I've had severe neck pain for 3 years. :/

Lionhart617

I've had this pain for three years now, which all occurred when I jerked my head back really hard.

I've had x-rays done, a cat scan, and the damn doctors never find anything fucking wrong. I don't know what to do. The pain is so bad sometimes, that I take a pain relieving spray to school, which I spray on the affected area when I just can't deal with it anymore.

Sometimes I feel no pain, but this is rare. I also feel better when I lay down, or take a hot shower, or tie a t-shirt around my neck really tight, which releases some of the tension or something I guess.

The pain seems to be located right where the spine attaches to the head.

Sometimes when I look up (as in, move my head up as if to look up at the ceiling right above me) I hear a loud "SNAP!" Although this doesn't happen often, when I do hear (and feel it..) it hurts a bit more.

I don't know what the hell to do. I'm actually incredibly depressed because I want to do so many things, and this pain holds me back all the damn time.

I'd like to be active, work out, lift weights, but I can't until I (..if I) ever get this fixed.

I've been to a chiropractor before. Although i've never gone consistently because I don't even have a job.

I'm 18 years, still in high school, about to graduate in a week. I live with my grandfather, who has very little money at the moment because my dad is undergoing all sorts of shit in the hospital, which my grandpa has to pay for on top of a lot of other things. My grandpa knows about this problem, but he doesn't know what else to do about it, and attributes it all to my video game playing, which isn't at all the cause of this.

What the hell do I do? I can't afford an acupuncturist. God damn it. I'm just so tired of this fucking problem. I wish I had arm pain or leg pain instead of head pain. This seems to be a real problem...

Sigh.

Wicked Uncle Ernie

Fuck a chiropractor see a physical therapist. Do you have a full range of movement with your head, or do you cock it to one side, anything like that? Sometimes with minor neck injuries your body will tell your muscles to "guard" your spine. They will tighten up to try to restrict possibly dangerous movement. at least that's my approximation of the explanation I was given for similar neck pain.

But see a physical therapist (and/or your doctor), Many specialize in specific parts of the body. Being 18 you should be covered under some sort of insurance. take ibuprofen or a similar anti-inflammatory for the pain. (If you are able to no allergys or whatever).

Lionhart617

I can move perfectly fine, but when I move my head back as if to look directly above me, it really hurts.

Are physical therapists expensive?

Damn it. I wish I was rich.

What do you mean I should be covered under some kind of insurance?

Also, I dont know if anyone else can do this, but I can move my spine (near where it connects to the skull) a little bit, and I hear...vain adjustments or something when I do. It's been 3 years so something must be stressed the hell out in there.

The pain automatically decreases when I lay down and dont move.

The pain also gets worse whenever I smoke.

dispatch.o

Did you get a lateral cervical spine shot when you had the xray?

There are arthritic conditions that don't show up on a frontal image, and I have a close friend who went undiagnosed for around 12 years with Ankylosing Spondylitis. All because "Neck pain" is such a stupid term and no one takes it or back pain seriously for some fucking reason.

Do not take shit from your doctor if they ignore it. Find someone else, if you catch things early no harm done, if you let it go for 15 years, you end out with a fused spine and terrible daily pain.

I'm not saying this is what you have, I'm not even suggesting it's possible at your age (though it can be). Just get your shit seen about.

edit: Ignore a Chiropractor completely until you get a genuine diagnosis, please.

Toldo

Wicked Uncle Ernie wrote: »

Fuck a chiropractor see a physical therapist. Do you have a full range of movement with your head, or do you cock it to one side, anything like that? Sometimes with minor neck injuries your body will tell your muscles to "guard" your spine. They will tighten up to try to restrict possibly dangerous movement. at least that's my approximation of the explanation I was given for similar neck pain.

But see a physical therapist (and/or your doctor), Many specialize in specific parts of the body. Being 18 you should be covered under some sort of insurance. take ibuprofen or a similar anti-inflammatory for the pain. (If you are able to no allergys or whatever).

No, don't fuck a chiropractor. Decent ones--the ones who are actually educated as chiropractors--know exactly how to treat a problem like this. I'm speaking as a close relative of both a chiropractor and a physical therapist, I have experienced first hand what they can do.

If anything, a general practitioner may not have the thorough knowledge needed to correctly diagnose a problem like this. A chiropractor, on the other hand, works exclusively with the neck and back. Going to see one (and again, I have to stress that you see a genuine one) should be your best bet.

dispatch.o

Toldo wrote: »

Wicked Uncle Ernie wrote: »

Fuck a chiropractor see a physical therapist. Do you have a full range of movement with your head, or do you cock it to one side, anything like that? Sometimes with minor neck injuries your body will tell your muscles to "guard" your spine. They will tighten up to try to restrict possibly dangerous movement. at least that's my approximation of the explanation I was given for similar neck pain.

But see a physical therapist (and/or your doctor), Many specialize in specific parts of the body. Being 18 you should be covered under some sort of insurance. take ibuprofen or a similar anti-inflammatory for the pain. (If you are able to no allergys or whatever).

No, don't fuck a chiropractor. Decent ones--the ones who are actually educated as chiropractors--know exactly how to treat a problem like this. I'm speaking as a close relative of both a chiropractor and a physical therapist, I have experienced first hand what they can do.

If anything, a general practitioner may not have the thorough knowledge needed to correctly diagnose a problem like this. A chiropractor, on the other hand, works exclusively with the neck and back. Going to see one (and again, I have to stress that you see a genuine one) should be your best bet.

Better off seeing a Neurologist or Orthopod with focus on the spine who went through med school.

Not that there aren't good chiropractors, but with the way insurance works most of the time you would need a referral and it may be hard to come by one.

