Neck Pain or Pain in the Neck?

[Roughquest]

Anyone else suffer from neck stiffness and pain? I get it every so often, sometimes from sleeping on two pillows, so I make an effort to only rest my head on one pillow now, but it could also be stress? I had it for 2 days this week, excrutiating pain, pins and needles down one arm, dizziness and nausea plus bad headache....then it just seems to disappear!

[cazzzz1975]

I get a stiff neck if I have the pillow too high, sounds like your trapping a nerve maybe? I often get the tingling and numbness, thats if I have been sleeping awkwardly with my arm at 90degrees under the pillow and my head on top of that!

[Roughquest]

Great answer Cazzzza, thanks for that lol ! Some people on here may think its a hangover ! lol.......

[cazzzz1975]

lol rough!, Im betting its that dodgy shower of people in chatterbank ;)

[lindapinda]

A friend of mine used to have this type of pain RQ,and it was purely down to stress with her. She was going through a very difficult time with the stress of a marriage not going well,and the responsibility of mostly looking after the kids on her own. She visited a chiropractor,and found that the treatment she received,really helped. Ultimately,her stress pain finally receded when she got her personal life sorted. I saw your other thread on B&S earlier this week,and I wish you all the best with that:-)

[hollie1586]

a few years ago my mum had excrutiating neck pain, neck stiffness, sick, dizziness and headache and she had to be hospitalised because of it! at first they thought it was meningitis but it turned out to be that her neck was in spasm. she was given diazepam to relax the muscles and in a week or so she was doing fine! but she couldnt get out of bed when it first started! pop yourself to the doctor and see if they can give you anything to relax your muscles!

[Roughquest]

Hmmmm, must be stress related then, I can imagine it would be with what I have been through lately....perhaps its all getting out of my system. I must admit its been the worst ever I have experienced it.......

[SRH]

I've had the same problem for 12 years and finally got diagnosed this year. Although it's my neck that goes into spasm it's actually referred from the trapesius muscle which goes across the back of your shoulder.

It's apparently due to a combination of RSI from being at a PC all day and chatting on AB all night (!) and stress. I'm having acupuncture on the NHS with a physio, who also told me to get weekly massages (which I can't afford - but if you can get a partner/parent/friend to give you a rub it really helps).

My lifesavers have been seeing a chiropractor and doing Pilates. When it completely seizes up (and I can so sympathise with the pain - it really is excruciating) I go to the chiro, who has me back up on my feet within 20 minutes and when it is okay I try to do Pilates as often as possible using a Lynne Robinson DVD at home - it really does loosen up your back and neck and helps prevent the problem recurring.

Most important thing is, when it happens, the temptation is to stay in bed or do no exercise, but trying to keep it moving even though it hurts is the best thing to get the spasms to stop. A trip to your GP is probably a good idea, but, as I've found out, they will give you anti-inflammatories and do little else. Pester them for a physio referal if the problem continues and I hope you feel better soon.

[Solarjunkie]

One of those curved pillows that holds your head at the right angle can be really worth it. I even take mine on holiday!

[jno]

it could be either or both. It's probably worth getting it checked out, maybe with an osteopath, as it could be a longstanding thing - not necessarily in the neck itself because you can get referred pain - that could be cured. But it could also be that you contort yourself occasionally while asleep. I sometimes do this when I'm too hot in bed (err, you know what I mean)