Neck stiffness

[sdf0mgb]

My mom was diagnosed about 4 years ago and recently has experienced a lot of neck pain and stiffness which we know is normal but wondering if anyone has any suggestions for the neck pain because she never, ever complains so it hurts me to think how much pain this is causing her for her to mention it. Also, because of the stiffness-head tilted back- she can’t eat without help or use her phone to text us which was something that brought us great comfort day to day. Later in the day is better but early morning it’s bad. She has a heated neck massager which she uses but just wondering if anyone found anything that helps more than this.

[Tippyleaf]

I massage Voltarol gelll to my hubby’s neck and shoulders in the morning on stiff days which helps to ease the arching backwards and associated pain.

Hope you find something which helps

Love Tippy xx

[sdf0mgb in reply to Tippyleaf]

I’ll look into that. Thank you so much!

[Dadshelper]

Massage, heat and possible some type of medicated patch, ask her doctor.

Ron

[sdf0mgb in reply to Dadshelper]

I never thought about those patches but great idea. Thank you!

[Bereaved2017]

Hi, my Daddy had psp for about 10 years before he lost his battle with it. He didn't get the extreme neck problems you've described. However, I'd like to add a suggestion that may be too simple. How about if she sits ONLY in chairs that have high backs, so she can gently rest her head against the chair and not need to hold it up all on her own?

Also, I carry stress in my neck and shoulders when I'm stressed. I found heat to help, a heating pad and I found a thing online that's used about 10 minutes a day to help relieve neck pressure. It's called, lemme go look.... "Dr. Kay's" something for necks. I'm sure you can find it online. You lay your head in it and it cradles the neck and head. It did help me but I don't have psp so I'm not sure for your Mom but you might want to check it out. It was about $15. I'm very sorry for your Mom and you. I know how hard it is.

And please remember to treasure these days with your Mom especially since you don't live close to her. A year can bring immense terrible changes to the sufferer of the evil psp.

[sdf0mgb in reply to Bereaved2017]

I will definitely look this up. I don’t live that far from my mom and see her often. I realize now the wording regarding her texting sounded as if we were far from here. I’m less than an hour away. My sisters and I spend as much time as possible with her while still working, raising kids. Our step father is her primary caregiver which doesn’t bring us much peace but that’s a whole different story. My mom raised 3 daughters that would do anything for her and see her often. I’ll definitely google dr. Kay’s and I’m so sorry about the loss of your precious dad. I appreciate the ones that stay active on here even after their loved one has passed on. Your message brought me comfort and also reminded me that our time is precious... although I’ve struggled with the whole premise of ‘enjoy the time you have left’ notion. For some reason that part has haunted me most of all because I just want my mom and a normal day. The ‘normal days’ are what I miss most and truly have issue facing the limited time mentality. I try to justify this by saying I want her to feel normal and I would want to feel normal but the fact remains that nothing about this disease is normal and the quality of all our lives slips between our fingers each day as this disease tightens it’s grip on our mom. My mom deserved the very best life had to offer and she’s been horribly cheated. I know you know the feeling and those are the issues I struggle with the most. The constant feeling of a ‘child’ that wants to scream ‘NO FAIR!!’.

Bless you and your family.

[racinlady]

There is a product called a Bed Buddy that you can warm in the microwave or cool in the freezer. It is filled with something that holds the heat or cold for hours. It is soft and supple so it conforms to whatever body part you use it on. I've used it for my husband's neck stiffness. He can't communicate anymore, but seems to enjoy it. It, too, is around $15 on Amazon.

Pat

[sdf0mgb in reply to racinlady]

Thank you! I’ll definitely look into this one too. May need two of them

[AnaBri]

PSP makes muscles get stiff and it's worse first thing in the morning. My mom is more stiff when she wakes up. Our doctor recomended warming the muscles before getting up. Though her terapist said cold therapy would work best. We have found on cold days she is very active and hot days she's more slow and stiff all over joints. But no two patients are the same. As someone has recomended already, I believe your mom could gain more confort if she sits in a high back chair, so she can rest her head, as with PSP the whole body tends to lean back (my mom's tilts forward not backwards). We use patches when she is in pain, but I think you mom complains because she is trying to keep her head up or moves her head from side to side too sudenly, she needs to learn to not doing sudden movements as it makes those muscles to stretch more than they really can now. My mom hasn't been able to move her head from side to side since a year and a half now, but she moves up and down. Maybe if your mom tries a little warming of the muscles, some aid to lain her head and to not do sudden movements she wont feel so much pain, that way she wont have to take too much drugs (even ointments) for that problem, as the intake in drugs increases for some years and puts too much pressure in the liver and kidneys. I always worried about that for my mom. Right now we've been cutting down on some of her medicines as her doctor says they don't do much work anymore, so we're focusing in her overall well-being, healthy eating, happiness, so we can enjoys some more years together.

What I miss the most is the old days, I only wish for a day she could be "normal" as before, but as that's not possible I try to make her time with us happy and build more memories for th future.

Hope your mom gets to feel better and you guys have a long and memorable time together.

[easterncedar]

A chiropractor was great help in the early days correcting a bent and stiff neck and pinched nerves. The treatments - maybe three or four - had a benefit that lasted for the last few years of my guy's life. I was a skeptic - no more.

[Nanny857]

I took my hubby to a chiropractor as his neck was painful and stiff, couldn't turn it to either side. After 6 sessions he got complete relief. Hope you find something to help your mum. Best wishes Nanny857 x

[rriddle]

What about botox injections?