Coping with arthritis neck pain

Options
MarieMurray
MarieMurray Member Posts: 2
edited 28. Nov 2023, 14:10 in Living with arthritis

I have experienced this for months now and I'm attending a physiotherapist with not much success.

Painkillers are not helping and often cause constipation and extreme headaches, often making it hard to concentrate at work.

Has anyone else experienced this and if so do you have any advice for me?

Comments

  • Ellen
    Ellen Moderator Posts: 1,633
    Options

    Hi @MarieMurray

    I don't know if you've read this already?? It might help?

    https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/neck-pain/

    Do let us know how you are doing.

    Very best wishes

    Ellen.

  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,447
    Options

    Oh @MarieMurray the neck😣

    Nothing worse in my opinion. Our heads weigh so much and our poor necks have to hold them up when they are agony.

    To be honest mine rarely 'goes' now because I tend to 'head it off at the pass' so to speak when I get any clue it's not happy. Rest and anti-inflams painkillers heat (warm microwavable wheatbag). I also have and use all the time a shaped pillow which fits in the neck arch to hold my neck in position. I was doing this before with a rolled up hand towel. Also ditched my comfy two pillows many years ago they were not helping at all.

    You ahve my total sympathy ((()))

    Toni x

  • Trish9556
    Trish9556 Member Posts: 529
    Options
    https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/60352/coping-with-arthritis-neck-pain

    hi @MarieMurray

    Have you been referred for an MRI at all?

    I had a foraminotomy (not sure if that's correct spelling lol) in March because of neck pain. It started off with chronic shooting pains going from the side of my neck upwards in short sharp shocks and graduated from there into pins and needles going across my shoulder and down into my hands. Pins and needles doesn't sound too bad but mine were awful. I described mine as imagining a bag of marbles in a plastic bag and squeezing that bag so hard the marbles burst out and that's what mine were like.

    It took a long time to diagnose mine including more than one referral to the MSK team, pain clinic and back to MSK team when they eventually referred me to surgeons. They referred me for more MRI's and CT scans plus they carried out nerve conduction tests to see if I had carpal tunnel syndrome, which I didn't. I think you definitely need a series of tests done to find out what the situation is - as I said, it took a very long time for me to get to surgery - I should have had an ACDF in 2019 but they discovered that my vertebal artery is in the wrong place which then led to another referral during which COVID got in the way.

    Anyway good luck, not sure if anything I have said will ring any bells with you but I've given you a few starters.

    Love n hugs

    Trish xx

Back to top

Categories