any suggestions bad neck pain....

[caseysmom]

I had a pinched nerve in my neck a few years ago, it was the worst pain I ever experienced. I swallowed handfuls of motrin and it did no good.

I finally went to physical therapy and found relief, my physical therapist gave me this bungee cord thing with a towel in a loop at the end to attach to a doorknow I would lay on the ground and my head would rest in the loop, this would pull my neck so the nerve would get relief...I know it sounds wierd but it worked.

He also gave me an excercize that worked well, sit up straight and picture a pole going down from your head down your neck, now picture that pull pulling your head up and pull your head up, at the same time pull both shoulders down.

[wombat2u2004]

Sound to me Carole, that you could have one of a number of things.

Tension will definately cause upper back and neck pain, the only thing that will help that is to somehow try and relieve the tension with perhaps a mild sedative.....maybe try some relaxation techniques such as yoga.

You could also have a chill. Do you sleep at night with something that is more high collared ???
I used to get chills all the time, and was told by my doctor to always wear something that protects my neck from temperature variation at night.
You would be very surprised to know, that since then I have never had another chill. Thing is, when you go to bed at night the temp may be warm, and maybe you have a T-shirt or something like that on....during the early hours of the morning as you sleep, the temp drops and your muscles in your neck and upper back which are exposed, actually shrink...so when you turn in your sleep, you slightly stretch the muscles and they tear a little. The pain usually stays for two or three days.
Try sleeping with a pajama top or something that covers the back of your neck and upper back....and turn the collar up.

You could also have calcium spur growths in the upper part of your vertabrae. These will press against your spinal cord perhaps where the nerve is situated for your neck and upper back. I have such spurs, but they are a little lower and affect the nerves in my arms at times. Sometimes my arms ache for no reason, and it is because of these spurry growths in C5 and C6 of my vertabrae. The only thing that has fixed that is Fish Oil....I take a capsule of that every morning....it is very good. You can get that at any health food store.

But see your doctor first, try and get an answer from them as to exactly what it is that causes the pain....and go from there.
Wom

[Medusa]

A deep tissue massage and/or acupucture has helped me w/this, Carole. Good luck. I feel your pain.

[moosmom]

Caseysmom I think is onto something. I also have a pinched nerve in my neck as well as arthritis. I use moist heat. Feels wonderful and dulls the pain (along with the pain med).

Feel better, Carole!!!

[Catty1]

Have you had x-rays done? That would help determine a course of treatment and/or exercises.

If I had that, I'd be straight to my chiropractor. If you have never seen one, they will want xrays done first before they touch you.

If it's tension - maybe a stress management class available in the community.

[neko1]

I carry all of my stress in my neck and shoulder area...it got to the point where I was crying all day because of the pain. I finally couldn't take it anymore and went to a chiropractor.

It was the best thing I've ever done for myself. The pain went away in the first week. For my body, it's best that I go once a week- but unfortunately, due to financial issues, I can only go every other week. Man, I can really feel it when I lose the adjustment because the pain creeps back.

[JuniorxMyxLove]

I have to second the chiropractor - things were really out of wack after a nasty fall off Scooter, and the chiro fixed it. My neck is messed up as well (they thought I had a pinched nerve from aforementioned fall but I guess not...but my neck is too straight, doesn't have the normal curve) and it always feels 20x better. That doesn't help with my headaches, but those are still quite a mystery.