to consider ripping my head off to alleviate neck and shoulder pain?

[Greensleeves]

I've suffered with severe neck and shoulder tension since I was 11 (that's when the cracking/crunching/freezing/headaches started). I have tried everything - anti-inflammatories, gels, Alexander technique, physio, various stretching exercises, hot water bottles, ice, herbal teas, bath soaks, massage, you name it, I've tried it. It's particularly awful at the moment; headaches, nerve pain, crackling and crunching when I turn my head, sore and tender over the whole neck/shoulders/upper back area. My arms hurt and I can't get comfortable at all. I get bouts of occipital neuralgia that are blindingly awful. DH massages it and I have to bite my cheek so I don't scream in pain. When other people have massaged it they always remark on how rock hard and knotty it is.

Anyone else suffer with this? Is there anything that helps?

Yes. I find any exercise which involves shoulder movement can help - Pilates, yoga, press ups, even running (arm pumping movement I think) but the best thing for me is to do some down dog into plank moves then get into yoga child's pose and then put stretchy pressure on each arm alternatively.

Have you seen a neurologist?

I had this weird arm pain and saw my GP fornot ot was that bad. They referred me onrhe neurologist who did an MRI and I was diagnosed with cervical migraine. A course of topiromate later, all of my symptoms are gone (he attributed a lot of stress dd I didn't know was connected to it, he took the most detailed history I've ever had taken).

His main piece of advice, drugs aside, was to only ever sleep on one pillow. How many do you sleep on?

Terrible typing, I've cracked my screen and it's difficult to see some of what I've typed! Sorry!

I used to get this awful pain, it lasted two years, at the base of my skull. My neck constantly hurt and i wanted to remove my skull. I went to a Chinese health place and an elderly Chinese man gave me an excruciating "massage" but the pain went.

Amyltriptine helps me with similar issues.

I haven't seen a neurologist recently, I saw one in my early 20s when I was really seriously unwell I had an MRI and lots of other tests and was diagnosed with ME and fibromyalgia. I don't have all the same symptoms I had then though, I function fairly well day to day (although I do take strong medication for anxiety/depression and am diagnosed with CPTSD).

I've tried yoga and umpteen other "gentle exercise" regimes for shoulder/neck pain. No joy. I do sleep with one pillow, but am never comfortable and don't sleep well.

I was on amytriptyline for 10 years for anxiety, but it stopped working for me and I'm on Mirtazepine now. I don't think the change of drug has made any difference, the tension/pain has been there since I was a child and it fluctuates in severity.

Traditional Chinese medicine might help. A combination of acupuncture and acupressure works wonders on nerves/muscles in a way western medicine just can't treat.

If it does helps, once the pain has subsided then yoga/Pilates might be do-able and help with pain maintenance.

Yes. I see a chiropractor every 8-10 weeks for adjustment and in between have brutal 1hr deep tissue sports massage on neck/shoulder/back. I have to go religiously to keep it on a level though.
In between I self massage with a lacrosse ball, I can find my trigger spots easily with it. Sweet agony! I sometimes lie on the floor for a good hour with my head balanced on it-feel like a wally but it is bliss.

I use 1 pillow only (take it everywhere), it was £60 but so comfy. Also look at your mattress, mine is very firm as a soft mattress makes it worse.

Oh yes @megan2018 that's a good idea. Something like a tennis ball on trigger points might help too. Absolutely agony but effective.

I have similar problems- mine seem to be related to hyper mobility and thoracic outlet syndrome (worth a google!)

I’ve improved my symptoms with stretching exercises using bands and Kore therapy (again, worth a google!)

I see a chiropractor every 6 weeks. Beforehand I had chronic neck pain that no amount of medication helped. My chiro has given me literally life changing results. He gave me stretching and strengthening exercises to do daily alongside the adjustments he was making.

It doesn't work for everyone, and you do have to be careful who you use.

I self massage with a tennis ball every day, exercise lots, drink plenty of water and do neck stretches every day. Accupuncture worked great but only for a few weeks. Childs pose in yoga works well.

Some days I want to rip my muscles out.

I believe my problems are linked to the fact I have scoliosis, albeit mild. Due to this I have one shoulder higher tham the other and the physio was pretty confident this is what was causing the constant neck & shoulder tension.