Toldo

dispatch.o wrote: »

Toldo wrote: »

Wicked Uncle Ernie wrote: »

Fuck a chiropractor see a physical therapist. Do you have a full range of movement with your head, or do you cock it to one side, anything like that? Sometimes with minor neck injuries your body will tell your muscles to "guard" your spine. They will tighten up to try to restrict possibly dangerous movement. at least that's my approximation of the explanation I was given for similar neck pain.

But see a physical therapist (and/or your doctor), Many specialize in specific parts of the body. Being 18 you should be covered under some sort of insurance. take ibuprofen or a similar anti-inflammatory for the pain. (If you are able to no allergys or whatever).

No, don't fuck a chiropractor. Decent ones--the ones who are actually educated as chiropractors--know exactly how to treat a problem like this. I'm speaking as a close relative of both a chiropractor and a physical therapist, I have experienced first hand what they can do.

If anything, a general practitioner may not have the thorough knowledge needed to correctly diagnose a problem like this. A chiropractor, on the other hand, works exclusively with the neck and back. Going to see one (and again, I have to stress that you see a genuine one) should be your best bet.

Oh, is that how it works? I'm used to a health care system from a different country (not the US), so it might work very differently there. The same might be true for the general quality of chiropractors...

Better off seeing a Neurologist or Orthopod with focus on the spine who went through med school.

Not that there aren't good chiropractors, but with the way insurance works most of the time you would need a referral and it may be hard to come by one.

Raif Severance

What's your caffeine/nicotine intake like? I find that if I drink more than 1 cup of coffee a day I start to get really tense in my neck/shoulder area and it feels like my muscles are tensed all the time which makes it uncomfortable and my neck and shoulders "pop" every once in a while. I see that nicotine makes it worse which actually makes sense since there are receptors in the body that respond to nicotine. These nicotinic receptors have the potential to cause muscle contractions among other things.

I would try decreasing your intake of caffeine and nicotine and see if your symptoms get better. Do you have anyone that can give you a massage? That may help as well. Don't say "if it ever gets better" because you will be back to normal eventually.

Disclaimer: I'm not an MD, I'm a pharmacy student.

Djeet

I've had luck with a chiropracter in addressing some mid-back pain. You will probably need to work at it as they are often addressing issues that have arisen from poor posture habits, in my case years of slouching while at a computer desk for hours a day. The adjustments did provide some immediate relief at least temporarily, but to address the issue I had to do the exercises and also take to heart the advice to be more consciously aware of how I was sitting for extended periods of time.

From what I've seen they are not unlike physical therapists.

I'm not saying don't see a doctor, but if you've several opinions with no prognosis (or the only prognosis is surgical intervention) then I think it's in your best interest to have a consult with either a chiropracter or a physical therapist.

If you do decide to see a professional you should take any X-rays you've had done, though they'll likely want new films done if they aren't recent.

Lionhart617

Thanks for all the help guys. I also wanted to add that a few weeks ago, I was wrestling with one of my friends, and he ended up getting me by the head, and pulling as if he was trying to rip it out (it's part of a wrestling move) which ended up having my head pop like CRAZY.

It didn't hurt or anything. and once I got up, I felt amazing. The pain was completely gone for about 4-5 days, and then things slowly started going back to the usual (as in the pain started coming back, eventually settling down to how it's always been.)

So maybe the problem is simple?

FeatherBlade

I my chiropractor.

It didn't hurt or anything. and once I got up, I felt amazing. The pain was completely gone for about 4-5 days, and then things slowly started going back to the usual (as in the pain started coming back, eventually settling down to how it's always been.)

... and it sounds like if you found a licensed and well trained chiro, spinal manipulations may be just the thing.

In the mean time, if heat doesn't help, cold might. If you get a plastic drink bottle, fill it with water, and freeze it, it makes an ice pack that is just about the perfect shape to rest under your neck.

Erios

Trust in the SE++ thread and go to an MD, try and see a specialist. Mostly because being based in science is positive when dealing with biology, anatomy and physiology. NaS/NaC does an excellent job of pointing it out. Also, even if there are chiros who are excellent and do great work, it's not a protected term. So there is no way to determine those who generally want to do good from the purely snake oil salesmen. Furthermore, it is extremely unlikely you will get an underlying cause treated by a chiropractor, they thrive on repeat business. In general, it seems better bedside manner is more important to the patient's trust than actual statistical or scientific validity.

Slightly tangential, but in this video, Dara O'Briain does an excellent job talking about protected terms vs general terms and our perceptions of science:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIaV8swc-fo

UtahChiropractor

Toldo wrote: »

Wicked Uncle Ernie wrote: »

F*** a chiropractor see a physical therapist. Do you have a full range of movement with your head, or do you cock it to one side, anything like that? Sometimes with minor neck injuries your body will tell your muscles to "guard" your spine. They will tighten up to try to restrict possibly dangerous movement. at least that's my approximation of the explanation I was given for similar neck pain.

But see a physical therapist (and/or your doctor), Many specialize in specific parts of the body. Being 18 you should be covered under some sort of insurance. take ibuprofen or a similar anti-inflammatory for the pain. (If you are able to no allergys or whatever).

No, don't f*** a chiropractor. Decent ones--the ones who are actually educated as chiropractors--know exactly how to treat a problem like this. I'm speaking as a close relative of both a chiropractor and a physical therapist, I have experienced first hand what they can do.

If anything, a general practitioner may not have the thorough knowledge needed to correctly diagnose a problem like this. A chiropractor, on the other hand, works exclusively with the neck and back. Going to see one (and again, I have to stress that you see a genuine one) should be your best bet.

You just need to find the right one, a chiropractor can help you.