hiya,

I missed your response last week,

Tiger Balm can really help the discomfort it warms nicely and seems to help the muscles and takes the edge of everything....I use a different but similar product to stop the nerve storms it cools really quickly and then heats...I really do not know how it works but applied across the whole neck back and shoulders it can stop a force 10 nerve storm.

Some exercises can be positiely wrong esp the strengthening ones where you lie down on your back and push the head neck into the bed, or raise the head off the surface. when you are out of flare they should be attempted as manitaining neck strength is important, but straining is the very thing you need to avoid in flare.

Some of the better ones for me and also my son says they help:

Push the point of the chin out chin out, you need to be standing or sitting position ie upright....this keeps the top neck joints working. Just start of with a few every hour of 2, you can regain alot of lost ground within a few weeks. I had no upper neck movement a few years back and this exercise saved me from fusing up top and really brought the pain down.

Strain is the big enemy of AS esp in flare as it injuries the insertions points which is the very area AS hits.

Lateral neck stretches, gently not hard and often. Avoid doing the neck circles had more trouble doing those than any other!!!!

Chin to chest....careful can stir up a hornets nest of back rib pain.....but inportant!

Stretches which accentuate the natural curves esp the thoracic and lumbar spine. and laterals for the spine twisting etc. Stand up stretch backwards and upwards as much as you can I put my arms out and back this really helps my thoracics.

The collar bones and AC joints in the shoulders often get affected and these can refer pain into the neck so it's important to work these areas, again quality and reps are better than speed and strain,

David