[Peter11]

HI all,

I’ve been going through a bit of a rough patch lately. It seems like my only real symptoms left are unbelievably tight muscles in the back of my head and face, which cause crazy bad headaches on a daily basis. I would love some thoughts on tight muscles in the back of the head causing headaches. Is this anxiety or…>??

Thanks 

[Mark in Idaho]

Stress and anxiety usually manifest as shoulder and neck muscle tension, sometimes jaw muscles. The area you mention sounds more like an upper neck injury.

[Peter11]

Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho

Stress and anxiety usually manifest as shoulder and neck muscle tension, sometimes jaw muscles. The area you mention sounds more like an upper neck injury.

Thanks for the advice Mark. I have had chiro tretment, an MRI and and now recieveing physio treatment. If it is a neck issue, whats my next step?? What treatment do you reccomend?

[mouse1]

Peter,

I too have PCS and find that neck and shoulder massage help, and I am going to try a head massage at the weekend. I also find reflexology very therapeutic and relaxing, but the biggest help for me for breaking the emotional-physiological cycle of PCS is anti anxiety medication. Stress and emotional issues caused by PCS create physical symptoms like noise/light sensitivity, headaches, insomnia and muscle tension, so finding ways and means of reducing the source of these problems is very important, as well as knowing what triggers symptoms. Neuropsychological input is really helping me understand this horrible condition, I am going to get better and you will too, but worrying and focussing on symptoms feeds into the cycle of symptoms. Good luck, I have a good idea of how unpleasant all of this has been for you.

[MiaVita2012]

I had muscle spasms all threw my upper body because of #1 ANXIETY #2 Neck injury and #3 My Jaw....I take valium at night now and have not had a muscle spasm since.(Unless I do something like drink caffeine or eat something with artificial coloring)Valium is a Benzo/Muscle relaxer. Before the valium the PCP had me on EVERY muscle relaxer....nothing worked! I also have bulging in neck of C1-C5 that my physiatrist gave me a cortisone shot.

Cymbalta was not good for me.So I take Pristiq 100mg and this helps with anxiety as well....sometimes we (ourselves)cannot rule out pain and pain from anxiety because they both are not good. This makes it hard to know besides MRI if it is physical or psychological or with PCS can very well be the both mixed together. By the two mixed together you have to approach both aspects.

I do hope you find some relief with this pain soon

[Chris4329]

I too have what I believe to be muscle tension throughout my head. I have minor headaches because of this. It also feels like my skin is being stretched

I think mine is an upper neck injury too, even though my x-rays came out good. I can make some nasty crunching noises come from my neck if I look straight up an then turn left and right.

what kind of person should I see to diagnose upper neck symptoms?

[MiaVita2012]

I did not have ANY wrinkles before this concussion and now I do....My head would feel hot like it was going to blow up when I got tension headaches and anxiety attack which triggers muscle spasms...

[MiaVita2012]

You ned to see a physiatrist and take MRIs because in the radiologist report for me they missed the bulging of C1-C5 and the physiatrist caught it!You might also need a new MRI with head turned....but start with physiatrist with MRIs and he should be able to let you know if needed another MRI

Originally Posted by Chris4329

I too have what I believe to be muscle tension throughout my head. I have minor headaches because of this. It also feels like my skin is being stretched

I think mine is an upper neck injury too, even though my x-rays came out good. I can make some nasty crunching noises come from my neck if I look straight up an then turn left and right.

what kind of person should I see to diagnose upper neck symptoms?

[jmsarge]

I get a almost cold water feeling run down the left side of my face. I don't know if anybody else had that happen. It is the weirdest sensation for sure, it feels like cold water running down my head and face.

[Consider]

When I did have pain, it felt like someone was gripping the back of my head plus sharp pains, so it was tension headache plus neuralgia! D= I get tension headaches still but they don't last long once I lay down to relax. My therapist taught me guided imagery, and this has helped me deal with pain plus anxiety. One of my favorite things to use that I can remember was my heating pad when things got really bad with my neck and head.