HEALTH Stiff neck from hell

[Lei]

I have had a really bad stiff neck for 6 DAYS >

went to ER

Sunday night they did all kind of blood work and X-rays .
Gave me an IV with lots of drugs. Left with a prescription
for hydrocodeine an flexiral. VERY little relief.
I went to see my doctor and he ordered more test and more hydrocodone.
Then he called in a prescription for an antibiotic.
Anyone have a home remedy that works ? I have tried hot and
cold packs.

 

[Dennis Olson]

About 2-3 years ago, I had the worst neck and shoulder pain of my life. Nothing worked for it. Went on for a couple months. Finally in desperation I went to a chiropractor for the first time in my life. Had two sessions a couple days apart. Pain was gone in a few days.

 

[summerthyme]

Do you have a chiropractor you trust? Necks are tricky... need someone who really knows what they're doing.

Trigger point therapy is something you can do for yourself, and *may* help release the spasms. If you have a significant other who is willing to help, even better.

Basically, you press along the tight muscles, and try to find "trigger points". These are exquisitely tender/painful... they are actually micro-spasms in the muscle fibers. When you find one, press firmly (just as hard as you can stand... it will hurt!) And hold the pressure for 8-10 seconds. Release it, and move up an inch or so, untI'm you've covered the entire muscle group, and/or run out of tender points.

Then, try to stretch the muscles, by gently moving your head.. in a true spasm, this can be difficult. You can repeat the process a couple times a day, but no more frequently. In between, try moist heat (a rice bag, heated in the microwave, works really well.. you can make an expedient one using a clean sock. Pour a few ounces of rice into the sock, knot the top, and then heat in the microwave, starting with about 30 seconds... don't get it too hot, as they can burn skin.

You may need either professional physical therapy or, if it's available where you are, acupuncture can often help this. I used to get these when I was a kid... iften, I couldn't turn my head straight for a couple of days. Miserable!

Hope you find something that helps.

Summerthyme

 

[Ozlady]

Do you have a chiropractor you trust? Necks are tricky... need someone who really knows what they're doing.

Trigger point therapy is something you can do for yourself, and *may* help release the spasms. If you have a significant other who is willing to help, even better.

Basically, you press along the tight muscles, and try to find "trigger points". These are exquisitely tender/painful... they are actually micro-spasms in the muscle fibers. When you find one, press firmly (just as hard as you can stand... it will hurt!) And hold the pressure for 8-10 seconds. Release it, and move up an inch or so, untI'm you've covered the entire muscle group, and/or run out of tender points.

Then, try to stretch the muscles, by gently moving your head.. in a true spasm, this can be difficult. You can repeat the process a couple times a day, but no more frequently. In between, try moist heat (a rice bag, heated in the microwave, works really well.. you can make an expedient one using a clean sock. Pour a few ounces of rice into the sock, knot the top, and then heat in the microwave, starting with about 30 seconds... don't get it too hot, as they can burn skin.

You may need either professional physical therapy or, if it's available where you are, acupuncture can often help this. I used to get these when I was a kid... iften, I couldn't turn my head straight for a couple of days. Miserable!

Hope you find something that helps.

Summerthyme

Get them to rule out meningococcal disease. Stiff neck is a symptom.

 

[China Connection]

Rub magnesium on the skin of your neck every few hours until you get some relief. Also, rub in iodine.

 

[rafter]

I like Blue Emu. Helps with pain, but not sure about limbering your neck up.

 

[dstraito]

There is a product we got at CVS called Stop Pain in both roll on and spray that works well.

I found hydrocone doesn't work that well on muscular issues and or pinched nerves, the flexeril should work better.

Alternating heat and cold could help.

A bath with Epsom salts could help.

You might try acupuncture.

There is another company called Realtime that has some good pain relief products including CBD oil and pain cremes and sprays.

I've been looking in to a program that does spinal stimulation and it works on neck back issues. It is like a tens machine but a needle is actual inserted into you spine. It is pretty expensive though so probably not an option.

Good luck.

 

[Desert Fox]

Advice for you.... (after ruling out any medical issues or structural damage to the neck).

Be ready for the possible long haul with this neck deal.

Get you one of the over-the-door neck traction devices that you add water to to get the pull force you need. Start with maybe 6 lbs. force. Sit in this thing for maybe 10-15 minutes a day. You can get one on Amazon.

Also helps to sleep in a foam cervical collar. You can get one of these on Amazon as well.

Lie on your back, put a towel behind your head and grab the ends of the towel and pull upward toward the ceiling. Hold for 30 seconds. Do this 10 reps a day.

That’s all I got. Good luck- hopefully no surgery for you.

 

[Rayku]

I'm really surprised an MRI wasn't ordered. May want to ask the doc about that.

