Neck Pain

[Hoot]

I have suffered from pretty severe migraines for 23 yrs., though at this point they have been mostly under control through diet and avoiding triggers for the last 5 yrs.  For easily 15 or more of those years I have suffered from neck pain.  I've been in 3 very minor car accidents in my life, none of which resulted in any injury at all, and all originating AFTER the pain began.  I don't have any known health issues besides rather low blood pressure and carpal tunnel in my right wrist.  I have had MRIs, CAT scans, and x-rays at a variety of times, none of which have revealed anything.  No one has ever seemed the least bit concerned that at all times it feels like I have a 25 lb. bowling ball sitting on my neck where my head should be.  The specific areas of pain are the occipital lobes and the depression where the occipital lobes merge into the foramen magnum (basically, the point where your cervical vertebrae enters your skull). 

 

About 3 weeks ago, I started seeing a chiropractor 2 - 3 times a week because the neck pain has become unbearable.  For years I have simply dealt with it, but it has gotten to the point that it is impacting my quality of life.  I am in pain every minute of every day.  On a scale of 1 - 10, I am usually somewhere between 6 and 8 at any given time.  I've become weak, exhausted, and find it hard to think and concentrate when the pain gets overly bad.  I would probably sleep all day if I could.  I almost never take medicine and the 2 ibuprofen that I DID take on occasion for a severe flare up no longer even takes the edge off.  My pain pretty much laughs at it.  

 

At the chiropractor I get electro stimulation with ice on my neck at every visit plus a typical adjustment.  Recently, he has started me on the cervical decompression machine at every visit.  At home, I do mild stretching and yoga to alleviate stress points and tension, apply ice as often as possible (sometimes HOURS a day), use a tennis ball in the occipital/foramen magnum area, and use an acupuncture neck pillow for additional relief or stimulation.

 

Still, I'm feeling relief only when directly involved in one of the therapies.  Almost immediately after removing the acu-pillow or ice, or 2 hrs. after leaving the chiro. the pain is back to the same location and intensity.  The only time I feel about a 50% improvement is after deep neck and shoulder massage.  The last time I went a full 2 days at a 5 on the pain scale afterwards, which is practically miraculous, before shooting back up to normal.  I'm going to talk to my chiro about possibly switching me to primarily deep neck massage and electro/ice stim instead of the decompression and adjustments since that is where I've seen the most lasting improvements.  Massage is expensive though.    

 

In the meantime, has anyone experienced anything like this this before?  Is there something I'm missing in determining what this stems from?  Nobody seems to know WHY I have it or WHAT to do about it.  Are there therapies or exercises that could help to alleviate the pain that I'm not already doing?  At this point, I'm open to almost anything.            

 

     

[PrincessMommy]

Are you under a lot of stress... if I'm stress it gives me terrible neck pain. I had it for nearly a year when we moved because of the stress. I've since heard that neck pain is a common problem for women under stress. Using a foam memory pillow helped a lot, but so does a really deep massage. Two of my dds would do this for me but they have both went off to college last week.

 

I hope you find some relief.

[Hoot]

No.  I have literally no stress in my life.  Things that might stress most people out really don't bother me (money, bills etc.).  Things that DO bother me (driving, being late for anything etc.) I simply manage with good planning.

 

I know that even "good stress" is hard on the body, but I don't even have any of that.

 

 

Are you under a lot of stress... if I'm stress it gives me terrible neck pain. I had it for nearly a year when we moved because of the stress. I've since heard that neck pain is a common problem for women under stress. Using a foam memory pillow helped a lot, but so does a really deep massage. Two of my dds would do this for me but they have both went off to college last week.

I hope you find some relief.

 

[Cindy in FL.]

I get weekly massages (barter situation) for neck pain and headaches. The masseuse says that my neck and shoulder muscles are chronically tightened/shortened and the good that the massages do does not last. The muscles pull my shoulders up and my head down onto my spine. She thinks that I should see a physical therapist to rehab the muscles to get an actual solution to the problem.

 

Maybe you have a similar issue and need to find the right combination of stretches and strengthening exercises to rehab your muscles.

 

I really hope that you can get it figured out and get some real relief!

[abacus2]

If massage helps I would suspect tight muscles as the cause. Have you tried muscle relaxing medicines or physical therapy?

