From the responses from my breakup with Runtober, it seems that a lot of you completely understand where I’m coming from. Phew. Glad I’m not alone. I only wish I was not alone in being some marathon superhero. But alas, I’m not.

Since I can tell that so many of you are kindred spirits, I need to ask for some advice or insight or just a simple “aww, Abs, I know what you’re talking about.”

Do you remember the Pittsburgh Marathon? Do you remember how I racked up another DNF because of a ridiculous pain in my lower back on the right side? Remember how I got a massage and never mentioned it again?

Well, the truth is that it still bothers me.

I don’t want to, but I can live with the constant tightness. However, I believe that this ever present tension is the cause of an even worse pain in my neck.

Again, I’m going to ask you all to remember when I blogged about how much pain my neck was causing me. What? You don’t remember? Do you remember my chocolate zucchini muffins? Yea, it was in that post.

Well, that was the second time I had this awful flare-up on the right side of my neck. The first flare-up was shortly after the marathon. I figured out that the biggest culprit was the way I sleep (with my head tilted slightly to the right and my right arm up and bent over my eyes). Well that position keeps the right side of my neck constantly contracted and that’s what makes it so painful.

But here’s the kicker: I have slept that way FOR YEARS. Why now is it bothering me? Well, I’m going to venture a guess and say that it’s from the marathon “injury”.

So friends, if you’re still reading, I am just about at my wit’s end. I have corrected the way I sleep, but it will randomly flare up. It hurts from the base of my skull into my shoulder blade.

I NEED HELP.

Here are my options: chiropractor, massage therapist, acupuncturist.

I’m afraid that a chiropractor won’t help because my muscles are so tight, anything the chiropractor corrects will just be pulled right back out.

Massage therapist sounds like heaven. But I’m concerned that it will add up and it’s not like I need a total body deep tissue massage. And how often do I have to go?

I have the same concerns about an acupuncturist but I’ve seen how acupuncture can be localized. And this pain is VERY local. And I know this sounds weird, but the thought of getting tiny needles shoved into my tense muscles sounds fantastic.

So I am looking to you for some advice.

Have any of you had experience with any of these three forms of treatment for back or neck muscle pain? I would appreciate all of your thoughts—positive and negative. Do you have any other suggestions?!

Cuz at this point, I’ve rubbed, moist heat-ed and biofreezed the life out of my poor neck. I just want the pain to go away.