 

[mzkitty]

Isn't that weird. I woke up a couple weeks ago with a very sore neck on the left side. Thought it was my pillow since it's getting old. Also had just finished penicillin for an infected tooth. So it starts going away after a couple days. Then it comes back and stays about a week. Today is the first day it seems to really be going away.

Just some freaky kink, I think. Or some random bug. Started sleeping on 3 pillows, which seems to help.

Hmmm............

 

[Coco82919]

Muscle relaxant may work. Remember summerthyme, I think, had a recipe for lemon balm leaves, and peppermint leaves, soaked in vodka for 6 weeks, strain and start with one teaspoon and work your way up. It does work. It is to late to make now but may be something to keep on hand. I found my herbs at Mountain Rose herbs. https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/

Also any alcohol works as a muscle relaxant. As a child I had a crick in my neck that lasted for 2 weeks. The chiropractor did not help. A muscle in my neck went into spasm and made my head sit to the side for the whole 2 weeks.

Sometimes neck ache can be from a ruptured disc in the neck. An MRI would rule this out. Meningitis can also cause this. Are you running a fever? Meningitis is more rare but can occur and can be bacterial or viral. Hopefully it is just a muscle spasm. You could phone your doctor and see if he would write out a prescription for a muscle relaxant. Remember that you can not drive, work or mix with alcohol with a muscle relaxant or your hydrocodone. It is one or the other.

 

[Dennis Olson]

I’ve had much less neck pain since Be Well sent me that buckwheat-hull mini-pillow. It’s really helped.

 

[Jonas]

Neck pain is really bad. Guess that’s why the term “pain in the neck” is used so often. It really is no laughing matter.


Please be careful with the hydrocodone. Also if you choose a chiropractor be sure they are the best around.

 

[Desert Fox]

Severe neck pain can be due to blocked arteries in the neck too. I play a lot of golf, and neck injuries are common. I am finding that the neck has a whole lot to do with your general outlook on life.

 

[goosebeans]

Just out of curiosity, have you moved your bed or desk close to a window? Long periods in even the slightest of drafts can cause a very stiff neck. It's happened to me on a number of occasions growing up. My mom would immediately make me wear a silk scarf. May be an old wives thing, but it always helped.

 

[jazzy]

i like a good chiropractor. until i can get to one if i mess upo my back or neck i use this stuff---

1/3 lavender essential oil
1/3 peppermint essential oil
1/3 eucalyptus essential oil
***optional, add some chamomile or birch essential oil
in smaller amounts than the original 3. as long as the total amount of oil is matched with a carrier oil.
now, whatever total amount you have, add that same amount in carrier oil

if your oils come to one cup total, then you add 1 cup of oil such as almond or grapeseed oil, etc.

you can rub it on what hurts or get a roll on applicator - i like the 1 oz bottles- and roll it on a couple timed a day,
it has saved my sanity many times when ive messed up my back. this stuff is great. maybe it can help.
another thing i like to use for pain relief is magnesium oil, i take magnesium flakes and mix in equal portions with warm water, stir , dissolve. spray on the area that hurts. it has an oily feel to it but it has helped.
but in my experience, the essential oil blend above is better. but everyone is different.

 

[Kathy in FL]

There was some really, truly weird virus going around here in Florida that was causing the "stiff neck from hell" symptoms. My mom had it, hubby had it, a couple of my daughter's friends had it, some of my parent's friends had it and then we heard a couple of our relatives up in KY had it as well.

The only thing any of them said touched the pain was that stuff called "Tiger Balm". Mom got hers from Walgreens but I picked up a little bottle of the high-test version at wallyworld for about a buck cheaper. Both my mother and hubby reported improvement overnight. It took about a week for all symptoms to go away. Just weird. I'm thinking it was some gland pinching a nerve or swelling that caused nerve irritation. All I know is the Tiger Balm worked for those that were suffering.

 

[littledeb]

Get them to rule out meningococcal disease. Stiff neck is a symptom.

Yep, check out meningitis. Had a stiff neck, couldn't even get my head off the pillow. Went to the doc, within an hour i was headed down to SiouxFalls hospital by ambulance.

Good luck and I hope you feel better.

 

[Chance]

Hello Lei,

Sorry to hear about your neck problem.

Several years ago, my neck stiffened up on me - rather suddenly - within an hour of feeling 'strange' - then I could barely turn it left or right. No injury - just stiffened up.
Stayed that way for about 6 months and then resolved on it's own.

Ended up having Lyme Disease.

Any chance of a tick bite in the last few days (or years)? A large % of people never notice a tick bite.

Just something to keep in mind.

Best to you! Hope you get this taken care of/resolved soon!!!

Chance

 

[Babs]

I haven't read all the other posts, but I will say this happened to me a couple of times. The only thing that helps is Magnesium, and it can take a few days to work. Get some highly absorbable magnesium such as magnesium citrate, and the liquid is better and works faster. I use Absorb Eze. I take it every day now, and when I don't for many days, my neck will start to stiffen up again. Hope this is help to you.