Neck, shoulder and knee pain and stiffness

[bettyboop052]

I am a 52 year old black female.  Lately, (over the past 7 months) I have been experiencing neck and right shoulder pain and stiffness, also, my right knee has started to become stiff and hurt when walking up stairs.  I have not had neck and shoulder pain until recently, my knee pain has been on and off for the past several years.  I have been taking 800mg of ibprofen daily which seems to work.  My mother and my Brother suffer from arthritis, my mom has rhumatoid arthritis.  Is it possible I could had some form of arthritis?  I have not been experiencing any undo stress over the past 6 months. I also fell on ny right knee about 25 years ago and I played softball for about 20 years could that have something to do with the pain in my neck and right shoulder?

[jed9999]

A related discussion, MS and MRSA was started.

[usedtobecatchy]

Just a comment-I have been advised to avoid taking ibuprofen, naprosyn, aspirin, and vioxx because of my blood pressure-I am already on blood pressure medication, but those drugs seem to fight against it. They advise I take tylenol. I find it very strange how different drugs affect different parts of the body. Vioxx helped my fingers. Aspirin helped my back. Ibuprofen helped my hips. Tylenol does wonders for my feet! But none of them cover all bases :-)

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-JT]

The pain appears to be mainly in your joints, which is a clue that the symptoms may be related more to an arthritic type problem rather than a neurological problem, especially with a strong family history of arthritis. Talk to your PCP first and get a physical examination to make sure everything is ok. You may need some plain Xrays to look at the joints, or possibly even a bone scan if you have gone through menopause. Glad that the ibuprofen is working. 800mg is ok, bu watch for any signs of stomach ulcers such as blood in the stool and make sure you take it with food. There are newer, more expensive prescriptive medications similar to motrin that are safer for your stomach and help with arthritic pain such as celebrex and vioxx that may also be considered.  Start with your PCP, and if needed - perhaps a rheumatologist. Good luck.