feels like air trapt in back neck hips and shoulders

[ryty]

i was hoping someone could answer my question for me, my girlfriend has been having increasingly bad back pain for the last 6 to 8 months, as well being severely sleep deprived, getting on average 2 to 4 hours a night. it started as what felt like to her as just normal knots in her back and neck. but as time went on it only got worse. after a while she noticed a spot in her neck that felt like what i can only describe as feeling like rock hard skinny strings rubbing up aginst her spine as i massaged it. it even makes a loud crunching sound. right below that area one of the bones in her spine is sticking out futher than it should. she soon started to noticed that if she turned her head in a certain direction, her arms would go numb. now she says the pain feels like air pockets trapt in her back. she spends hours at a time just stretching and tells me that by doing that she can move the "air pockets" aroung her body. it has now moved from just her neck and back to include her hips and especially her left shoulder. she claims that the stretching relieves the pain for that moment but all it does in the end is chase the "air pockets" to different areas of her body, mostly the hips and shoulders. the pain has gotten so bad recently that she has had to leave class several times because the pain was just too unbareble. she went to the doctor about a month and a half ago. they took x rays of her neck and upper back. but the docter didnt spend very much time, nor did he stress much concern for her back. he concentrated more on the sickness that she was feeling at the time which has since passed, and all he told her was that she had whiplash. he perscribed her some muscle relaxers and sent her on her merry way. but the muscle relaxers only helped her sleep. they didnt solve anything, as the pain only got worse. now she is in pain 24/7 and all she feels she can do to cope is to stretch all the time, she says that it seems to be helping and she feels "free" at times. but i watch her and even as im typing this she is rolling around on the floor bending and twisting her body to get those pockets of air out. im not sure if its really working or if its only temorary relief seeing as she will stop and then sit down, only to start stretching again. last night she stretched for like 2 hours, stoping and starting again like 10 times. even tonight she has been going for about an hour and a half, i try to help her but she says that im mostly just getting in her way. will someone please help her. shes miserable and i cant bare to watch her go through with it any longer. shes almost 20 and i know people twice her age that dont have pain like she has. she has been snowboarding since she was a little girl and competes. she has taken alot of nasty falls and her and i both agree that that has alot if not everything to do with it. but she never had such a bad fall that she was hospitalized or injured to the point of not being able to do physical activity for a period of time. i have had whiplash before. and it was nothing like what she is going through.  there is something else ther. something that the doctor couldnt see. so hopefully someone out there will.

[dochiru]

i cant judge wat it might b but ill surely pray for her,,,the masses on the back f her neck get them checked carefully wat if they r some kind of tumour pressing on her cord causing numbness of the limbs too ..get it cheked asap n make the doc realize wat she feels so that he doesnt take it lightly...regard with lots of best wishes.....

[squirtatious]

Meant >full < spine mri lol

[squirtatious]

Ur right to be concerned ry, does ur girlfriend appear extra flexible?  Kinda double jointed? Does her joints hurt when she stretches? Jw...does she have insurance? I've never quite heard of symptoms like hers...except for a friend of mine who could have sum similar symptoms. Does ur gf have insurance? Id take her to her dr ifshehas one for a full blood work up and dull spine mri. Could she have sum sort of connective tissue disorder? Plz keep me posted and take care!!!! I'm concerned for her as well!! *hugs*