neck problems

[annie1954]

Hope you all had a lovely Easter, and not in too much pain. I have had problems with my neck for some time now. But since I had trigger point injections (steroid ) it seems worse. It clicks and pops every time I move my head . Has any one got any ideas how to help with this? I use heat packs and ice packs but it’s slowly getting me down now .

[wedgewood]

I used to get neck problems , but i’ve taken to using an orthopaedic pillow ( the cheapest is at Ikea , and it’s good) Always keep your neck warm A little alcohol. can help you relax, which is good

I dont know if that’s helped at all , but you have my every sympathy .A cricked neck is HELL . I’m sure you will get sone better advice…

[Mmrr in reply to wedgewood]

I have neck problems too, an orthopaedic pillow helps a lot (I have an IKEA one also).The physio gave me gentle neck exercises too, which help. I do mine in the warm shower water. Stand as straight as you can and gently turn your neck to one side, looking over your shoulder, gently turn to the the left side. Don't force anything, be gentle. Repeat three times each way.

Still standing straight, shoulders down, eyes forward, try to get your right ear as close as you can to your shoulder, be gentle, don't force anything. Repeat on the left. Three times each way.

After a few days, I found my neck to be much more mobile and less painful.

I still hear a bit of crunching after many years, but the exercises do help to keep my neck mobile.

[wilbertjellyfish]

Have you had any sort of chiropractic assessment/ imagining. I recently had a sore neck/shoulder thing. Go it the chiropractor to give me a good massage and it helped a lot. Mine didn't pop etc though and I was very wary of letting them do any pulling etc.I can completely see why it would get you down, mayhap you need to speak to GP/rhemy staff about reassessment.

[Esmereld]

Annie. I think you need a proper diagnosis. As someone else said, see a chiropractor or a physiotherapist. Meanwhile, look on YouTube at Bob and Brad (physiotherapists). They do some great videos. A bit of light stretching might help in the short term. Until you know what’s causing it, I’d be careful.

[Runrig01]

I have ankylosing spondylitis and have pain & stiffness in the neck. It pops and cracks, which I’m told is the inflammation causing it. I would also stress to avoid chiropractors till you know the cause, my rheumatologist says no one with inflammatory arthritis should see a chiropractor as they can cause further damage. So I would clear it with your rheumatologist first. I have a slipped disc in my neck that is calcifying and pressing on the outer layers of the cord, and will eventually need surgery. I also have loss of the C curve from the spasms that occurred early on in the disease process. I do daily stretches which include neck stretches. I should say I was an orthopaedic nurse for over 30yrs, and have nursed a number of patients admitted from chiropractors with damage as a result of their manipulations. The spinal surgeons were very against anyone with back issues seeing chiropractors or osteopaths, and Ive followed their advice.

[Evie3]

I had to have a C1 C2 neck fusion many years ago. I would ask your Dr to arrange an xray before anyone pulls yours every which way. As others have said….heat pad or cold gives some relief in the meantime

[ageddancer]

Good Morning (and its raining!!) Over the years I have found that when this happens to me I use a heat (wheat pad mine is long enough to clip all the way round) and then I use a soft neck collar for a while.....not everyones choice I know - but for me I think that it allows my neck to relax and yet feel supported so some of the tension ebbs away. S

[weathervane]

There are good neck exercises on the versus arthritis website that are worth trying.

[Garnacha]

Sorry to jump on your thread but I've had an awful crunching noise whenever I move my head, I assumed it's just age related as it doesn't cause any pain but does click sometimes, should I mention it to the rheumy next time I have an appointment? I think it started when I did a roly poly with my granddaughter around 2018 as I suddenly developed ocular migraines soon after & then everything went downhill including joint pain etc & diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis. X

[annie1954 in reply to Garnacha]

Hi sorry your suffering with neck problems to. I would definitely tell your consultant. As he will refer you for an mri scan .

[Garnacha in reply to annie1954]

Thanks annie1954 next appointments in September so will mention it x

[Bailybiscuit]

I used to see a chiropractor and he massaged my neck which was wonderful ,other parts too. I also rub Movalat Gel on my neck, especially the spine in the neck area. You can buy it but my GP is nice and lets me have it on prescription.

[annie1954 in reply to Bailybiscuit]

I haven’t heard of Movalat Gel. I use Voltarol. But will look out for it. Thank you.

[Bailybiscuit in reply to annie1954]

It is probably similar. I knew of it because my mother used to use it and found it quite effective.

[annie1954]

Thank you to every one, it’s so nice that you all understand. Thanks for all the advice. I will do more neck exercises, and will book more sessions of deep tissue massage on my neck and shoulders. I have also put my tense machine on today to.