I too have fibro and also have hypermobility syndrome

I kill tennis balls @GassyAss, they collapse too easily. Lacrosse ball similar size but stronger. Like this www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0115FFICS/ref=asc_df_B0115FFICS58101051/?hvlocphy=1006926&linkCode=df0&hvptwo&hvnetw=g&hvadid=309954605419&creative=22146&hvpone&hvlocint&creativeASIN=B0115FFICS&hvpos=1o13&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl&hvqmt&tag=mumsnetforum-21&hvtargid=pla-561237674526&hvrand=15774134823769266246

I've got a wooden mushroom that I use a bit like the lacrosse ball when it's really bad, it gives a bit of relief while I'm actually using it but the pain actually seems to get worse when I stop, like it's irritated the nerves. The same goes for acupressure, I've been using it a lot lately, researching which pressure points to stimulate etc, and again it helps a bit while I'm actually pressing them but it's made the general pain level worse. Now I'm finding that the pressure points in my wrists/hands/chest/head are burning and stinging when my shoulder pain flares up, like I've "activated" them or something.

Sorry if that sounds mad, it's hard to explain! It's driving me round the twist.

Yes. me too. I finally saw a physio (after decades of others) who pointed out that I was hanging my head just slightly forward enough to be hanging the whole weight of my skull off just a few delicate tendons.

Me too, Pilates has helped immeasurably. I had an an X-Ray recently and it showed I have a curve in my lumbar spine and my pelvis is twisted, all caused by muscle spasm.

Short term get some lavender essential oil, put 5 drops in a teaspoon of any cheap oil from the kitchen. Massage this into your scalp, night before you intend to wash your hair or weekend, neck, shoulders - as far down as you can reach - then arms and feet.

Longer term keep up the stretching excersises and try Pilates. The single most effective thing from Pilates that sorted my shoulders out is the following -

Lay on the floor, carpet rather than hard floor, knees bent and feet hip width apart. 2 or 3 deep slow breaths. Raise you arms up and then kind of reach upwards so your shoulder blades are pressing into the floor - gently pressing- then kind of pull down so that your shoulders make contact and the shoulder blades goes back into normal position. Repeat 4/5 times. Do this daily, at least.

That excersise has changed me from rounded shouldered with almost daily headaches to nice broad shoulders without pain.

@Megan2018 thank you, I'll get one ordered as we are starting to kill off tennis balls too. Me with my neck/shoulders and DH with tight piriformas.

Do you sleep on your front? If you do, train yourself not to, it twists your neck and makes everything worse.

I would suggest an osteopath, one who does cranial as well as manipulation. If you're in London or Suffolk I can pm you recommendation for one who has helped me in a totally life changing way with my neck problems.

The other thing that's helped me is yin yoga. Seems like a lot of working into the lower body (from feet right through to hips) helps with neck problems.

I did three things - 1. Tried physio and, instead of following the 'rules', she sat behind me, got me to put my arm out to my side, palm down, elbow resting on her knee and bent you my hand was pointing forwards. She pinched the middle of my collarbone really hard, it hurt, I got pins and needles and she told me to flick my fingers out like I was doing a magic trick. This gave me relief from the most intense pain.

1. Paid a charity shiatsu stall a fiver. She poked away for over 30 minutes once she felt what my shoulders were like. I felt battered but euphoric by the end and the majority of the longlasting pain went.

1. I bought a shaped foam pillow from IKEA. The first night was very uncomfortable, the second nearly as much (but I did sleep). Then I went to sit up. Massive crunching and popping from my neck and it's been much better ever since.

Every so often, I get the OH to check my posture (as I do his because he tends to push his head forward and drops one shoulder) in case I've 'forgotten' the correct posture. But it's far, far, less pain than ever before. Interested to know Occipital Neuralgia is the name for what had plagued me since I was eleven, though. Never occurred to the neurologist who did the nerve conduction tests or reviewed my MRI to say there's just a couple of age related changes in my neck (which would have had no effect upon me at 11) that it was a real thing, though.

@HellonHeels

Do you sleep on your front? If you do, train yourself not to, it twists your neck and makes everything worse.

I would suggest an osteopath, one who does cranial as well as manipulation. If you're in London or Suffolk I can pm you recommendation for one who has helped me in a totally life changing way with my neck problems.

I am responding here in the hope that I can find out who this osteopath is!

@HellonHeels Ming sharing who this osteo is? Currently having a lot of similar issues...