a neck question
 

Hi all. I have a few questions regarding my poor old neck. I have had pcs symptoms for 5 months. They largely went away until I was rear ended a week ago. The day after my neck tightened up and now I am experiencing some of my original symptoms, but in much less severity. For me I feel as though my neck is the sole cause now of all my symptoms… and if I can reduce the tightness in my neck my symptoms would all subside.
Neck history:
-Always had problems with neck/posture.
-Had an x ray about 4 months ago, found slight misalignment in c1 and c2.
- saw a chiropractor for 6 weeks, who straightened this up
-Had a neck MRI- no abnormality (confirming that the chiro must have straightened it up)
-saw a physio for 2 weeks and noticed an immediate improvement in headaches and neck pain
-was rear ended a week ago, next day woke up with tight neck, and now developed some original symptoms such as headache and tingling fingers.
-still seeing a physio for the next 8 weeks for massage and posture to try and reduce tightness in neck. My neck feels like it cracks/pops when I turn my head sharply.
Just wanted to know if a physio treatment for my neck is the right course of action,,, and tips on pain killers or something to reduce neck pain and tightness and occasional headache to help with the pain while undergoing treatment

I had got cortisone shots for bulging C1-C5 it has helped out.

Hi Peter,

I have a bad neck injury and have learned a lot over the years.
I have muscle spasms which push the spine against the natural curve which causes pain and contributes to the headaches. My MRI shows straightening and reversal.

Your neck will heal. Be patient with it, don't use it too much until you can really tell the improvement (can be a long time). Once it starts to heal and your range of motion is improving, you should start doing slight exercises.You have to find the perfect balance between resting it so it heals, massaging it so you increase circulation and decrease any knots in your back, and not overdoing it which causes more inflammation.This is the hardest part but I have learned if in doubt just rest it. PT's push the exercises to build muscle to stabilize your spine/joints but if you are not ready it will make it worse.


My neck also cracks a lot and if I roll my shoulders back I hear cracking. My PT said it is just trapped air and I use to do a lot of shoulder rolls and release it. It felt good but over time I learned that it wasn't the best idea. For our necks cracking it is not good. Essentially the more I would crack it the more I needed to.

The heating pad works wonders for me with the spasms. I cannot use ice because it just tenses up my muscles and causes knots which turns into spasms.

The reason my spine curved was because of the severity and the fact that I did not get my neck checked out earlier. Mainly because my head injury was bad.Yours will not curve if you are able to take care it it now. I wish I had known that earlier.

It is promising to hear that your neck is your main problem. I had been taking tylenol for my headaches for so long that once I stopped I felt the whole pain of my neck. It is very difficult but I learned that I have to diligent with my posture. It is hard but now all throughout the day I hold my shoulders back. I am noticing a difference.

I would also recommend doing this stretch with this picture online:
http://www.muhealthyu.org/index.php/...tretch-it-out/

When it heals you should do daily towel stretches. Start slowly because it really makes a difference. After the shower I just use the towel on my head and pull each way. Also roll up the towel and put it under your neck for a few minuets each day lying down. Then build up the time.

I also learned that my sleeping position makes a huge difference. When I wake up in the middle of the night my neck is turned and flopped to the side. I use one of those neck pillows with the humps. I found this online:
http://redmondchiropractic.com/wp-co...g-Position.jpg

But I also learned that using this pillow for too long weakens the muscles a bit so I switch it up occasionally.

The pain medicine part is hard but hopefully you will heal fast and won't have to take anything long term. I found that if I can decrease inflammation the pain is not as bad.If your stomach is fine maybe ibuprofen? I took that for while and then switched to tylenol. I highly recommend Tumeric capsules, I take New Chapter.It is hard for my sweet tooth but I try not to eat sugar beacause it also causes inflammation.

And lastly, unfortunately I learned the hard way that it is easy to reinjure your neck. Sounds like you did too. I went surfing and tightned my neck and back to reduce the impact of the wave hitting my head. The whiplash injury came back almost completely.The takeway: The neck muslces ligaments, etc. take forever to heal, years in my case. I am still easing into a few exercises and still in the healing stage again. My PT said the muscle memory needs to be changed because your body will just reinjure again in the same place.

I understand that your neck does not have the curve reversal like me.But I think this is helpful:
http://www.completecareofcolorado.co...guides/ch5.pdf

I think that you should go back to physio because it helped you but just go slow. See how you are after each session and I am sure that you will heal
soon. Take care.

P.S. I tried the steroid shots but they did not help me, just had bad side effects. I would wait until getting those if possible.I wouldn't worry to much about the tingling fingers, I get that too but it goes away once I rest my neck.

Hi Peter,
I too had a similar issue with my neck. I have PSC and have been recovering for about 16 months and had a SLIP at work and whiplashed my neck.... again and am now in full blown symptom mode again.... :mad:

I have started seeing a chiropractor who specialized in neuro/chiropractic and it is helping. I am also doing intense massage therapy with it as well as limitimg all of my exacerbation factors. Its super slow but I am making improvements.

When my neck is aligned properly it really affects how my brain functions.
I also use heat and I take frequent breaks. I have a properly fitted chair with a high back at work that helps as well.