@fncz I have been through a similar experience. My physical therapist has worked on tightness in my body. I am a cervical spine surgery patient and I also have thoracic outlet syndrome that makes one side of my neck tighter. That pulls along my spine. Just from sitting or bad posture or even just sleeping in a particular position, the spine can shift and create some pressure.

One of the things I've done in physical therapy is mobilize the spine, to get it moving properly by rolling on a foam cylinder or a wooden roller made with a notch so it presses into the muscles next to the spine which can reset them. My PT does myofascial release that works on the tight tissue, and one day, like you, I felt better when she relieved some pressure. When I went home, I rolled on the wooden roller and it clicked and reset every level of the spine one by one. Then I put it under my neck (doesn't make contact) while laying on the floor and just turned my head so it tapped the side of the spine and it reset these too. The last level still locked was C7, and I just did a bridge lifting up from the lumbar end of the spine, and that reset C7. That released everything that was locked.

What got me into that mess was having an un-operated spine condition that was causing muscle spasms, having thoracic outlet syndrome creating extra tightness and pressure on one side, and falling asleep sitting up on the couch in a slumped posture with my head back. When I woke up like that, I was in pain for a couple weeks and had to sit straight as a pole or it increased my pain. I even had a spine consult when I was locked like that, and the doctor didn't get it and didn't put his hands on me to feel if the spine was aligned. I didn't know I was locked up until my PT loosened me up, and then at home, I reset everything just by doing stretches and exercises I learned at PT. After that my posture was definitely better and pain was reduced.

When you do exercise that improves core strength, you can hold that better posture that supports the spine, and it is less effort for the body to have good posture with all the vertebrae stacked properly than to have a slouched posture and work to hold onto it. The best thing I do for my core strength is ride my horse on trails at a walk because I have to counter the walking movement with my back while I sit up with good posture. You can do a similar movement by sitting on a large therapy ball at home.

Do you have exercises recommended by your therapist to maintain the progress that you made during treatment?

Jennifer