 

[J-rap]

I'm so sorry you are dealing with migraines.  I don't have personal experience, but several family members do, so I have done a lot of research on them over the years.  I think it is not untypical to feel like you have a "heavy head" during a migraine.  One of my daughters used to call it her baby-head syndrome;  her head felt so heavy, she was surprised she could even hold it up.  We discovered that this is an actual migraine symptom.  Another daughter, who has chronic, daily migraines, also feels tightness constantly in her neck and shoulders.  She has had many massages and this is what they always comment on.  The massages help only during the massage, and immediately return once the massage ends.  She has tried muscle relaxants, and everything else.  She is a very relaxed, care-free personality, and I really do not believe it is due to any emotional stress at all.  We do seem to have a strong migraine gene in the family, but my one daughter's are very severe and never go away.  All of our family migraines seem to originate in the neck and shoulders, and then move to the head.  Interestingly, my one daughter has carpel tunnel too!  So, I don't really have any advice to give you, but certainly understand at least a little of what you are going through.  I really feel that eventually doctors will get to the bottom of this migraine business.   I hope you find something that helps you, and soon!!

 

 

[Isabella]

It may help you to find a good Bowen therapist. You could Google for one in your area. There can be a correlation between neck pain and there being a problem in the coccyx or sacral areas, which they should be able to address if that's the case.

[kiwik]

Are you sure that the reason you don't get stress isn't that it goes directly to your neck?

[Laurie]

I've had a bad neck for many years.  It was worse when my children were small and I was doing a lot of lifting/carrying.  At that time I was seeing a chiropractor until I got scared after reading an article about stroke following neck manipulation. 

 

Have you ever seen a physiatrist?  http://www.aapmr.org/patients/aboutpmr/pages/physiatrist.aspx

My dr. referred me at a time when I was having really intense neck/shoulder pain.  

 

I hope you can find some relief soon!  

[Tap]

I have very similar issues but my headaches are not quite as bad as yours, still there, just not as painful.  

 

When I get bad, I find that going to a chiro/massage therapist help unlock my muscles but unless I stop doing what I am doing to make them lock in the first place, it doesn't bring long term relief beyond the office.

 

I have the best luck with Physical Therapy and having someone work with me on proper posture and body mechanics.  I have a back injury that makes me favor the wrong muscles.  As I get tired, I slouch, disengage my abs, tuck in my chin, and let my legs and neck do the majority of the work for holding me upright.  This is where I get in to trouble.  My neck and legs, aren't so great at keeping me upright....so I slouch more, which puts me in a position that my abs couldn't really do much even if they were trying to do what they are there for and it is perpetual cycle until I go down in extreme pain.  

 

What I have found is that by working with my PT, she treats me like personal training client. She rebuilds me from my pelvic floor up and teaches me to use the right muscles, and helps me identify when I am using the wrong ones.  This is the second time I have had to start over from scratch with her and it usually takes about 20 sessions for me to start to stabilize and 30 to be able to move on to my own exercise/stretching regimen.  It is not a quick fix, but last time I lasted about 5 years before I crawled back to her to fix me again.

 

A lot of what she does with me is pilates style of work and so I am planning to find a class when I stop working with her again.  

 

 

 

Some of my worst triggers and thing that work for me. 

 

Sitting at the kitchen counter, looking down at papers/laptop/books etc.  Any time I hold my body in a single position for a length of time, I start to use the wrong muscles.  I do better if my head is looking straight forward, not only because it reduces the tilt on my neck, but because I look around more since my head is in more relaxed/ natural position.

 

I try to change seats if I am watching a movie at home or sitting on the couch.  I don't go for my same-ole-spot each time, but try to rotate.  Even while watching a show, I will change positions or spots on the couch.  Again, it changes that fixed position and since I am purposefully moving to avoid soreness, it makes me more aware of how I feel and how I am sitting.

 

I try to do full range of motion stretches for my neck as often as I think to.  Usually once per hour.  It hurts on bad days, but on the days that I remember to do it, it makes me much more aware of what I am doing to aggravate it.

 

I try to find some time each day to allow my neck to go to a completely neutral position, while I lay on the floor.  I use a rolled up, warm towel under my neck and purposefully relax all the muscles, one by one to get it to unlock some tension.  Then I use some basic pressure point therapy to help unlock more and by then I really don't want to move, because my brain feels like I just gave it a huge dose of happy endorphin's and oxygen.  LOL 

 

As a mom, we spend so much time looking down.  Looking at kids, pots cooking on the stove, picking up towels on the floor, avoiding legos and what not.  I have to consciously make my self look UP more often, and keep looking up.  Instead of helping the kids with me standing over them, I take the time to kneel or get a chair so I am looking them more in the eye and less down on them. 

 

A huge one for my is remembering to not tuck my chin.  When I get a sore neck the first thing I do is start drawing in my chin, and drawing up my shoulders.  I fight this battle on a constant basis.  That is like a speed train coming down on me, bringing pain by the end of the night.  

 

 

I can't say what will work for you, but if you have a chance to have someone evaluate your posture and core muscles, if you are like me, your neck pain, may have less to do with your neck and more to do with your lack of  core.