to this work and Christine!! I'm managing well the vast majority of the time.

Here's my question though- just as Christine would predict with the loss of lumbar curvature that I have, and as I unfortunately confirmed not long ago by looking, I have the hump at the base of my neck (dowager hump? I think it's called). Ugh and yuck.

I fully understand and appreciate that no one can predict what the level of prolapse stabilization any one person will get, and I also know that uncertainty extends to spinal recovery as well, BUT, I'm gonna ask the question anyway- lol ;) Given my full commitment this work every day/all day, given that I have seen improvement in my symptoms (ie- I'm confident, with the posture, exercises, tools that I am managing to keep my pelvic organs more forward), given that I spend nearly all of my waking hours with my chest pulled up,belly relaxed and head held with chin slightly down/tucked (like hair in a ponytail being pulled up)- thereby hopefully restoring lumbar curvature to at least a certain degree - do you think it is possible to help correct- or at the very least stop in it's tracks- this hump at the base of my neck??

Vague I know. I've searched the forums, and though it is mentioned as the likely sequelae of lumbar loss, I don't really see much about the possible correction/stabilization in this area of the spine.

Thank you for any thoughts! gr8fl

Hi gr8fl, while I can't comment on how this will be for you, I can tell you how it has been for me. I have been doing WW techniques for a few years now, just so you know.

A few years before discovering my POP (in my mid-40s) I was quite distressed to see a distinct slumping in my upper back. I tried to correct it by pulling my shoulders back etc, but all that did was cause me a lot of back pain and muscle spasms. Then my POP made itself known. Once I started to get the hang of the WW-posture I noticed that lifting my chest helped straighten out my upper back. I was fascinated by the fact that this slumping of the rib cage, not rounding of the shoulders, was what really caused my upper back hump. Why had no doctor or therapist or trainer ever said this? I wondered.

Coincidentally at that time, I started to do Bikram Yoga. There is a particular posture in Bikram where you try to straighten out your neck along the floor (Wind-Removing Pose - Pavanamuktasana). I could not believe how tight the ligaments in the back of my neck were. I could not tilt my chin down at all. I did suffer through some pain as I slowly started to stretch them out. It took a long time (years). The heat of the Bikram yoga room helped me for sure here. While my neck is in no way flat along the floor, the curve in my neck is much smaller and I can tilt my chin down and look along the center line of my body now.

It seems that years of this bad posture had caused the ligaments in the back of my neck to shorten and the ligaments at the front to elongate. I had to stretch out those back ligaments in order to lift the crown of my head properly and tuck my chin slightly as WW-posture says.

Anyway, after three years of WW-posture and Bikram, I can say that the hump at my neck is quite reduced. I look way better and even taller. I figure that I spent years creating the humped position in my spine and that it would take time to re-mould everything. It was partly this realization that WW-posture corrected my neck hump that made me believe firmly in Christine's work. It goes far beyond just POP maintenance. The WW-posture just feels so right in my body. I no longer have neck and shoulder pain.

I hope that you have the same results.

Hi gr8fl,

Just a thought re the hump you speak of. This is just a thought and may not have any relevance to what you have. Oftentimes these humps (or dowager humps) can be caused by compression fractures in the spine. Sometimes these cause pain, and sometimes they don't. They're usually brought on by Osteoporosis (thinning bone density). Perhaps get a scan of your spine and a bone density test just to make sure. A word of warning. If you DO get a diagnosis of Osteopenia (pre-Osteoporosis) or actual Osteoporosis, DOT NOT take any med that is termed as a ''Bisphosphonate''! Horrendous side-effects have been reported, dentists won't work on you, was reported on major news media that they can even cause spontaneous fractures of the femur bone. Meaning they can actually CAUSE what they are supposed to PREVENT!

I know this is a forum about prolapse, but since you mentioned your hump just thought I would add this info.

Hope all turns out well for you,

sevilla

Thank you Sevilla and Hockeymom. As I was doing some research, I also came across the possibility of fractures. I'm caucasian, slender, fine boned- so certainly within the realm of possibility. As many of us are, I'm loathe to head to a dr. I think not yet. I feel pretty sure this has been creeping up on me for quite some time. But now that I'm aware of it, I'll keep an eye on it. Should it get worse, I'm sure a bone density test is in order. (But I have no family history of it and a lifetime of weight bearing/ resistance exercise will/have hopefully be somewhat protective, but you never know).

I'll definitely try the yoga pose- looks like it's prolapse friendly...
gr8fl