Feel as though I always need to stretch...

[bailey_uk]

Hey folks, I gather that this could fit in a few catergories so I am going to ask here and you may be able to point me in the right direction.

Im a 24 year old althletic male and Since the age of about 8 I have always felt the need to stretch my neck.

Its not a pain that I am feeling, more like a sensation that makes me want to stretch it. If I tell myself to not do it, I literally cannot go more than 10 minutes without doing it once.

However if I am busy doing something thats physical or concentrating my mind, I tend not to even think about, or do it.

Very strange I know.

Situations where I am most likely to want to do it, are watching TV, reading the paper, lying in bed, sat driving.

Situations where I am least likely to want to do it, are when Im doing something physically like running, cutting wood, playing football. Also I feel my most comfortable when I am in bed in the morning after a nights sleep.

The area that I want to stetch is now kinda extended to my shoulder, and elbow (all on my left side).

The feeling of when I do it does feel good when I do it. But I think the long term effects of doing it an awful lot is doing me damage.

This has been going on for as long as i can remember now, 16 years and have been to about 4 doctors, 3 osteopaths, countless masseurs and even acupunture with no cure.

Thinking about it, when discussing it with them, I have mentioned the pain more than wanting to know the reason why I am wanting to stretch so often.

Any thoughts or experiences of similar would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

James

[AllicatB]

Oh my gosh I thought I was the only one with this problem. I cannot believe that other people are experiencing this. It is mainly my neck and shoulder I am always fidgeting around and it feels like I'm losing muscle in my left arm because of all of this I feel like I am stretching the tendons my shoulder and I know that this could probably cause a lot of harm for me later I do not know what to do it is very uncomfortable for me I'm always pulling and stretching it just makes everything else sore. This is so very uncomfortable and it gets me very depressed at times. It has now even travelled to my wrist I feel like I have to stretch my forearm as well if yours like I have lost a lot of muscle mass in my left arm if anybody at all find secure for this please post thank you. Cheryl

[MikeHc]

I thought I was the only one as well, I have never seen anyone like me before.

I am having the same problem for over 6 years now. I can't stop stretching my neck for over 10 seconds. Have tried everything from chiropractors, psychologists, psychiatrists, massages, acupuncture, physiotherapies, etc.

If  could help....what has helped me the most is doing exercise to release stress (run, gym), deep tissue massages to 'undo' the knots caused by stress and at home neck exercises to strengthen muscles (around 5 times a week). It has been a bit slow to recover, but I should say 2 years ago I couldn't turn my head to the sides without the help of my hands! So I must be doing something correctly :)

Hope I help someone.

[philnoir]

If we're talking about muscle tension w/o pain, then blame our sedentary lifestyle for your misery.

This sounds to me less like a medical problem than a life-style problem.

Our bodies did not evolve over 100's of generations to sit at a workstation. We are not made for a sedentary life-style. Most Americans are overweight because of this, and by making poor food choices.

To resolve, find ways to include mild exercise, like swimming, into your daily routine.

At work, take regular breaks -- get up, walk around, stretch your arms. If you cannot, make your work area posturally correct, or find another job. I once knew a man, a trained controller for a large company who opted to leave his office job and work as a landscaper.

[queen8248]

i always feel the urge to stretch my neck from the left to the right, and sometimes, it cracks as well. I don't know what is wrong, or what is happening, but I just hope nothing bad is coming my way because I am pretty young.

[blair1000]

so what is the consensus? i have similar problems..
:/

[Unsure_teen]

I don’t know what the consensus is but I have to stretch my neck ALL the time and my “friends” always bully me about it and so do my family saying I’m a “spaz” or I’m “special” or “do you have tics?” And “do you have Tourette’s?” I don’t think I have these but I’m getting really worried because everyone goes on about it I think I might have it. Im so glad I’m not the only one who suffers from similar problems

[specialmom]

Well, ignore others. BUT, if you have an impulse that you can't control, that is a tic. My son has tics and his change at different times.  He had for about half a year a tic involving what looked like stretching his neck. He could not control the impulse to do it.  I would start a journal for when you get the urge---  what proceeds it and what happens if you don't do it.

