Literal Pain in the Neck
June 18, 2015 12:38 PM   Subscribe

Help me figure out what is going on with my neck, which has had recurring pain since a drunk injury years ago. (Drunk injury being my term for any and all injuries whose proximate cause is being drunk.)

Long story short. While I was in law school, 28 years ago, I woke up with an epic hangover. I was on my way to class (God, it was great to be young and able to rally like that), and someone called my name from across the quad. I turned my head quickly, and felt something pop in the side of my neck. I was in excruciating pain for a couple of days, but self-medicated heavily with alcohol and Excedrin, as was my habit in those days. Did not go to the doctor, as I was doing a summer law program in England, had no health insurance, and did not know what the National Health Service was. Also, I was young and immortal.

Ever since then, once or twice a year, this injury returns. Sometimes I can pinpoint the action that prompts the return (usually a quick head turn similar to the original), sometimes (as now), I can't. Sometimes it's bad. Sometimes it's worse. This time is the worst it has ever been. I cannot turn my head left or right without pain. I'm taking 800 mg of ibuprofen every four hours, which is having exactly zero effect. Every time I moved last night during my sleep, the pain woke me.

YOU ARE NOT MY DOCTOR.

What kind of injury could this be? I know nothing of anatomy. I never bothered to go to the doctor in the past, because I figured it was some kind of soft-tissue injury that would be hard to pinpoint and treat. Also, it was transient and I could deal with it a couple of times a year. This time I cannot deal. Have a call into my primary care doctor to get a referral, but don't even know who I would get the referral for. What kind of imaging could be done? Feel free to speculate away. I don't believe this is a life-threatening thing, so even wild speculation is acceptable - it's not like I'm going to base treatment decisions on your answers. I just want to have some idea of what I might be dealing with here.

Oh, I should clarify that the exact point of pain is a point where the neck and back and shoulder meet. So, if you reach up to your shoulder, walk your fingers into the neck, and then go maybe 45 degrees around to the back, you are there.
posted by ereshkigal45 to Health & Fitness (9 answers total)
 
It could be a muscle strain, it could be a disc issue. Don't neglect neck problems is my hindsight advice, because it will fuck your life up forever and ever. You want a head and neck ortho and for god's sake NOT a chiropractor or some other charlatan who is going to say it needs to be "manipulated" or "adjusted". Since the ibuprofen isn't touching it at all I suggest you give it a rest since it is terrible for your stomach in those dosages. A muscle relaxant would work better, probably.
posted by poffin boffin at 12:45 PM on June 18, 2015 [3 favorites]


Best answer: Yes, start with an ortho and physical therapist.
You might need to go to your primary doc before you can see the orthopedist.
Usually they start with physical therapy exercises to resolve it and if that doesn't work they do MRIs to see if you need surgery.
Physical therapy is a great help.
posted by littlewater at 1:54 PM on June 18, 2015


You need to go to a doctor and get an MRI.
posted by radioamy at 4:19 PM on June 18, 2015


I would strongly suggest you go to a chiropractor who does x-rays and see what they say. Much cheaper and than an MRI, and chiropractors are very skilled at diagnosing both muscular and vertebrae-related issues. If it is a vertebrae that has been injured and is out of place, muscle relaxants will help in the short term, but will not address the root issue (ie, it will keep coming back and occasionally flair up horribly). Surgery, on the other hand, might be overkill if it is a pinched nerve or a subluxation. A short course of chiropractic adjustments and some exercises to correct any poor posture resulting from the injury will likely be of great help, and offer immediate pain relief.

Doctors, in my opinion, are too quick to go to opiates and/or surgery when chiropractic can often fix the problem by adjusting the neck manually.

I had chronic neck/back pain after an injury for over ten years and was handed opiates repeatedly by so many doctors, even after an MRI. The only thing that fixed my issues was several courses of chiropractic adjustments. I'm now almost completely pain-free, and just go in for the occasional fine tuning. I wish I had gone that route sooner, it would have made my life so much better.
posted by ananci at 9:24 PM on June 18, 2015


Do not go to a chiropractor. Upper cervical manipulation is dangerous. Please read this AskMe about chiropractic adjustments.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:59 PM on June 18, 2015 [2 favorites]


Massage therapist here. As you describe it, it's possible that you have a cervical, or neck, facet or zygapophseal joint becoming irritated.

See a physical therapist. He or she may treat through the relevant muscles to loosen the area up, then wiggle the neck bones a little to loosen the joints. This is not a chiropractic "adjustment", but is termed a "mobilisation".
posted by flutable at 1:19 AM on June 19, 2015


Get it checked via x-ray to exclude any serious bone-related issues. Then find a reputable ostepath.

I swear by this form of therapy and have gotten rid of seemingly chronic issues with the help of my therapist (e.g. one vertabre which kept locking and causing me major chest pain as well as teeth grinding).

Fun fact: my ostheopath corrected my pubic bone which was out of place from a bike accident 15 (!!!) years ago and that was one major step towards getting the vertabre back in order.
posted by Fallbala at 1:51 AM on June 19, 2015 [1 favorite]


I say start with your GP. Last time I had this life-destroying idiocy (it was so bad the muscles in my neck swelled enough that it was visible and that I got apnea) mine gave me a course of steroids and muscle relaxants. I was scared of the prednisone so I took just the muscle relaxants for a day: no dice. I was miserable, so I took a prednisone. Magic. One pill, one time, knocked it right out.
posted by Don Pepino at 8:37 AM on June 19, 2015


Response by poster: Thanks for the good advice, all. I called my GP, and he prescribed Flexeril, heat and rest for a couple of days. He says if it doesn't feel better by Monday, to come in for an office visit and he'll give me a referral to an orthopedic guy and/or physical therapy, depending on what he sees.

I took the Flexeril last night, and expected immediate relief (which is what it gives for my TMJ), but was surprised that, in this case, it didn't seem to do a whole lot for the pain. I also slapped one of those self-heating pads on my neck while I slept, and I think that helped too. I do have more range of motion today.

(I don't want to start a Thing, but I would never go to a chiropractor.)
posted by ereshkigal45 at 10:10 AM on June 19, 2015 [1 favorite]


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