Wierd Neck injury

[Brad]

I know the doctor is the best way to deal with this but just want some advice.

I was stretching yesterday morning. Yes, just stretching. And felt my neck crunch. I was instantly in pain from this.
As they day went I just kept my neck in secured positions, ie supported by headrests. As the day went I felt a couple
of vertebrae in my cervical area pop back into place. I still have alot of soreness and it is hard to turn my head to the
left. anyone else experienced this type of injury. Really not feeling bad at all just sore neck.

C6 and C7 are where I am feeling the most pain.

[Chris]

There are quite a few of us with vertebrae issues Brad and you may have done exactly what you think you did - popped one out and back in. But let me be the first to say you do need to see a good orthopedist to make sure what's going on. The soreness you now feel may just be inflammation caused by whatever popped.

Please do see a doc, you'll hear that from every one of us with bad vertebrae. :frown:

[Brad]

What I am more interested in is the therapy you have done towards healing it.
I have spent the past 23 years doing the following:
-Delivering Home theatre equipment, including big screens
-Driving on delivery routes handling freight and regular packages
-Working as a lift foreman at Copper mountain
-Working on Cars and Trucks

I have always self healed and maintained my back and neck. I have never gone to a orthopedist or chiropractor and my neck has
never been injured to the point where this is chronic. I do appretiate your advice, and if this does not go away in the next couple
of days I will go to a orthopedist. In the mean time I was wondering if anyone had experienced this and what they feel may
have led to the injury? Dehydration? stress? fatigue? lack of sleep?

I am more interested in prevention of this happening again. I practice preventative therapy rather than damage control like our
health care system. :thumb:

[RockyMtnHigh]

I am more interested in prevention of this happening again. I practice preventative therapy rather than damage control like our health care system. :thumb:

There are so many things that can cause pinched nerves, slipped and bulging discs, it's going to be difficult for any one of us to tell you what caused yours. It may be stemming from an injury you thought you "self healed" and the stretching is just aggravating it.

I can lift heavy stuff all day long, a week later bend over to pick up a sock and throw my back out. A year ago in fact, I was stretching up to the ceiling while painting and ended up with two bulging discs. At the time I thought it was just another pinched nerve like all the others, a bit more severe, but nothing I thought needed to be addressed immediately. I was wrong about an hour later, I could barely stand let alone walk, because the discs in question were in my lower back I couldn't even sit, about the only thing I could do was lie on my side with minimal pain.

So...In preventing it from happening again, like Chris suggested, again you should go see a doctor, I would suggest a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), but hey it's your neck not mine. :thumb:

[Chris]

I am more interested in prevention of this happening again

You have to know what it is to prevent it from happening again. ;)

Make an appt today since it'll probably be a while before you can get in anyway. My primary doc is a DO like Jock suggested but I suggest specialist since you'll probably be told your needs x-rays to know what's what.

Unlike Jock I can't lift much weight any more since I have 3 bad discs ranging from totally gone to ruptured and haven't follwed my own advice of seeing the doc since my latest episode is probably another rupture. I need surgery but am waiting until I get old. :erm:

[94ToyBear]

I find Biofreeze (spray) a great kind of pain relife Band-aid. it is kind of like icy hot just much better.

[Brad]

Never heard of that Adam! I will check it out.

[southpaws3]

X2 w/ chris and jock !!!!but for alittle self TLC time -X2 w/ Adam- Biofreeze,tiger balm ,medicated hot/cold wraps get off your feet

[Fatboris]

My back is still in decent shape, thankfully. That said, I have a buddy who worked at a salvage yard, took a concrete filled tire off a car that was on a lift and threw his back out. Mostly pain, he could move. The place he worked at quickly offered him a settlement (surprise, surprise) he went to a chiropractor for an "adjustment" The adjustment put him on a couch unable to move for several weeks, X-Rays showed the chiro made it worse.

I don't have a dog in the hunt, I'm not a doctor or chiropractor, but when it comes to your back and/or neck, do it right, don't take shortcuts.

[Chris]

I don't have a dog in the hunt, I'm not a doctor or chiropractor, but when it comes to your back and/or neck, do it right, don't take shortcuts.

Me either but I'd hate to see something minor turn in to something major. I've reached the point where changing a tire on the truck can put me down for a week or more. Life's too short to spend it in pain! :frown:

[Haku]

Agreed, that Biofreeze stuff is the amazing.

As far as I Chiropractor/Osteopaths go, don't just go to a random one. Get lots of recommendations for the one you finally attend. I don't trust them at all, and have heard too many stories of them making things way worse. Far too many of them are overly harsh, just jump in without really looking at things, and do a lot of blundering around with very fragile and important part of ones body.

Frankly, I am much the same in that I don't go to doctors unless it feels like something I have to. I've herniated a disc a couple times, to the point of it taking me 20 minutes to get out of bed and not being able to do anything for a week while it heals. You know your body, and its up to you on whether you want to risk it though. I know I have cricked my neck on several occasions, and its always come back a couple days later. Yours sounds a bit more serious, but I can't really say. If you have the means, then its probably worth going. Having a healthy skeletal structure is rather important as a Mechanic I imagine, and having it deteriorate would effect your livelyhood.

