Advice on neck and shoulder pain where to seek treament?
490509
Go see your doctor.  He can run tests to diagnose the cause of the pain and then make appropriate recommendations.  He can prescribe pain meds and/or muscle relaxers if needed.  Also, he may recommend physical therapy, chiropractic care, or massage therapy as options to improve your condition.\n\nThe type of pain you have will dictate treatment.  Is is a muscle spasm?  You may want to try hot pack.  Is it sharp, shooting pain?  Stick with the ice.  Is there numbnesss or tingling involved?  This may be due to a nerve problem.\n\nWhat time of day is your pain worst?  In the AM would indicate chemical changes in your body (arthritis, inflammation).  In the PM would indicate your pain is mechanical in nature - meaning your posture or body mechanics (think office ergonomics!) could be the problem.
1152359
A friend of mine told me to put ice in a wash cloth and fold it up and hold it against your neck and lay down for 30 minutes...it's supposed to open up your blood vessels..maybe you should get a MRI or a CT scan to have your headaches checked out. or trying having someone give you a back/neck message to relieve the tension?
50581
Take the hottest shower you can stand, take two aspirin and lie down with a hot pack or heating pad on your neck or forhead depending on where it is hurting the most.  Definitely see a doctor and get a prescription: Relpax, Imitrex etc.
446976
First of all, I am sorry you have to go through the pain. It is horrendous at times. I have suffered from migraines since '95. I have tried everything from prescriptions to vitamins to changing my dietary habits. I didn't want to rely on prescriptions alone, so if you have Tension Migraines which start from your shoulders/neck and works itself up then a quick way would be a shoulder/neck massage. Shower massagers also work just as good. If you have some Eucylptus Oil/Menthol Rub/Sports Creme massage your neck and shoulders first, then a hot shower. It loosens your muscles. Multi Vitamins as well. At any Health/Vitamin Store ask the clek for Fever Few in the gel capulets. This also works for Migraines. There is also Excedrin Migraine or even Excedrin Tension Headache this works good too if you can catch the Migraine in time. \n\nFor the long term, you might want to ask your doctor to have a blood test if you hadn't already had one. From my blood results, I was low on potassium. I am also a coffee drinker, so unfortunately the caffeine triggers mine as well. Stress is also a big factor. \n\nHope you feel better soon!
835580
You might try going to a massage therapist who has experience working with neck pain. If it is still painful after the massage, you should probably see a doctor. \n\nGood luck.
9645
if it feels swollen, then put some ice in a towel on it, or if you have a cold pack. this is usally only helpful if it is swollen.\n\nafter that, put some heat on it, if you don't have a heat pack, put rice in a sock or some kind of microwaveable bag .\n\nbelieve me, i have had severe neck issues for years, only start with cold, it takes the swelling down, after that. cold can make it hurt more, heat will relax the muscles and make it feel better, OR you can have a hot bath
918728
see a doctor and get examined to make sure it is not serious. They'll X-Ray you to make sure. If they don't find anything wrong and you still have pain then you are probably out of alignment. This never goes away, you need to regularly do things to prevent it from flaring up. \n\n-Exercise a minimum of every other day, at least by walking but yoga and pilates is excellent for neck/back pain too. This alone could cure the pain if done regularly.\n\n-See a good chiropractor; if you don't know one ask friends for recomendations. An adjustment once a month will keep the pain at bay. If you don't like the chiro try another-there are many chiropractors there, all have different aproaches. Many chiros practice complimentary holistic or eastern medicine, if yours does not seek one of these specialists out to try accupuncture. Accupuncture is excellent. The only thing that avoided surgery.\n\n-Massages are good for stress reduction, but I never got pain relief from them. Stress reduction is my main source of recurring neck pain 10 years after my initial injuries being hit in a 5 car pile-up, and if I control stress I feel no pain.\n\n-Reduce swelling to control pain & inflammation Swelling lessens blood flow in the swollen or inflammed area(s), blood brings oxygen and carries away toxins from the muscle, which cause the knots and pain in the first place.\n\n -Alleve and Advil are OTC anti-inflammatories that work well even by taking 1/2 the recomended dose. \n\n-Ice works better or as well as Advil, together they work excellent. apply ice pack to the painful area for 15 minutes on and 15 mins. 2-3 times. Ice reduces swelling. \n\n Sleep! That's the only time your body can repair itself.
1039288
I guess really any exercises will help with your neck. Change your eating habits, start slowly then progress to exercises. Walk up and down the stairs, or run. Do crunches, jump rope. Anything will really help. Good Luck:0
762754
I can only advise from my own experience.  Please tell your doctor that you think you need a muscle relaxant for a little while until this neck pain goes away.  Just ask to take one at bedtime because they might make you drowsy.  \n\nSince this is neck and jaw pain, you are probably also a person who grits their teeth at night.  You need to relax.  If you don't mind my suggestions, there are different types of non prescription medications such a Benadryl that you can take at night to help you relax, but I would check with your doctor for a muscle relaxant.  \n\nI am so sorry you are having this problem.  It sounds more to me like anxiety than anything else.  Either that, or you may be developing arthritis in your neck in which case you also need something to relax.    \n\nBE sure and check with your doctor, this could be more than withdrawal.  I suffered with this until it got so bad, I could not turn my neck at all.  I kept taking Ibuprofen constantly and it did not help at all. Just made me feel funny in the head.  Finally, I found I had arthritis in my neck as well as some spurs that had formed on my neck that were pressing on my nerves.  I was given some medication that helped out a lot and I don't know your names in the UK but your doctor can help you with this.  Do you have chiropractic medicine where you live?  If so, you would benefit greatly from this as well as getting a massage from a licensed masseuse.\n\nBest wishes.
