Pain in neck, shoulder arm and back, starting to go down my leg.

[kirsty1987]

Hi all it started with pain and stiffness in my neck and it has now gone into my shoulder and arm, I get pins and needles in my arm and it feels heavy and I find it hard to grip when holding a cup or kettle ect. I have been to the doctors and I am waiting for an MRI scan. Just sticking to the pain killers until then, has anyone else had this problem and what was the outcome or have you got any advice on how to ease the pain. Thanx K

[allanah]

Well you asked but you might have something different. Mine was a slipped disc in the neck which showed on the MRI. I had an op which was much less worrying than I thought and sorted me out the second I woke up!

Now obviously yours might be something completely different so hang on in there till the MRI and hope you get some answers soon xxx

[BoneyC]

Hi Kirsty,

I started getting pins and needles down my arms and in my hands - had RA since age 6 and every joint damaged. After MRI scan I ended up having my spinal cord decompressed and titanium plates put in and 8 screws to hold neck together. Since then, can't move neck much but otherwise ok. Good luck with your scan.

[Hidden]

I was the same as Boney C and Allanah, my pins and needles, weakness and tightness (myelopathy) resulted in fusions with hardware (metal plates, screws and rods). Only advice is take the painkillers - you wont become addicted while you are genuinely in pain. I loved putting a heat pack on my neck and make sure you have a good pillow. You can also buy a soft collar and wear it to bed to see if that helps.

When is the MRI?

-gail

[kirsty1987]

Thank you for replying, not used to this website and didn't think anyone had replied. Still waiting for my appointment for the MRI. The pain doesn't seem to be getting better nor worse but the pain killers are helping. So will see how I get on with the MRI, will post on here to let you know. Thanx again

Ps I've had RA since I was 10 x