Pressure around head and face and stiff neck

I have been experiencing pressure (seems to be muscular in nature) all over my head and neck.
Sometimes its so bad I have trouble with short term memory. Did a brain MRI and everything seemed to be normal. I am also experiencing stiffness in my neck and it cracks pretty loudly when I try to stretch it. This is also affecting my energy level

I also seem to always have some congestion around the nasal area and although there has been no runny nose, I feel the urge to sneeze quite violently to get some relief

I have had both sets of symptoms over a year now but I don't know if they are related.

I have tried muscle relaxants, migraine medications, physiotherapy as well as chiropractic adjustment. I have been getting steadily worse to the point that symptoms interfere with my sleep causing some insomnia.

[vsam1]

Also I am experiencing popping sensation in my ears when I swallow my saliva. I am feeling very frustrated due to these symptoms. I used to be a healthy guy and very physically active working out 5 times a week along with other activities such as martial arts.

Nowadays I find it hard to get out of bed and I feel like my life is pretty much over at 28. Needless to say a good bit of depression has set in because of this and I don't know if it is compounding the problem. What is worse is not being able to express what I am feeling to others.

[heart2heart]

I have some of the same symptoms in my neck.  Had cervical MRI and it showed severe arthritis w/bone spurring. I have a lot of cracking sounds and can't move my head from side to side without pain. I'm only 53, can't wait till I get old.  LOL

[unbreakable]

I am having the pressure in my cheeks it doesnt feel numb or tingly just lik someone is pressing down on them and earlier in the day I had that popping noise in my ears when I would swallow too.

[floridian59]

I also have "ALL OF THE ABOVE" and we're not alone guys; it's everywhere and no one know what the heck this **** is.  I have been to doctors and still going and no real answers yet.  But I also started having these symptoms about 3 months after have a out-patient procedure(Apr 05); injected pain medication into my upper spine for neck and back pain and thats when it started about 3 months after that and it's never gone away; getting worse.

[pressed]

To the Floridian: Lots of people are indeed suffering same symptoms as you attest to. Check out the public forum websites on red tide. You might find them as interesting as I did. I recently moved away from FL, in part, because of the symptoms you and the others have. I still have some of the symptoms but they are getting better with distance from the ocean. Tourism is apparently preventing a thorough investigation of the issues residents of coastal areas are suffering. There was a new form of algea bloom in January 05 in the Gulf of Mexico. Unlike all other red tide outbreaks and fish kills, this one has killed several hundred manatee and dolphin and sea turtles, all of which are air breathing animals. Post mortum, in their bodies, a fungus was discovered that may have caused their untimely demise. It is important to drink non-tap water, take garlic and ginger to rid your body of the toxins (provided you are not taking meds that could be adversely affected by the blood thinning properties of these two natural antibiotic, antifungal, antivirus supplements). The cdc is trying to get a handle on the problems that have been described by a boat load of people around the coastal areas of the US. It is always a real possibility that either chemical dumping into our oceans is the source of our disabling medical problems, however, it is also important to understand that terrorists, prior to 911, were residing in FL, among other states. Several of the known hijackers were documented as taking one of the casino boat cruises out of John's Pass, Mediera Beach, FL. The expertise of these particular terrorists is not limited to hijacking airplanes, they are quite notorious for their chemical and biological warfare. I do not remind everyone of this merely to frighten the daylights out of us, but to remind that we are the target of this deadly group. What will get us through is our possitive attitude, our persistance in finding the cause of our common ailments, and our refusal to allow this debilitating illness overcome our will to survive and continue to live in this wonderful country. A method I've learned since moving away from the coast is to sit upright, take a deep breath to the count of four, exhale to the count of six (to further empty the lungs), then gently tap your fingertips on each of your sinuses (find a chart to locate them online) for a few minutes. This will stimulate blood flow and excite the nerve tips in your head, which may make you feel dizzy at first, however, doing this regularly will bring some relief from the awful pressure and sinus aches, even if temporarily.

[angie299215]

all this head and face stiffness is to do with your neck and upper body i suffer from it as well the right side of my face is always in spasm tried everything in the book pills doctors etc....i think it is how you hold your own body up , that comes down to posture Sometines stretching helps but not too much and not too much lifting makes things tight as well .Here is one thing you can do sit on a chair and let your body hang down 5 minutes do this a couple of times a day it lets the blood flow down to your upper body neck and head  and should relax your muscles around in this area.  angie.

[Lealeaa]

I'm suffering from the same thing too. Head and face pressure, crackling in ears when swallowing or yawning. Most of the time i can barely open my mouth to eat or brush my teeth. I can't even smile properly. I think i'm suffering from depression because of all this. And all this started after i used a hot compress that was a little too hot for my face, as after that my face turned really red when i got up from picking something up. That's the thing only thing i ever really regretted doing in my whole life.

