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Old 08-30-2017, 01:13 PM
Vania Vania is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 88
5 yr Member
Vania Vania is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 88
5 yr Member
Default Questions on neck / inflammation

Hello everyone,

I am 10 months into PCS (I introduced myself here in a previous thread), and the main symptom I am suffering from are headaches. Although I have been making good progress during the past months, to the point that I am now working full time without any impairment, I still have trouble with any type of physical exercise (even walking) and I am experiencing relapses quite frequently, but the overall trend is positive and I am not complaining; I now even have some moments when I am not feeling any headache at all, which is a blessing.

I wanted to share one piece of information and ask a couple of questions to the community. First, although I do not really have any neck pain, I now have a strong suspicion that some neck-related issues play a major role in my headaches. The reasons why I am convinced of this are the following:
  • First, Mark mentioned this possibility to me as an answer to my first thread. This reason should be sufficient in itself, but let me give you two other arguments
  • Second, there seems to be good evidence that the neck is often involved in post-concussion headaches, even among subjects who do not feel any neck pain. I am not allowed to post any link given my current post count, but I have found some convincing articles that show that neck injuries often have similar symptoms as brain injuries, and can last much longer. There is also some causal evidence that treating the neck alleviates concussion-like symptoms.
  • Lastly, and more importantly, I have been seeing a chiropractor a couple of times recently. She focuses on the upper neck (C0-C1, in particular), and she is absolutely convinced that my headaches come from a dysfunction in that area. I am less confident than her, but each session leaves me completely symptom-free for at least a couple of days, which I find quite miraculous given the basline intensity of my headaches.

As a consequence, I would really like to second Mark's recommendation to pay a particular attention to the upper neck and perhaps try to find a good chiropractor, even if you do not experience any neck pain.

Now, I would like to ask two related questions to the community.
  • First, do you have any advice on how to heal neck-related issues in the long term? The therapy with the chiropractor is the only thing that has helped me so far, but the improvement is only short-lived, and I am wondering what to do to help the long-run recovery.
  • Second, I noticed that my relapses often trigger a feeling of inflammation in the body (flu-like feeling: higher body temperature, hot hands), even if these relapses follow a purely mechanic event (e.g., walking too fast). Does anyone else experience the same thing? Do you have any theory of what his happening in these moments?

Many thanks in advance for your answers.

Vania
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