Hi all,


With now being almost 10 months PCS I still have lingering symptoms. Which I believe some are caused by my upper neck. My docs want me to see a chiropractor and get it adjusted, but I'm not sure if I'm quite ready for that, as it can be dangerous.

I don't know much about chiros, but all I know is that some people live by them and some people wouldn't go near them. Just wondering if there were any other good treatments for my upper neck?

My docs say I injured it somewhere during or after my initial injury. I just moved it or jerked it the wrong way. My symptom that they believe is coming from the neck is this dreamy feeling/my touch is numb. It basically feels like when I'm touching something I'm not feeling it totally I'm only feeling it 50%.


So any other treatments?
Would love to hear from you guys
Sam

Chiro is not dangerous. If it was, they would have high malpractice insurance premiums. Their malpractice insurance is much less than an MD's.

An upper cervical chiro would be a good start. There are some links at the bottom of the first page of the vitamins sticky. NUCCA and Atlas Orthagonal are listed. One of the moderators also has a link upcspine or something like that.

A good physical therapist can help with gentle traction and mobilization. But, you have to find the one that works well with your neck. All therapists are not the same. I've seen 18 different chiros over 32 years. only 4 were good with my spine. I've seen a dozen PT's. Only 2 were any good.

Neck treatment is going to be no better than your sleeping posture will allow.

I'm 5 months into my PCS and have been debating the role of my neck in my symptoms as well. The nature of my injury (sprung up into dining table light from a leaning-forward position) makes me think that I may have messed my neck up. I have been doing some research and found that Atlas Orthogonal might be the best to try. It's not invasive like normal chiropractic work, no twisting or cracking, just gentle adjustments. I've been to a normal chiropractor that was recommended to me but didn't see any benefits after 2 sessions so I don't think I'm going back. I'll update how my Atlas Orthogonal session goes.

I thought I might get some benefit from neck treatment as well.
I've been seeing a nucca chiro for a little over a month and while my back and neck do feel better and my posture is better, it didn't do anything for my dreamy/foggy feeling.

Chiro will not change foggy/dreamy symptoms. It can help with inflammation, muscle spasm and headaches. With these symptoms reduced, stress can be lowered and slowly, some of the other symptoms can resolve. Upper neck inflammation can reduce blood flow to the brain, especially during sleep, resulting in a lack of good sleep that is needed for recovery.

Mark,

While I may be wrong but the upper neck has something to do with our touch sensation in our body. At least, I discussed with my Doctor and he said that "c2" or something is your touch. And thats where my neck was damaged? Once again I'm not sure.

Or maybe he was talking about the nerves in my neck? I'm not sure, forget how my doc explained it too me. But what I can remember he said that getting my neck fixed could really help with the touch/numbness

Not sure if this is of help but here is a nerve 'map' from the spine.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post1083012-2.html

Odd, I don't see anything that has to do with numbness. Was he maybe talking about the nerves in my neck ?

Inflammation in the upper neck can cause radiculopathy by constraining blood flow to the nerves or restricting nerve signals. This can cause numbness. Inflammation can also cause restricted blood flow to the brain stem resulting in numbness or weak nerve response because the nerve processing center is not functioning at full capacity. This can also manifest as autonomic disregulation.

There are nerve conduction tests (EMG Electromyography, ENG Electroneurography) that test nerve signals up the arms and legs. But, the tests to measure peripheral nerve signals to the brain are less common. Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) can measure the brain's response to peripheral sensations like touch. An SEP when you are most symptomatic would be interesting. But, trying to resolve upper neck inflammation issues would be a good start.