I say at the very least, use it as an excuse to go see a Massage Therapist :p. Sure wouldn't hurt to go a see a quality doctor (emphasis on quality) though. I talk to too many people who have things that had they fixed them in a timely manner wouldn't have a chronic issue when they were older. My dads Knees that he blew out when he was in his 20's come to mind. Didn't fix them till he was in his 30's, and got to the point where it was a choice between having his knees replaced or not being able to walk up stairs (he chose to get the knees replaced).

[Medic-5150]

X2 on a chiropractor. Be careful where you go. Some will be very good about treat as you need, others will want you in for weeks on end so they make more money. Considering your history with lifting and what not, it may not be worth going to a chiropractor unless you want a long course of treatment. Each crack will slowly go back to where it was since that's where your muscles are pulling it. Eventually your muscles will retrain to where they need to be, but that can take quite a long time. Along with the heat/ice gels, you could try Arnica. It's more of a natural gel and works great for sore muscles and inflammation. It can be found at Walgreens I believe. Definitely the Vitamin Cottage.

Can you turn your head right, and up and down in a normal range? Any headaches? Since you're having issues turning to the left, most likely the C2 is messed up as well. Can't say for sure though.

When I was younger, I fell 1.5 stories onto my back on a wooden floor in a barn. It messed up my neck. For me it's C1 and C2. I get headaches from the pinched nerve. A single trip the chiropractor about once a year and it fixes it for me. The headaches are a key sign that the injury is higher up in your neck. I was told anything below C3 won't cause a headache. Sorry, I don't have any recommendations for a chiropractor here in Colorado.

As most people said above, don't mess around with spinal injuries they can get bad quick!

[Brad]

I really and truly appretiate all the advice. I generally give my body a couple of days to feel out if I am going to be fine or if I need to see a professional.
If I am still in pain Weds morning I will be going to the doctor. I do prefer to heal myself esp when it comes to my spine. Too many nightmare stories
about chiropractors. My diligence has seen me through a couple of back injuries which I have never repeated. (running to knock on wood!) :D

No headaches. Turning left is only good to about 30 degrees. Right and up down are fine.
I am currently taking NSAIDs to keep the pain down. It is helping.

[=WINKY=]

i get this every once in a while, i sleep weird and in the middle of the night i toss and turn, thus pulling a muscle in my neck. Well this last time i managed to move a vertebra, i think c7 and it was like that for a month. this past weekend, i was in bed and couldn't sleep due to the pain, so i reached around with my left hand and isolated the misplaced vertebra and pushed it back in place while doing a weird self chest compression with my chest and it popped back in and the pain was gone instantly. i passed out right away from the feel good.

My home remedy has always been take a flexoril and rest. then stretch the neck gently as it will get sore as hell and stiff.this one was the worst as i moved a bone, the others were just pulled muscles. I knew it was a bone as i couldn't physically tilt my head normally as i was hitting bone on bone

the funny thing is saturday it was hurting as hell, and today it feels like nothing happened for the past month, no residual pain nothing... hope you get it figured out

[RockyMtnHigh]

Just making sure there is no confusion, there is a big difference between a chiropractor and a D.O. one being they have the same rights and privileges as an M.D. and can subscribe pain killers, muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatory medication where as a quackoprator cannot. Back in Oklahoma my D.O. was my primary care physician as they can and often do more than practice Osteopathy. I have yet to find one in three states that doesn't look at an x-ray or analyze an injury prior to doing any type of manipulation, I can't say that about the chiropractors I have seen. I also found that D.O.s are more likely to try an less evasive procedure / treatment when it comes to vertebrae alignment or disc issues as opposed to a regular M.D. or specialist who a lot of the times go right to recommending a spinal fusion procedure.

It is also true that chiropractors will follow-up visit you to death, a lot of them do not accept insurance and will charge you between $70-90 a visit and tell you they need to see you the following week. A good D.O. with a decent sized practice doesn't have time for those games, his / her patient schedule is often demanding enough without the rescheduled follow-ups.

[Brad]

Thanks for the Clarification Jock! I would definately see a D.O. I have pretty good insurance.

[Fatboris]

i get this every once in a while, i sleep weird and in the middle of the night i toss and turn, thus pulling a muscle in my neck.

I do this too. I always joke that you know you're getting old when you injure yourself sleeping. :lmao:

[=WINKY=]

;ast time i went to a chiro, he screwed me up more than i already was. ill never go to one again, i know how to fix myself.

[RockyMtnHigh]

I hate to keep beating a dead horse, you may or may not know this, but the discs that separate the vertebrae in your neck are not the same as you find in your back which are more solid. The ones in your neck are filled with a gel like substance (don't ask me the medical name of it) and a little more fragile. Anyway, when one of those bulges / herniates, you run the risk of it rupturing and the only alternative is a fusion. One of the guys I work with has had two of his lower back vertebrae fused together and I believe three in his neck, he can't turn his head and look at you, he has to turn his whole body.

