Radiating Neck Pain!! :(

Thank you! I have trouble sitting in lots of positions now, especially when using a computer. I have to be careful about how I position my neck more now. I've always had back pains and some neck pains, and I'm prone to headaches, but this? It's different..

Could you please let me know what all exercises you had followed. I have the same symptoms

I will do my best but you will still need to do research...you need to understand what is going on so you know what you are trying to accomplish with the exercises and what you need to do to get yourself out of pain. Here is a summed up version: the head goes too far forward, a person needs to be able to see out toward the horizon so they have to lift their head up to do this, this creates very tight suboccipitals muscles and upper trap when a person is constanly lifting their head up to see what's in front of them, unfortunately the body compensates for these tight subocciptals by lengthening and weakening the deep neck flexors. The sternocleidomastoid, pec major, pec minor, & scalenes get tight. Why? Because a person is now using the dominant sternocleidomastoid to flex their neck instead of the deep neck flexors This happens because they are having a difficult time rotating down off the C1-C2 vertebrae because they are hyperextended at them vertebrae due to the tight subocciptals. The lower cervical vertebrae become hyperflexed. This is why sooo many people have bulging disc around C4-C5, C5-C6, and down. When the head goes too far forward shoulders go with it. Neck musculature is connected to the shoulder via the levator scapulae which gets tight This hunching forward can destabilize the shoulder blades and make lifting arms over head difficult. This hunching forward creates tightness in pec major because you are shortening them muscles with the hunching. This tightness can make it difficult to get a good deep breath because the diaphragm can not fully expand under the rib cage. Scalenes and pec minor get tight due to the shallow breathing. These muscles are accessory muscles to breathing.  Lifting my arms even a little used to create tightness in my neck. These imbalances can spiral down from head to toe. And...it can get darn painful. The fix is trying to get balance among the muscles, meaning you can't have one muscle that is constantly contracted and its opposing muscle stretched out and weak. So...stretching the muscles that are too tight to return them to their resting length and strengthening ones that are weak will be key and possibly some soft tissue work to release the fascia off the hpertonic muscles. Just remember-there are some very sensitive structures in your neck so if you are too aggressive with stretches you will pay for it in pain. It is absolutely imperative that someone with my problem do deep neck flexor training & strengthening. First gently doorway stretch pec major/minor to get the body back to resting position. Then, stretch the SCM (sternocleidomastoid) to get the head back to resting position. As soon as you are done stretching SCM you will do deep neck flexor training. Invest in a BP cuff- put it right under your suboccipitals (not the lower cervicals) laying flat on your back knees bent, inflate the cuff to 20mmhg, knod your head and look down as if you were knodding yes until you get to 22 mmhg, do this 10 times then move to 24 mmhg do 10 times-do this moving in 2 mmhg increments until you have reached 30. This should happen over days not all in one day. (Pointer-the purpose of this exercise is to retrain your neck how to use the deep neck flexors when looking down, it also can help move those upper cervical vertebrae back into flexion which can provide some temporary relief until the dominant suboccipitals take over again (this will be the case until deep neck flexors are balanced with dominant suboccipitals-be patient) also, do not cheat on the cuff by pressing the back of the head into the cuff, if you do this your strengthening the wrong muscles, also be sure to look between your knees when knodding, also these are very small movements and should be done with the front of the neck (make sure sternocleidomastoid isn't doing the work)-These are not workouts you would do at the gym. So...when you are comfortable with what it feels like to look down with the right muscles, it is time to strengthen the deep neck flexors by moving the head back and do something about those flexed lower cervical vertebrae. The exercise is called chin tucks- I do not like the name of this exercise because it implies you should tuck your chin.  Do not do this! If you tuck your chin, you are tilting the head ...we want to get the head straight back and still be looking straight ahead...stand against a wall with heels approximately 6 inches away from wall, put head and shoulders on wall, now you are going to be pulling your head straight back but it is imperative you do this with the deep neck flexors, the only way I can describe this is to put your tongue on the roof of your mouth, teeth apart, lips closed, and focus on the back of your throat, fix your eyes straight ahead and do not let your eyes move off your target and use the front of the neck to pull the head back over the thorax. You should not be looking down or back when you are done, only straight ahead. If you can only go a little, that is fine, it will get better where you can go farther. If the back of your neck got tight, you let the dominant suboccipitals take over. Use the front of your neck....so important. It will take time and there is a way to advance this exercise which I am sure you can look up..just be sure you use the front of neck...I have seen some versions of this exercise that are just wrong and painful. The neck may fix the shoulder pain as well but most likely there will be muscles that have become weakened due to the posture. What muscles? Someone would have to do an assessment. But...you could start with laying on your back and strengthening your lower trapezius with a theraband. Laying on the back helps isolate the muscle better. You might gently stretch your upper trap first especially if everytime you raise your arms your shoulders shrug. You can also activate deep neck flexors while strenthening lower trap...called integration. This is a start but by no means the whole story. My hope is, you will get enough relief that you will not have to do anything drastic (surgery). If some relief happens, just know it will take a while to completely resolve and I mean a great while...and you may eventually have to entertain PT again but maybe a different therapist. Most people have had poor posture for many years before they ever had symptoms so it can take a while to fix it but worth it. Muscles have something called muscle memory meaning they want to go back to doing what they have always done. So, don't stop the exercises as soon as you feel better because it will come back.  These imbalances are collectively called upper and lower cross syndrome. I hope this information serves you well and that you are able to get rid of your pain. Best wishes!

