neck pain stiffness and hyperreflexia

[nurselia]

for past 2 years I've had pins and needles sensation in rt shoulder area on and off, then last nov. started having mod to severe neck pain seems to get worse when i look down. had mri of neck showed mild disc bulge c3 to c6
with mild spinal stenosis. had a emg test which showed cont hyper muscle activy in rt neck and rt shoulder, cerv xray showed I had a straight neck from muscle spasm, mri of brain neg, last week my arms got very heavy feeling and neck pain very sharp if i move wrong constant squeezing type pain in neck and very stiff. went to see pcp that day he said my reflexes in my leg were extremly hyper. said I had the symptoms of someone who jumped head 1st in the shallow end of a pool. on the way to the doctor even the bumps inthe road caused sharp neck pain, my arm were so weak and heavy feeling. my dr. sent me for a stat cerv xray no fx thank God! sometimes the pain radiates down my arms but mostly constant in my neck it feels like there is a fist in my neck. can't hardly hold my haed up by end of the day. I also noted about 2 mon ago started having occassional difficculty swallowing. I also have occasional muscle twiches mostly in up arms which you can see, and the past 4 days my legs have started feeling heavy. I am 35 yrs old I had a car acc 8 yrs ago and I have been a nurse for 15 years. I have been out of work for almost 2 mon now due to the neck pain. sometimes it is so severe I have to just lay still with ice pack. have occ mild lower back pain mri showed mild bulge L4/5. my pcp thinks i may have a neuro disease. I am taking darvocet or vicodin 5/500 as needed and advil and valium 2 mg bid for must spasm which helps but the pain meds only take the edge off the neck pain.what do you think is causing this pain.

[woodentop]

sounds to me like you may have some pressure on your spinal cord from the bulging discs , espessially considering the hyperreflexia in your legs. you may need decompression surgery get another opinion.

good luck

[nurselia]

THANK YOU, FOR YOUR RESPONSE. I WILL DEFINATLY CONSIDER YOUR SUGGESTIONS.

[Dr. A. Srivastava]

Hi, Thank you for your question. Generally pain in the head & neck originates from the neck problems due to irritation in the cervical (neck) spine because the nerves that supply the back of the head start in the upper cervical spine. Mostly, this kind of head pain aggravates after turning head and typically occurs in patients with previous neck injuries and in patients with marked arthritis of the upper cervical spine. In addition, this pain exacerbate with prolonged sitting in a stooped posture and when working on a computers for long hours.  On the other hand, there are patients who experience similar pain with sinusitis (sinus with infected mucus) and migraine. If you suffer continuous pain at back of head, please arrange an appointment with a neurologist right away who will evaluate the possibilities here and can provide you an appropriate treatment. Hope this information proves helpful to you. Take Care & Regards!!!

[Kalvin]

How long ago did you have you’re MRI? From your symptoms I think it’s safe to say that things have changed. The pins and needles in your shoulder area, sharp neck pain and pain radiating down your arms are all typical of Cervical radiculopathy and the neck pain and stiffness could be caused by any one of your effected levels. Increased leg reflexes, weakness in the arms and legs and Dysphagia are all symptoms of Cervical spinal stenosis.

I’m curious as to why the Neurologist that did your EMG wasn’t able to pin down the origin of the nerve supplying the muscle that had abnormal activity. That’s part of the purpose of the test and they do it all the time.


Take Care