[DannieG123]

Have you found out anything about your stretching situation.  My son age 15 has started doing it too.  Mostly over the last 9 months.  Unfortunately, when he does it, it effects the blood flow to his brain and sometimes he passes out or has seizure like activity.  The drs at Children's Hospital (we have seen many drs and spent many days there and had many tests) say that it is something that he is just doing.  We need to take him to a behavior modification specialist.  My son says he can't help it, doesn't even know he is doing it and it gets worse if he doesn't.  Hoping you may have found answers by now to help us.

[icecreamjello46]

This happened to me, and it turned out that I have a Chiari malformation that required brain surgery, as well as POTS, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. I hope this helps!

[concobhar]

I don't know what to do or what it is, i have this constant urge to stretch just my neck to the right. some times it makes my vision go out slightly and i end up doing these strange jerk motions where my legs start to just give out and i fight to stay up or sometimes even i lose control of my arms, once i was in the bath and it happened and caused me to fall over, i went to the school nurse that morning as i also had a violent headache and dizzy she said i was dehydrated. other times it isnt as bad and every couple seconds or mins i get the urge to stretch

[beliha]

Me as well!
I've always been quite athletic, i was in the swim team as a teen, I've taken up many different sports and when I grew up I took up Weight lifting, but nothing too extreme or crazy.

This unbearable need to stretch my back started a little over a year ago (just after turning 31) , and its been driving me crazy ever since, to the point were it seriously interferes with my ability to sit straight and get some work done.
I must admit, over my lifetime I slept in some pretty messed up positions. Add to that the fact that my desk chairs (i'm a software developer) were never exactly ergonomic, so that might be the result of a lifetime of these practices.

But another thing i noticed that started way before the unbearable feeling of needing to stretch my back, was my sleeping habits. I cannot, CANNOT sleep on my side or my back, I always sleep on my stomache (face down), because any other position is just not comfortable at all and I simply can't fall asleep unless I am face down. I noticed that it had to do with my back, sleeping face down with a pillow under my chest bends my back backwards and stretches it and it feels so good and comfy I immediatley fall asleep, as opposed to hours and hours of lying on my back or sides and feeling very uncomfortable.

I know all this is a lot to process, the culprit could be a combination of everything I mentioned above, but so far I've tried everything, I've tried becoming active again, losing weight, going to a chairopractor, taking muscle relaxants ..etc
The only thing that sort-of worked, was getting a massage. It will relax your back temporarily, but then I found that I need to constantly go back, and quite frankly I can't afford getting a massage every 2 days!

Any ideas would be welcomed, sometimes the need to stretch is so overwhelming I cancel all my plans and just spend the whole day & evening in a vicious cycle of stretching and lying down, rendering me completely unproductive and useless! Its reaching the point where its destroying my work and my life because anything i have to do sitting down is incredibly uncomfortable. I can stand up and the need goes away, but i can't spend my life standing up the whole time.

[Suezq111]

Try getting a DEEP TISSUE massage with someone who knows about releasing trigger points. Also, try 1000 mg magnesium 2x a day. As well as drinking about a gallon of water each day. Hope this helps.

[lindat1]

I am totally like this too. at work i get stiff so quick i have to hide just to stretch, then i feel better for a while. it is so frustrating

[Verycool2009]

I have that.  I am constantly readjusting my back and stretching it.  I stretch my neck all the time.  I even stretch my arms and legs all the time.  Every time I stand up, I stretch my whole body.  I never noticed that other people don't do that until I read this.  I did notice that I fidget a lot in meetings though.  I have to stretch my back,  change positions, etc.  Part of it is that my feet and legs go numb if I sit one way too long.  But part of the problem is that I just feel the urge to stretch and it drives me crazy until I do it.  

Cinnamon