Thank you very much for the detailed information and advice.

I was in a computer desk job for 10 years. For the past 3 years I am having neck pain from the base of my skull to the shoulders and to my fingers accompanied by burning sensation. MRI shows cervical disc compression with bulging disc at C4 C5, C5 C6 and C6 C7.

If I don't rest my head, the pain gradually builds up during the day and I am left in tears when I go to bed at the end of the day.

I checked with numerous doctors and all asked me to exercise or go for surgery.

The exercises taught by PT did not help at all. No one gave fine details as you did which helps one understand the body better.

I dont want surgery. I want to heal with exercises.

I have a 4 month old to care for. Even lifting my baby has become a challenge. With this pain 24x7 my life has become miserable. I quit my job too thinking I am doomed forever.

Acupuncture, Ayurveda massage, lots of pain killers and muscle relaxants and loads of money..my situation hasn't changed. The mistake from my side is I did not stick with the exercises suggested by PT for more than 2 weeks. I would lose hope seeing no improvement and give up.

I am going to follow your advice. Hoping to get my life back on track. Thanks once again for your time.

I have an appointment with a chiropractor 5 days later ? Would they be able to help ?

I know exactly what you are talking about...been there done everything you have and more...my neck pain controlled my life....let me give you a piece of information...the mere fact that you have bulging disc doesn't mean that's your pain generator, lots of people have bulging disc and it doesn't cause them any problems...Surgery is required when there is compression of the spinal cord or the nerve roots exiting the neck...I am confident you do not have this or your Drs would not be recommending exercise...it sounds to me like your Drs are trying to save you from an unnecessary surgery....a neurosurgeon once told me you need to stay away from neurosurgeons because someone is going to operate on you and it isn't  going to fix your problem...your problem is musculoskeletal....I think that really helped me from the standpoint that I knew I should stop looking at my pain like I had a serious problem even though It felt like it... As far as chiropractors, there are good ones and bad ones....some just want to manipulate and want you coming back over and over so they create these lengthy treatment plans they get paid handsomely for....the good ones will tell you exactly what they think your problem is ( you can take your MRI)... create a treatment plan to fix it....the good ones can do other things besides cracking bones(decompression, cold laser, etc.,) and they know manipulation alone will not fix the problem ( what holds the manipulations if the muscles are too weak)....my biggest concern with neck manipulation is risk of cervical stroke- that risk is not worth it to me, also if you have functional cervical instability due to neck weakness (symptoms - head shakes and trembles difficulty holding head up) then you likely will not benefit long from any adjustment...I think they can be helpful if there is a exercise routine implemented with it....establish a relationship with your chiropractor and build trust...don't just jump out the gate and let them crack your neck if ever....Good Luck!

One more thing, you may want to find you a chiropractor who specializes in upper cervical, called an upper cervical chiropractor. You can do a quick search on the net and you will find a website that will give you a list of chiropractors with these credentials who would live the closest to you.

Thank you very much for your help with this. I did not know anything about cervical stroke or any other risks associated with neck manipulation. I barely knew anything about Chiro. If not for your warning I would have offered them my neck to crack in the very first visit.

Fantastic Advice!  I have done a lot of research over the years and just about everything you have mentioned is spot on , thank you for taking the time to post such a detailed reply, as you suggest patience and form is key, i will re double my efforts to get & stay on track ,Many thanks  mark 

I had my doctors say that healing is difficult with as the age goes by. I am 32 and is it late ?

