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chronic neck stiffness/pain

Posted , 26 users are following.

tanvir23
tanvir23

Hi,

I'm a 21 year old male who has been healthy and active for the majority of my life. For over a year now I've been experiencing constant stiffness/tension in my left trap/levator scapulae/neck. The pain comes and goes depending on my activities and sleeping methods. I believe this is due to a combination of sleeping on my stomach, bad neck positioning when laying on the couch and heavy shrugs in the gym( I keep good form, only up and down motion).

I had sprained my neck twice before, the first time the injury healed on its own after stretching and the second time it was more severe and subsided but never really went away. If I go to the gym my neck usually gets aggravated and more stiff, even though I've reduced weights by 20+ lbs for every exercise and really try to not strain my neck anymore. When the injury first happened it was hard for me to turn my neck to the left and right, but now I have full range but usually hear faint cricks, and swishing sounds...either ligaments stretching, bones rubbing against each other, etc.

I had gone to a chiropractor about 5 months ago, he took xrays and said my neck is loosing its natural curve and the xrays showed it was straighter than it should be...I went in for about 5 visits but it did not seem to be helping (mind you i wasn't in pain at this point, just suffering from constant tension/stiffness). Although I have fixed my sleeping habits, I still wake up with a stiff neck and sometimes its hard to turn a certain direction and when I do, I will hear those cricks and this is really starting to scare me as I'm only 21 years old. I've also gotten massages from RMTs and SMTs who initaly reported some tightness in my traps/levator scapulae but nothing that would make them assume my condition was reliant on that....all in all the massages provided very minor short term relief.

I am at the point where I am willing to let go of the gym for good, and devote myself to ensuring this injury does not progress as once I look through these forums I can see how bad it can affect me in the future. What would be your recomendations? should I go back to chiro? some sort of neck specialist? PT?

Thanks in advance

P.s. I am going to request my x-rays from the chiro and post them within the next few days 

1 like, 55 replies

55 Replies

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  • joseph82294
    joseph82294 tanvir23

    Posted

    Hey there

    I am a 20 year old who has suffered from, what sounds exactly that you suffer from, for about 2 years now. It never bothers me too much but if I got to the batting cages for a long time then my neck will become a bit stiff in the morning. Not like it was when I first had symptoms. When I first had symptoms, it was little to no range of motion for my neck. I had to turn my whole body to look from side to side. The bad thing is , it was summer after senior year and I continued to stay up late and do crazy things. After awhile the stiffness went away but the noises, like clicking and popping stayed with me. The noise also persist of something I can't describe. If u had to describe it, my neck feels like its clogged with junk. I also always end up on my stomach when I sleep. I start out either on my back ( because I want a balanced structure, if that makes sense) but always end up on my left side or stomach. I definitely think this could be a reason. I also have a bad habit of not breathing when I lift heavy objects.

    I am very interested in this and want to ask you a few questions that hopefully you can answer.

    I didn't check time on when you posted this and its too late to check right now lol. But, how long have you dealt with this now?

    Are you still dealing with it?

    Is your neck 100%? 75%? 50?

    I know your are dedicated to healing your neck so with that, if your neck has gotten better, what is your method?

    What has helped and

    What hasn't or made it worse

    Please don't rush when you reply, if you're busy then I can wait until you have time to type everything down that can help me.

    Thank you for your time, God bless.

  • PrincessOfISlam
    PrincessOfISlam tanvir23

    Posted

    Hi,

    I have the same problem but I have had it for over 3 months!

    I feel like my neck is tired/stiff througout the whole day.

    It only gets better when I lay down however it gets worser if I don't give it a rest. 

    I went to my useless GP and they said do neck exercise and I have been doing neck exercise even before I went to the GP. 

    I believe you should go to a neck specialist or someone who is professional in massaging necks. 

     

  • d9495
    d9495 tanvir23

    Posted

    I myself would not go to chiropractic because it might be making it worse sounds like u have the same problem I have go ahead get a neck exray and u will probably find out u have muscle tissue issues in your neck and also u can asked for and mri for your brain it will pick up all ur issues that u have
  • jagon
    jagon tanvir23

    Posted

    My advice is completely simple, to the point where I probably would dismiss it if I was a patient.

    Please don't dismiss it.

    Stretch gently.

    As in.. yes.. Yoga. 

    I know. You think it's for hippies. That's ok. 

    If you are truly genuine about wanting to help yourself you will try.

    Tips:

    + start gently!

    + stretch sloooooowwwwwwwly

    + DRINK WATER

    See, the problem is not that you have a problem, it's more that people tend to over think things, and over do things.

    Just find a happy place [metaphorically..although, literally if it helps] and stretch it out gently and slowly.

    I am stretching 3 times a day minimum, not for fun, but because it is the only thing that truly helps.

    Feel better, and if you aren't feeling ok always consult someone face to face. 

  • girolamo1
    girolamo1 tanvir23

    Posted

    I will share my experience with neck pain... With me it was related to the pillow. The only thing that worked for me and stopped my neck and back pain was https://t.co/KTLRGPbbWl That pillow uses uses hot or warm water to provide instant relief from pain... So I hope I could help  [smile] 
  • vasileios67302
    vasileios67302 tanvir23

    Posted

    hello!i have excaclty the same problem like you...did you fix it???if yes ket me know what you did!

    thank.youu

  • karen21063
    karen21063 tanvir23

    Posted

    Hi, I can relate to your issue so much. I had pain for about a year, In December I started to take naproxen and they have helped so much. I have been having physio once a week and I have now started acupuncture. I have had two sessions of it, the trigger one and normal one and oh my god the change is unreal! Yesterday I didn't even take any pain killers, the first time in over a year. If you can try some acupuncture with physio. It's really helped me xx

  • naina41892
    naina41892 tanvir23

    Posted

    Hi tanvir,

    Is your neck pain ok or Still struggling?

    I read ur arricle online as I am down with the same prblm last 8 month's

  • clive51452
    clive51452 tanvir23

    Posted

    Hi I'm new to the forum.Did you get an MRI on your neck. How is it now?

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