Pain and criplling sound in my neck,shoulders,elbow, upto fingers.

Name: Ashish    Current Age:-21
Heloo..
I m suffering from pain in my neck,shoulders & in arms from last 2 years on continuous basis and sometimes in my head as well. Also i feel crippling sound in my neck(when i shake it), in my both shoulders(when i move them backwards or upwards) and elbows of both arms(upon closing & opening of Elbows).

I also did a test namely"Neurometry" which showed a result of "C6". I don't know what it means but doctor told me that i have nerve problem and gave me medicines like "Sensival 25" & "Gobocom 400". It worked at start but now it is doing nothing. I took medicines up to 8 months continuously but it seems no result of it.

Also sometimes i had a very sharp pain in my left half lobe of head  and feels like pumping something at high pressure.
Please tell me what is the problem and to which specialist should i go? Bcz now i m having mental suffering from it as i most of the times remain depressed of it.

[Christopher R Newey, DO]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with a doctor.

Without the ability to examine and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of the symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.

You have several different pain syndromes. I’ll focus on the headache since they may be the primary source. One-sided pulsating pains may be migraines. These are typically associated with nausea and discomfort in bright lights that lasts several hours. Another type of headache with neck pain is called cervicogenic headache. Cervicogenic headache is a headache that is "referred" to the head from bony structures, muscles, and other soft tissue in the neck and shoulders. Symptoms are usually one-sided and include: precipitation of head pain by neck movement or awkward neck positions, head pain when external pressure is applied to the neck or occipital region, restricted range of motion of the neck, and neck, shoulder and arm pain. Treatment for cervicogenic headache includes physical therapy, medications, behavioral therapy, and other modalities.

Another type of posterior headache is occipital neuralgia. Occipital neuralgia is caused by irritation or injury to two nerves that run from the upper neck to the back of the head. The irritation could be due to neck trauma, pinching of the nerves (by muscles or arthritis), and other causes. Symptoms include a piercing sharp pain that travels from the upper neck to the back of the head and behind the ears. It is usually a one sided pain but can be on both sides of the head. Treatment includes physical therapy, medications, and in some cases injections, "nerve blocks", during which a physician injects the irritated nerves with an anesthetic.

I would suggest you follow up with your primary care physician to evaluate your pains. If you have not had headaches in the past but are now experiencing new headaches, you should be evaluated more urgently and obtain an MRI of the brain. If you do get an MRI of the brain, you should also have one performed of your cervical spine given your symptoms of pains in the arms.

Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.