I don't know what they are referring to with "healing". Heal what? Bulging disc? " Healing" implies you have something injured and that your Drs are saying your age is impeding its progress. That would mean you have had an unhealed  injury for three years...hogwash...your Doctors have told you to go exercise or have surgery...Have they ever told you what exercises you should be doing? Telling someone to just go exercise as if they can do any exercise they want so long as it is exercise, is wrong...In fact, if this is muscle imbalance, you can actually drive dysfunction further if you do the wrong exercises...I don't believe age, especially your age, is impeding healing...I believe anyone would have a lengthy treatment plan ahead of them that has been dealing with these issues for as long as you have...Remember the previous post about muscle memory...I believe there is a good chance the only thing that needs to heal are the repetitive strains that occur as a consequence of imbalance...this can start the vicious inflammation pain spasm cycle.. Your Doctors believe exercises can help you or they wouldn't be recommending it. If I were you, I would find me a physical therapist who has lots of experience with muscle imbalance, knows mobilization techniques, and understands central sensitization....Find the right one by starting in the phone book, talking with people etc., then call your Dr and tell him or her you want a prescription for therapy sent to your therapist of choice( if prescription is required in your state) Then, make up your mind that  you are going to put your best effort forward and stick with it. Your other options are not very appealing so what do you have to lose? I know it is hard to think straight when you hurt. Some pointers, if you lay on more than one pillow in bed -stop, if you read or text in bed -stop, if you carry a purse on your shoulder at least lighten up the weight or try to just carry a wallet,do not stay on computer or phone for lengthy periods of time. Consider an anti-inflammatory diet to calm this down some...If you smoke...quit...use heat in short periods to relax muscles...once you start exercising the right muscles try to get off muscle relaxers and pain meds...You say they don't help so why swallow these drugs that can have so many other bad consequences....I know your pain and concern, but I don't believe you are doomed. I just think you haven't met the right person to help you..

Thank you very much for your detailed reply. I underestand it's mainly in my hands to get myself healed,.of course with the help of the right therapist.

Earlier I was relying on doctors and therapists hoping they would something to take the pain away. I did not put much effort owing to the pain and the feeling of helplessness.

Now I know where to start. I am going to put my best efforts to heal what I have brought up on myself. Thank you for your advice.

Your post gives me hope and thank you for the insight. Going to double my effort in exercising regularly. Have an appointment with Chiro tomorrow.hope he is the right person I was looking for.

I had my neck cracked by my PT about 6-7 weeks ago and ever since then I've felt pretty yuk!

Neck pain, dizziness, nausea, anxiety and panic attacks. I'm worried about cervical stroke now???

Hi ,

I did follow your advice and I have seen a great improvement. My pain has reduced 50% which means a lot to my day to day life. Thank you very very much.

I have been doing the exercises that you suggeted everyday. Like you said I did some research on the web and I found a great deal of info which too has helped me.

But I have got something new which is the pain at the base of the skull.. I did not experience this before.. not sure what am I doing wrong.. I have a 1 year old whom I have to carry around the house. the pain gets worse when I carry him. Is there a way to fix this pain too ? Kindly suggest.

Thank you once again for your help with this.

Lakshmi

Deep neck flexors and lower trap is what I would work on. If you have an anterior pelvic tilt it is also important that you work on this as well to gain core stability. It is very important that when you do these exercises that you do not extend your head or neck backwards or you do not lean the head or neck backwards. It is also very important that you do not let the upper body sway backwards or lean upper body backwards or allowing lower back to shift forward. It is also important that you gently lift sternum toward ceiling and keep it there.do not extend thru neck or lower back or trying to pull shoulder heads back to appear straighter. Lock out neck by cranial nodding exercise w/a chin nod....goal should be to remove the hump from the thoracic spine (right between shoulder blades) by straightening up with sternal lift and slight extension w/out swaying...do not pinch shoulder blades or try to push blades down ...hang in there....just know quality is what counts here not quantity...we want relaxed body posture not forced or straining...that will never work...

One more thing...if you are doing head retraction this may be getting you into trouble...if so replace this with cranial nodding with a chin nod instead...head retraction aka cervical retraction is not for everyone particularly if you are hyperextended thru the OA joint...symptoms of this are tight upper traps with tight latissimus dorsi.

