QWERTY,

Orthos rarely know about how a subtle neck injury can impact the brain and neurological functions. They are broken bone and torn ligament repair specialists.

The subtle neck injuries will rarely show on imaging unless the images are analyzed by an upper neck specialist. A upper cervical chiro may help. A gentle neck PT can help. Range of motion is usually too aggressive. Gentle traction and mobilization can help. Some osteopaths have good upper neck skills.

The challenge is finding the right specialist. The ortho will not have a good referral. I bet the PT was having you do range of motion that improved your head turn ROM below C-2 but stressed C-1 to occiput or C-1 to C-2.

With gentle therapy, you need to add disciplined sleep posture and limited other stresses on your neck. Icing can help. Inflammation within the neck it the concern. It puts pressure on nerves and blood vessels in the brain stem.

Sleep with your head and neck in a straight position. I learned this from sleeping in a recliner and waking up better than from bed. If you sleep on your side, your pillow should be thick. If you sleep on your back, your pillow should be thin. You may want to curl the sides up so you head does not roll to either side.

Experiment with sleeping and pillow positions. Proper quality sleep is also extremely important. If you wake up drowsy, that was not quality sleep, no matter how long you slept. If you feel sleepy during the day, you are not getting quality sleep.

It took me two years of occasional PT and good sleep discipline before I had a stable neck.