Age: 33, Male, Presenting Problem Since: 2 years, Symptom Behaviour: remaining constant, Symptoms Worse (24hr Behaviour): during the day, Investigations: as attached files, No Diabetes, No history of High Blood Pressure, No Medications, No Unexplained Weight Loss, No Bowel/Bladder issues
neck pain
hi
please read my story and help me if you could
in 2009 i was work on PC more than 12 hours ,this make pain in my neck and when i went to doctor he told me to make X ray , i make it and the attached file of X ray report shows that there is narrowing in the disk ,then he just give me pills for relaxation and analgesic and the pain was very hard and i cannot be in one position for 10 minutes then i went to the other doctor and advice me to make MRi because he is not agree with the report of X ray, then i make it and the attached file is for it , he gave me another relaxation and analgesic and prevent me from going to the gym or to the physician because the later was use the EMS for treatment and IR .
now after 2 years im still have pain in the lower side of my skull and the there is no pain in my shoulders or hand just in the lower side , the pain near C1 and C2 and the lower side of the skull and if i was watching TV or seating with my family after 30 minutes more or less the pain start again and i feel that my skull weight is more than the ability of my neck to carry this heavy weight . now the total people that i went for advice were 6 doctors and 4 physiotherapy and no change and no matching between the advices of them for my situation , some says do not use the EMS or TENS and some says no you have to use it and lalblalbla ....
now I'm in 33 years old i feel my age is more than 70 years because of that pain ,
please please any one can help me
is that true that muscle spasm can still more that 2 years ????????
is there any solution to my case ?
please help me I'm desperate
Is the pain more on the right, left or is generally more diffused and general just around C1-2 area?
How would you describe the kind of pain that you are experiencing? Does it have any daily pattern (better/worse in the morning?)
Are you experiencing any headaches at all since the onset of your neck problem?
Since the beginning of all this, how would you say your pain is progressing?
Is there anything that make the pain worse, a part the activities you mentioned before? (specific movement or daily life activities?)
Is there anything that make the pain better?
Have you ever suffered of neck pain before? Have you had any kind of trauma on it? (car accidents and similar)
What the colleagues thought about the problem and what did they did as treatment? any little benefit from it?
Would you say that your ergonomics at work are decent?
Is the pain more on the right, left or is generally more diffused and general just around C1-2 area?
How would you describe the kind of pain that you are experiencing? Does it have any daily pattern (better/worse in the morning?)
Are you experiencing any headaches at all since the onset of your neck problem?
Since the beginning of all this, how would you say your pain is progressing?
Is there anything that make the pain worse, a part the activities you mentioned before? (specific movement or daily life activities?)
Is there anything that make the pain better?
Have you ever suffered of neck pain before? Have you had any kind of trauma on it? (car accidents and similar)
What the colleagues thought about the problem and what did they did as treatment? any little benefit from it?
Would you say that your ergonomics at work are decent?
all the best
Emanuele
Thank you Emanuele
1-the pain in middle area and exactly in the muscle under my skull which around c1 and c2.
2- pain goes more when working on PC or seating in car or just be without movement like watching TV -no specific time .
3- no headaches but pain in lower side of my skull and neck muscles.
4-pain some times go and some times comes but once i start working or do the daily activities its starts.
5- daily life activities make pain worse.
6-streching excises and take rest by lie down or sleeping.
7- before 2099 i haven't suffer from neck pain before and no any trauma.
8- i did many things like going to gym in the beginning and left it then i went to physiotherapy ,he put 2 electrodes on my neck and IR and some massage by vibrator and advice me to put neck support until going to another doctor which told me do not use the electricity like (TENS or EMS ) and just take pills of relaxation and from all above i get relax and some times no neck pain but when doing the day activities the pain start again just like nothing i did for healing from it.
9- regarding to my work im wake up at 7 morning and start working at 9 on PC until 3 pm but not contentiously and i make some stretching and some actions which i learn it from internet for releaf the neck muscles and the heating is very very comfortable to me ,but because of no place to lie down in my work the pain still .
please the attached picture on wich i put a circle around the area that pain appear and going down till upper side of my shoulders
It does sound as a muscolo-skeletal problem possibly supported by stress-related issues (maybe coming from work maybe coming from the fact you are now getting a bit pissed off about this problem and I do understand you) and who knows, maybe your posture and your ergonomics (position of your PC and monitor, poor chair, typing and answering at the phone holding it always in a same fashion, ecc...) at work are not brilliant and that surely doesn't help.
You may be interested from the fact that cortisol, adrenaline (stress related hormones), inflammatory substances/waste product coming from a constantly hypercontracted sub-occipital muscles/Cervical erector spinae, may not be "washed away" by the blood, as hypercontracted muscles constrict vessels and that prevent the blood stream to optimally nourish the tissue which may have an important effect on hypersensitise both peripherally and centrally your nervous system and the local tissue too.
Carry on doing these exercise that, I guess a colleague, gave you since they seem to give you benefit. Carry on with heat packing if those help too. Find some time to relax and chill out.
You may consider a visit to a osteopath/chiropractor or a physio expert in spinal manipulation, since during that time you were working so heavily (12 hours is madness!!) you may have altered badly your spinal dynamics and possibly you may have some chronic somatic dysfunction at the level of your cervical facet joints. Irritation of these facets joint, by either physical, mechanical or chemical (hormones and so on) stimuli can easily ending up in sustaining and supporting tensions in the above muscle groups.
Pain is likely to be either cerviCal facet in source or subocciptial muscle tend. My personal protocol for this is where next brace for 2-3 weeks when ever the head is unsupported (tv, car ect) to make sure muscles arnt aggitated while treatment is on going. manipulated c1, c2 and c0 to ensure there is now joint dysfunction. Use ultrasound to heat sub occipital muscles and relax them.The ems was the wrong treatment for the neck -well done docI normally see big results with this three pronged approach which takes into account muscle, tendons, joint and aggravating factors.
Thank you nmarman for your concern
today when i was in my way to home , now we have heavy cars traffic so it took me 17 kilometer about 2 hours to reach my house this make me feel in lower skull side a severe pain and this pain goes down till my shoulders. i couldn't get ride of it until reach to home and get lie down for some time after that i felt OK.
i think i will still live with this pain for long time