Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho

Gideon,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

As Jo*mar said, Did you impact somehow?

Your first paragraph is incomplete. "so my head and neck have suffered the most, "

How did they suffer?

Was this a whiplash like stress?

Or, a vertical compression?

I suffered a vertical compression injury. It messed up my upper neck. It caused inflammation that, when at its worst, cause autonomic nervous system dysfunction (heart rate, blood pressure, breathing) and cause brain fog. All I did was step off an 8 inch curb and land with my knee locked and my back arched. Ouch.... Jarred from my pelvis to my head.

A physical therapist with very special skills (not range of motion and strengthening therapy) used myofacial release and similar pressure/trigger point therapies to get muscles to release from spasm (cause of headaches) so the joints in the neck could become mobile. She also did gentle traction and mobilization.

The most important part was my posture when resting or sleeping. I had to maintain good straight head and neck posture so the ligaments would not be strained.

The joint at C-1 to occiput (C-0, skull base) tend to not like these vertical compression stresses.

There is also a though that one can suffer a brain stem concussion by a vertical impact of the brain in to the brain stem.

Either way, the goal should be to reduce inflammation.

I iced frequently and took anti-inflammatory meds (enteric aspirin that does not cause stomach upset)

These injuries do not show up on imaging studies. They are more of a treat and see if improvement happens.

So, focus on inflammation and your neck. Give it a rest.