I read somewhere on a forum where this person mentioned feeling the pressure in head, and he started doing low-impact exercises, like cardio, and he is slowly getting better. Maybe that will help?

[Lealeaa]

I forgot to mention that the pressure in my head usually subsides a little when i am not tying my hair or wearing a headband. Maybe it has got something to do with the muscles or blood vessels.

I wish all of you all the best in recovery.

[eagles7439]

hey i have been getting the same symptoms that you guys are talking about, im a young kid,22, but have been under a lot of stress from school and such. I haven't had any exams or tests done except normal blood work and xray, both fine.  I have been told to try acupuncture, anybody have any experience with this??

[Jnette1]

Hi,
Not sure if this is the issue, but you may want to look into intacranial hypertension. The Intracranial Hypertension Research Foundation has a good website.  Also, for the person who had the medication injected into there spine, check out the symptoms of intracranial hypotension. Hope this helps.

[Susan925]

I have lived with tightness of the entire face, neck and head area since undergoing facial plastic surgery almost 4 years ago ... the doctor kept telling me that it would feel better soon but every waking moment I am aware of the discomfort and pressure.  If people look at you, they just say I look great but no one can understand that I feel like under my skin I have a tightening mask of muscles ... I also live part time in Florida and find that heat and humidity really affect the way my face feels ... almost throbbing to break free of the outer skin ... have to take sleep meds at night just to catch 6 hours of sleep ... anyone look into Chronic Myofascial Pain websites ... has acupuncture helped anyone or massage ... I also have ringing in the ears alot ... any feedback appreciated

[joe231716]

I've had the same problem for about 6 months now.  I'm 35 and healthy.  I workout and it just hit me one day while I was at work.  I've had every test you can think of done and seen every type of Dr (Neurologist, ENT, Family, Rheumatologist, Acupunturist) and have had all kinds of test (Blood, Head MRI, Neck MRI CT-Scans) with no resolution.  If someone has heard of anything that can help this please let me know.

[mdk2]

I have similar pains for about a year and a half now.  I saw a neurologist who said it may be inflamation (inflammation) in my neck causing the nerves to be hyperactive, specifically greater occipital neuralgia.  She gave me injections including nerve blockers and steriods and it helped a lot.  I then looked into it further and found many times the it is caused my neck sprains and strains.  I just started physical theorapy, dont know if it is working yet.  Please look up the sternocleidomastoid muscle.  

"When the SCM is strained or shortened the muscle itself rarely hurts, no matter how stiff or tight it may be. Problems are referred elsewhere, to head and neck, ears, eyes, nose and throat. The astonishing laundry-list of pain and dysfunction includes severe dizziness and other neurological symptoms. These may be mistakenly diagnosed as migraine, sinus headache, atypical facial neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, arthritis of the sternoclavicular joint, ataxia, multiple sclerosis (MS), brain lesions, tumors, and other frightening conditions."
Symptoms:
Sternal Division. Pain referred upward to cheek and sinuses, occiput, eye (orbicularis), top of head; pain referred downward to sternum. Tearing of eye, visual disturbances when viewing parallel lines. Chronic “sore throat” when swallowing, possibly with a chronic dry cough.

Clavicular Division: Pain referred bilaterally across forehead; frontal sinus-like headache, ear ache, nausea, dizziness, car-sickness, faulty weight perception of held objects, and hearing loss (reversible).

[mdk2]

Also try looking up information on TMJ, even though it is a chicken and egg as to if the TMJ causes the neck pain or the neck causes the TMJ.

[surajka]

Me too is having similar problems live Vsam. I have a blood pressure of 140/90 too.
I have done all scanning, consulted physician, neurologist, ent, and phsychiatrist also.
Still having the trouble for 4 years. It has almost ruined my studies.
Does anybody have any solution to this problem?
Is there any proper medicine or therapies? If so please let me know.

[kabbott]

I'm 20, female. I've been experiancing head pressure, some sensation in the ear and occurs sometimes in one or even both eyes and neck pain/stiff neck (I'm so used to cracking or atleast arching my neck to soothe tension but it hurts to do it!). Its been ongoing for the last week, finally went to the doctor to ask what was wrong and he said it was onset from the trauma accident I had done to my shoulder in a car accident.... That was over a year ago though, can they really onset after that long? Also been having a lot of stress lately from my moms wedding that's happening in a couple days! I feel its never going to go away :( I got over the counter medication, it numbs the pain but it still comes back almost right away. Someone please help..