I was like you for a long time, wouldn't go unless I was in some serious pain, but if you have the insurance there's no reason not to, if nothing else to insure you're not walking around looking like you got a steel rod stuck up your butt!:lmao:

[Chris]

I'll throw in a good word for chiropracty since it was a chiropractor that first identified what was going wrong with me.

[Brody]

Ditto with what Chris has said. See a doctor of some sort, preferably one who isn't going to say "Take these pain pills and take these muscle relaxers, you owe me $500" because that kind of doctor doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. Ask anyone who has had neck or back injuries, like myself, Chris, Sean, Bear, Stephanie....the list goes on. This is not something you just want to shine on....

So....see someone. Wouldn't be too much fun waking up numb on one side or the other or simply numb from the neck down.

[Cr33p3r]

Yep a definite on going to the doc, After what I have been going thru the last couple months with my neck I finally figured out a big plus for me was to change what pillow I was using, went from a soft cushy one to extra firm to support my neck and wow what a difference, but like everyone else has mentioned a doctor can help you figure out if a previous injury could be a cause for the current one. Good luck with it!

[=WINKY=]

I finally figured out a big plus for me was to change what pillow I was using, went from a soft cushy one to extra firm to support my neck and wow what a difference

i cant do a squishy pillow with no support, my head just hangs there not touching the bed with my broad shoulders.... wake up in severe pain and stiff as hell if i dont have a pillow with some ooommmph to it.

[Brad]

Well it is Wed and my neck is about 150 times better. I do think my pillow is overdue for replacement so the wife and I are going to go pillow shopping this weekend.
Anyone have any brand recommendations? I am currently on a gel pillow which was great for a while but now it is no bueno.
I am a side sleeper due to my snoring.

[=WINKY=]

ive had the same pillow since i was a child so i cant suggest. i do recommend feather down or stuffed cotton as it doesnt feel "springy" and "reboundy" like its pushing against your head. you can fold them up and bunch them together and they support real well. (its what mine is)

[foxtrot]

I suggest the same thing as winky, It is what I use and I llove soft beds/pillows. ini the other hand, I have a friend that uses the memory foam pillow and says it is amazing. I never liked mmory foam because it seems to stiff and I never get comfortable. depends on what you like.

[Jackie]

I've got the same pillows as you find on the "Westin Heavenly Beds" In Westin hotels. SUPER comfortable! Here's a description:

Westin Heavenly Feather & Down Pillow
Rest your head on a perfect 50/50 mix of European goose feathers and down for optimal loft. Medium-to-firm support is the ideal choice for side and back sleepers. Added anti-microbial treatment for clean, fresh comfort after repeated washes. HypoAllergenic.
Dimensions: Queen 20”x30”, King 19”x38”
Machine Washable
A Westin at Home™ exclusive

As a Starwood employee, I can get 30% off, so the king size is $60 and the queen size is $53. Send me a PM if you want me to order one for you.

[Brad]

I might take you up on that Jackie. I will run it by Jenn. :thumb:

[RockyMtnHigh]

I've got the same pillows as you find on the "Westin Heavenly Beds" In Westin hotels. SUPER comfortable!

When I was commuting out here for work I would almost always stay at the Westin in Westminster, the beds, sheets and the pillows were comfortable, I didn't realize they sold them, I would have used the corporate card on a couple! :lmao:

[Jackie]

Yeah - you can buy all their stuff (but like I said, I get 30% off). http://www.westin-hotelsathome.com/productGroup.aspx?WestinPillow. Nothing like a good bed and pillow to keep your body in check. We've got two of the beds as well.

Brad - If the neck is still in pain, after this many days, you should definately see the doc though.

[Haku]

Stayed at a Westin a bit ago and it was comfortable.

A change in bed type stuff in general is a huge help too. I have a TempurPedic bed and it made a huge difference. It came with two pillows, and it took a bit of getting used to but I really like it and it made a big difference too. If I go somewhere and I am driving or taking checked baggage, I bring it with.

Neck feeling any better?

[Brad]

Neck feels about 95%. Muscle that was pulled still a bit sore but no more pinched nerve.
I am considering seeing the doctor anyway just so I have some idea of what it might have been.

[Pathrat]

Since I have been busy the last few days, I did not get to chime in until now. Glad your neck is feeling better. I suspect this will not be the only time you do something minor that results in a problem. Joints have a way of heading down that path and yes, your spine is a jointed segment of bones. Keep the NSAIDS on board until you are completely pain free. (I should take my own advice on this count.) If you do not go to a provider this time around, spend some time doing a bit of research on who you want to see because if it happens again, you might not want to delay.
I found the contoured foam pillow to be the best for preventing neck pain.
All my .02, as someone who has an artificial disc at C6. ;)

AND where do I get biofreeze, besides off the internetz?

[RockyMtnHigh]

All my .02, as someone who has an artificial disc at C6. ;)

Ouch!


AND where do I get biofreeze, besides off the internetz?

http://search.hygeniccorp.com/search/biofreeze.aspx