Hi Crystal,

Does your neck pain etc cause you to feel quite lightheaded and dizzy at times??

My head feels quite tingly, possibly nerve related but I'm really worried about it

Yes...I would get real dizzy and sometimes nauseated with it...I would even feel off balance sometimes like kind of walking sideways with first steps after sitting...if you have head on neck muscle imbalance sometimes head is tilted off to side...this really can mess with sensory perception...basically brain doesnt know where body is in space...what would help me is massaging sternocleidomastoid muscle and sometimes stretching them after massage but I will warn you if your skull is hyperextended on the atlas and you attempt to stretch the SCMs and you allow head to fall back on atlas your going to feel even tighter/worse in back of neck/head... you may need to get some help with this...I have a feeling you are not doing these exercises correctly...

Crystal

I have seen a chiropractor and she massaged my neck as I don't like neck manipulation - I have been using heat pads and ice pads and it gives some relief for a short while.

I totally get the walking sideways feeling!!!

My neck muscles are really tight and hard as I can feel them , I've tried massaging but I'm afraid I'll make things worse??

What pain relief do you recommend??

I apologize first for talking about doing exercises incorrectly...I thought I was responding to a different person on this forum...again my apologies...if your neck muscles are tight...here are some ideas that might help....first recognize that heat can help with muscle relaxation but recognize that too much will increase swelling, ice can help with inflammation but too much isnt good for tight muscles...not saying not to do it but it should be alternated in short intervals and avoid dry heat and exchange for moist heat....Decreasing inflammation will be a big factor in getting to a place of enough comfort where you can address the problem...it is too hard to address when you yourself are too scared to touch it...any good professional will tell you there is no magic pill, device, or one treatment that will cure chronic neck pain...if there was I wouldve made someone very rich...but the #1 treatment for neck pain is to exercise it...now right now you probably cant do that because of pain & avoidance/fear...I would seriously look into every inexpensive way you yourself can decrease inflammation....if you smoke..quit...avoid sugar/caffeine...myofascial tissue hates it...consider an anti-inflammatory diet for 30 days...this is hard but inflammation starts in the gut...intermittent over the counter ibuprofen...Fish oil is great as well as tumeric...drink lots of water...and most importantly you need to tell your brain/body it is o.k. to relax...breathing techniques are great for relaxation...this may seem silly but if you tell your brain this is awful your body will keep responding in an awful way...massage is o.k. if you are gentle/if you expect it to be bad it will be...when everything is calmed down...I would consider getting some help with a prescription for mobilization (not manipulation) and a prescribed strengthening regime from a trained professional...eventually you will have to address this...most of these kinds of issues dont miraculously go away and if left unattended it can be harder to treat.

Hi Crystal. I've just been reading what you have been saying about exercising the neck and chiropractic services.I had acdf neck fusion on c5.6.and 7.Back in 2012.My neck is starting to hurt badly again and getting numbness in middle fingers of right hand.IE same side as before. I'm seeing my doctor next Wednesday. I'm worried! Do you recommend any exercises that could help.I can't have any time off work as won't get sick pay.Thankyou x God Bless xx

hi laksh, i have the same issue as yours, can you share the video link for exercsise?  and also this base skull pain problem also applied to me, I suggest for you check on youtube how to lift things without damaging your spinal, it will tell you the proper way how to lift objects or like you said your baby. as im doing right now for my neck pain in the cervical is the neck exercise, it should be simple but not the craking bone, also dont sit for long time, as I observed when im walking for 1 day or half day, the pain is less, rather than sitting on my computer for longer hours, hope this helps.

hi crystal, I almost read all your commend and want to say thank you, im having the same problem with kayla or other here, i just want a favor if you can check a youtube where we can follow the right exercise or other helpful article that can help our neck problems, thanks in advance

Hi, Kce.This forum will not let me reference other sites. If you private message me I can. 

Hi, Amanda. Sorry for late reply. Numbness in upper extremities in someone who has a history of neck issues and past surgical neck history needs to be evaluated before clearance for any exercises. If everything checks out well you should look into posture issues as well possibly causing your pain. 

Hi Crystal.Thankyou for replying. I went to doctors yesterday and he is referring me to hospital I had surgery before. Had cervical spondylosis and I think I still have.I.e. All symptoms are coming back.I'm just glad I Will get medical help.I have been told Pilates will help with posture.Not by my doctor by friends. Will just wait and see what MRI or whatever they do will unfold.xx