467801
Invest in a Homedics massager (model PA-1). It's a very good deep tissue massager, the only one on the market I have found to actually be therapeutic. You can pick one up at your local wal-mart or target. I got mine when they first came out and it cost around 40 or 50 dollars. Might be less now. You could be having tension in your shoulders. Everyone deals with stress differently. Mine goes to my neck and shoulders too and sometimes my back. As far as medicine, there isn't really anything you can take that will correct the problem. Pain pills will only cover up the symptoms as will other meds, but they won't heal anything. Try eating foods with more vitamin D and if you want you can try herbal supplements that knock the edge off of pain such as devils claw or feverfew. And don't over work your arms and shoulders, but do light exercises so they don't get weaker.
6247
It depends on why your neck is aching. It could be due to poor posture, sitting at a computer or over a desk for long periods of time, or it can be due to injury. If it has occured because of injury, you should see your doctor. If it's due to over-use or poor posture, then be aware of your posture while sitting. Ergonomically designed chairs which can be purchased relatively inexpensively at an office supply store can cause your spine and neck to fall into better alignment and cause less strain. When sitting at a desk for a long time, be sure to take breaks, stretch, turn your head from side to side and rotate it around back and forth to loosen up those tense muscles. Heat can also help (heating pad, heatable pillow or hot water bottle). If the pain does not improve with the above measures, then take some ibuprofen and call your doctor for further evaluation. If you are experienceing fever along with the neck pain, this can mean spinal meningitis. You should definitely seek immediate medical help in that case. HOpe this helps.
1032520
Aw... I'm so sorry. I hope you'll feel better soon.\n\nDo you have a comfortable pillow when you sleep at night? Do you have restless night's sleep or just sleep in one position at night? Sometimes as simple as a pillow can do that to anyone. If you'd like whenever you wake up in the morning, you can do a little exercise that requires two things from you:\n- For you to sit up in bed with your feet on the floor and have about 5 minutes for this.\n- Then, do "neck-exercises" meaning gently turn your head in different directions to relax the sore muscles.\n\nDuring the day time, if your neck starts to ache just do a little bit of the same exercises and it'll go away. At times the difficulty to swallow can also result in the in-comming cold and soar throat. Drink hot tea with lemon or an herbal tea--usually either one does wonders on sore muscles. A little bit of stretching in the morning helps to relieve the tension through out the body, just make sure not to over-do it. Take your time with every exercise and you'll see, you might even feel a lot better than ever before :)\n\nBest of luck and take care :)
552417
Odds are good you are under a lot of stress. Many people carry their tension in their upper shoulders and neck. I would suggest that you should see a chiropractor or massage therapist.
987613
try gently massaging your temples.  Also rotating your neck and circling your shoulders may help.
1091413
Depends if the bulging discs are causing pain and other symptoms.  60% of the population are walking around with bulging dicsc without any symptoms.  If you start to get pain, loss of control of your arm, arm weakness, numbness or tingling, then you have problems.\n\nAs a physical therapist who treats spine problems, I would say the most powerful technique is called the McKenzie Method.  If you go to www.mckenziemdt.org you can look up where your nearest therapist is.  They will teach you how to look after your neck symptoms yourself, and for the majority of the time, without using any equipment.  This technique is very well researched and works so much better than adjustments.  I'm not saying adjustments are bad, just that you can become reliant upon them.\n\nThe disc an bulge in different directions.  If I told you the exercises and you did the wrong/irrelevant ones, it would actually make you worse!  That is why it is important to get an evaulation to determine what is going on.\n\n\nIn the meantime, try and keep good posture.  Don't let your head stick out - try and keep your ear inline with your shoulder.  See your doctor and get a referal to a good physical therapist.
239530
Ugh!  I feel for you.\n\nAssuming you have no control over the height of the desk and chair, your only option is going to be to stretch your neck every so often.\n\nThe best neck stretches that I know of are the usual left-back-right-forward circle and turning your head to the left while looking as far to the left as you can, then repeating to the right side.  You can do the same looking up and trying to look at your shoulderblades and looking down and trying to look at your chin.  The reason for all the looking is that it actually makes your head go farther in that direction than simply turning your neck, thus stretching the muscles better.\n\nAlso, you can manually (by hand) massage your neck muscles and rotate your shoulders to releive tension in the neck.
972645
Disclaimer:  Do not perform these exercises unless cleared by an MD or PT.  Do not perform these exercises if they increase your pain or cause other symptoms to occur.\n\nPrayer stretch:\nKneel on your hands and knees.  Keeping your hands where they are, sit back on your heels (keep your head down).  You should feel this stretch along the mid back and the sides of the torso.  To concentrate on one side only, walk your hands over to the left and then the right.\n\nGenie stretch:\nSeated or standing, hold your arms out in front of you and grab your elbows with the opposite hands.  Gently pull as if pulling elbows apart.  You should feel this stretch across the mid back and shoulder blades.\n\nDoorway stretch:\nStand in an open doorway with your forearms against the frame.  Put one foot through the doorway and lean forward.  You should feel the stretch across the chest and shoulders.  To change this stretch, you can lower or raise the height of your arms.\n\nChair Rotation stretch:\nSeated in a chair with arms, turn your torso as if trying to see behind you.  You can put your hands on the arms or back of chair for overpressure.  You should feel this stretch on the sides of your torso.\n\nNeck stretch:\nPlace your right hand behind your head and bend your head to the left.  You can place your left hand on your head to apply GENTLE overpressure.  Also try this while looking down to the left.  Repeat to other side.  You should feel this stretch along the side and back of the neck.\n\nAll stretches should be performed 3-4 repetitions, 20-30 seconds, 2-3 times a day.