More neck issues

My left shoulder and neck have been bothering me for a couple of weeks now. This past week, every night I would put a couple of strips of Salonpas on my left shoulder and neck before going to sleep. The last two nights I have also put a strip along my right shoulder. During my climbing session this morning, the back of my neck was in a lot of  pain. Normally when I climb, my shoulders and neck get sore from watching my climbing partners scale the routes. It is a lot worse when I am belaying since not only am I cranking my neck back so I watch and guide them to a hold that is 'on', but at times I may have to brake a bit, to keep them in place while they figure out their next move. Anyway, somewhere in there, the neck pain was the worst I have ever had while climbing. Normally pushing my shoulders down can relieve the tension, but that was not working today. I had to bend my head forward and look down in order to relieve the pain, but sometimes that made it feel even worse. It also hurt a little when I was climbing.

When I got home, I lay down to relax a bit, but found it very hard to find a comfortable position for my neck. Even right now it still feels stiff, and painful when I move my head in a certain direction or angle. WTF! Just trying to think about what could have caused this pain. I read, I think on the Salonpas box that people over 50 should not sleep with Salonpas - something about sensitivity to the heat from the patches. Well, I'm just over 40, so while that could be the problem, I doubt it. Was I straining too much looking up at my climbing partners? I don't think so. Well, I don't know for sure. But the pain is not like what I would expect if this were the case, so I can't say for sure.

So this evening, I going to try a 'heating pad', well, actually a sock with rice warmed up in the microwave. And, I will not be using the Salonpas this time. Maybe BenGay or mineral ice? If I make it to pilates tomorrow morning, and it still hurts, I may stop by Urgent Care on the way home. If it still hurts Monday morning, then I'm going to try and get an appointment with my chiropractor Monday afternoon. Something has got to work.

In other news, I've been thinking of asking Serena if there is a way to clean out the fluid that is stuck in my left tear duct. A few weekends ago I noticed some white stuff coming out of the corner of my left eye that was clouding my vision and making my eye water. This happened a few times that weekend. Since then I have not been able to look at my eye when it was watering (not anywhere close to a mirror). She said there is a way to do it, and she could probably do it at one of her offices. So, I'm going to ask her a little more about it before I have her work on - just want to make sure my health insurance will cover it, she said something about my VSP insurance covering it, but that isn't what covered it for my other two appointments for the same issue. Anyway, it would be nice, for once, to have someone I know do this for me instead of having some stranger jab my tear ducts.