i'm wondering if anyone with older locks goes on this site - i have a question. my locks are apx. 5 years old and reach down my back. recenetly (the past month), my neck has begun hurting. i'm wondering if anyone has a similar problem and what they do about it. i've tried wearing my hair up, and many other things.
hah hah, mama boogie - look in the health forum. you answered my querry about chiropractors! i've been going. my hair is really heavy, and i've got a small body. my locks are thick rather than thinner, equally spread out ones. i'm just puttin two and two together. i'm hoping i'm incorrect!
just found this thread, i was at the gathering when u made it, but i've been wondering that as well, (about any long time dreads) mine are somewhere between 15 -16 years and are real heavy i have alotta neck/back probs but most come from breakin my back, but surely all this weight cant be helpun in another thread i thought about a backpack to carry em in even tyin mine up doesnt seem to help just makes me feel very top heavy like i'll topple over and theyre so heavy they never wanna stay tied up long
i heard of someone separating the big ones in to two? that way it takes the pressure of of certain areas and distributes it more evenly?
The constant pulling of the dreads is like working as a cashier in a food store... your neck mucles must work statically all the time, it's not a heavy burden, just a little. Some single fibres in your muscles take care of this -little- weight they need to compensate, and they therefore get strained (imagine that you've got this fully functioning mucle but the only ones you use the most are some fibres, the same all the time.. cant be good) So my suggestion to you is that you activate the fibres in the muscles that sees for heavier work also... I mean working out, weigh lifting. Go to a gym and get instructed how to do... Or you can do one yourself that i learnt in boxing class: lay down on the floor on your back, raise your head so that it just doesnt touch the floor, and then nod repetetively and slowly. I hope it works out for you, and go to a skilled masseur or physio therapist if you feel worried.
Along the same lines, just putting your dreads up in different ways can help. Mine are about the same age and probably about the same length as yours, kayte, and I've found that helps. I'll keep out a couple of long skinny ones for tying with, and "fold" the rest up to the top of my head, so that the weight of them is going straight down onto my head/neck, instead of pulling from the back. then I'll tie it up that way so it stays in place, and sort of "fan it out" a little so that while staying centered on the head, the weight is distributed a little more evenly. It looks a little silly, but it's great around the house! And if I don't want to take it down for going out, I can always wrap a piece of fabric around it kinda like a turban. I don't think this would work for anything as long as your dreads, Eagle, but it's great for mid-back length!
