Tight Neck Muscles and Back Pain on Upper Right Side

[SnowmanX]

First time poster so please forgive me if i'm doing this incorrectly. Let me start off by saying hello and that I hope that someone could possibly help or point me in the right direction.

So in November of 05 I was involved in a minor rear end accident. I considered it minor. My neck was turned left to check on traffic as I was trying to turn right. Person behind me hit me from behind but it only caused my tail light to bust the reflector. I didn't think it was that damaging to me, but i'm mentioning it anyway. Felt completely 100% fine. Fast forward a tad and in February of 06 I got sick with either flu like symptons for literally a couple of days and it caused me to have a lot of facial tension/pressure which lasted a month (and still). Hard to concentrate and it just felt like a constant headache. Then one morning I woke up at 1 am, I believe sometime in march of 06 and my heart was racing a mile a minute. I was laying on my stomach and using a pillow with head turned to the right(which is a no no i realize now). Blood pressure was through the roof, but as the morning progressed in the ER my blood pressure went down and my heart rate was fine again. I still felt the head pressure and still felt... wierd. Oh I also had a slight tingling on the right back of my head area too. As the days passed i've noticed other symptoms appearing. I would wake up in the mornings and feel VERY fatigued.. like I had just went running. I'm the kind of person who went nearly 13 years without a primary physician because I never really got sick. So I didn't have an established one. So I went and got established and he chalked it up to anxiety and possibly muscle spams of my back/neck. Gave me Alprazolam.. smallest dosage. So my journey began to figure out what was wrong with me. Went to chiropractor first and I don't know if it was the meds or if it was the chiro BUT the mornign fatigues went away. So fast forward to today May 2010. I have the same facial pressure/neck tightness/sharp dull annoying pain in right shoulder blade area. Some days are better than others, but no day has felt 100% like I was back in 05. I've done 2xChiro, 2xPhysical Therapy, 2 CAT scans, 2 MRI's (head 1st, then neck), Accupuncture, EKG (for heart) 4xMassage therapy. Oh and various bloodwork too. All i've accomplished is spending a lot of money, but at least I tried various things and didn't quit. I won't quit even though my first doctor said that "it's part of getting older". I'm 31 now and I don't feel I am at that age. In any case, I have tight neck muscles on the right side and it runs into my shoulder and even into my armpit. Does anyone out there have any insight as to what may have happened and what I can do? Right now I DO have rounded shoulders and a slight hunch with a forward neck/head which i'm trying to fix by adjusting posture, but does anyone know of anything else I can do or whom I could see? All i've seen are general physicians and 1 back specialist, but he just sent me to do physical therapy. Perhaps a little help?

--B

[SnowmanX]

Thanks for the speedy responses! This gives me a lot to go on. One other thing that I failed to mention was that as of last year i've also developed another condition. If I wake up in the mornings and if I just lay there in bed watching tv for a couple of hours i've found out that by taking a shower after that I will have severe dizzy spells to where it feels like i'm going to fall over. I usually have to close my eyes or just stand there for a moment and stop scrubbing myself. This doesn't happen all the time though because during work weeks M-F I wake up and immediately take a shower. I'm perfectly fine in the shower. It seems like just the weekend if i'm trying to lay and watch TV or if i'm laying down propped up on pillows playing video games that if I take a shower I get the dizzy spells. 2nd Doctor i've gone to has made the comment that it could be vertigo and he prescribed anti-vert for it, but I don't want to use that in combination with alprazolam as they could make me super loopy.What I'll do is see about going to an Orthopedic Spine Specialist rather than a general physician. The main thing I can think of is the tightness in the right neck/shoulder is causing the facial pressure and is giving me the feeling of things not being... clear. To be honest..the last time I felt "good" like things were clear was when I took a hydrocodone and a muscle relaxer at the same time. That was a one time deal and I don't want to be med'd up in order to feel well.

[Shancard]

Being in a rear end car accident and feeling fine is normal. However, your body experienced trauma. Damage or injuries can show symptoms right away and for others years later. As we get older trauma in our early years will start to be symptomatic. Have you ever been diagnosed or told that you may have Cervical disc degeneration? A fall or a twisting injury to the disc space can spur degeneration, and accumulated wear and tear on the disc over time can also lead to neck pain caused by disc.The traveling pain that you are experiencing that runs to your shoulder, ect is quite similar to what I have also experienced. I was told it was severe cervical stenosis.

I had a new procedure done back in Feb 2010, It is called the Eclipse Fusion and only one doctor in the world does it. I was pain free and loving life 1 week after surgery.

In April 2010, 6 weeks post opp to the day, I was rear ended by someone texting on their phone. I have a lot of issues going on from that accident. I will tell you this much, Where my surgery was done was unharmed and the hardware is fully intact. The new issues I have is herniated **** above and below the surgery site.

I can also say that if you are having pinched nerve issues there are forms of Physical Therapy that will help. Manipulation of the Neck, stretches, and ultrasonic heat therapy works as well.

Seeing an Orthopedic Spine Specialist and or Surgeon would be my advice as to a Doctor to see and further discuss your medical issues and concerns. Orthopedic medicine focuses on the science and mechanics of motion.

Best Regards and good Luck

[selmaS]

Hi..I would get thw copies of the MRI's and all the tests u had and get a 2nd opinion.

Did u  mention the MVA to the dr?...if not u should regardless if u feel it didn't affect u then...there r injuries that can show up later and if not looked for can be missed.

Get the MRI's and all the tests u had along with the reports and see another dr.


Good luck
"selma"