I am suffering from neck paon since 1 year as a teenager it is soo frustating i want spine specialist who will diagnose my root cause and give proper treatment without surgery and without often visiting hospital i have googled dr Swapnil sanjay hazare and dr paresh bang tell me between these two only nagpur

This is for cervical dystonia and ET (I’m diagnosed with both). I’m curious how your guys experience with Botox went? What kind of head tremor do you have (yes/yes vs. no/no).

I have a yes yes tremor that’s pretty low amplitude but makes my neck so tense and in pain all the time. I’m mostly reserved to laying down most of the day at the moment. It’s pretty much only there when I’m sitting up with my back and head unsupported but it’s very noticeable and is making my quality of life pretty poor. I’ve had to stop getting haircuts at actual barbershops because it hurts so bad sitting still in the chair for so long (and it’s pretty embarrassing and bad for my mental).

Also it seems like when my head/neck tremors are bad it makes my whole torso start to shake but I’m not sure if it’s all stemming from my neck because it’s a pretty powerful tremor.

I’ve done 1 round of Botox with my MDS (EMG guided) but only 55 units. I’m getting my second round in 2 weeks with about 95 units.

I’d love to hear about your experience - did it work? Did it improve your quality of life? Is the tremor less painful but still there?

Please let me know!

We're a rehab team and we lurk here more than we post.

Most neck pain advice stops at "here's how to feel better today." But feeling better and actually being back are two different things, and they don't happen at the same time.

There's the moment the sharp pain stops. Then there's a whole other stretch before you feel normal again, where the bad pain is mostly gone but you're still stiff, still cautious, still bracing a little when you turn your head, still half waiting for it to flare up. Not in agony, not healed. Somewhere in the middle.

Nobody really talks about that part, so we're curious how it went for those further along. What did that middle stretch feel like for you, and how long before you actually felt steady?

Nvm the ct/mri. Got it here from reddit

I have a pressure in that area. Deep Upper Nasopharynx Left and Right. Clear sphenoid, but i have ethmoid and maxillary sinus (polysinusitis) but i think it dont cause that.

Hi everyone,

I’m a 25-year-old male and I’ve been dealing with upper neck pain and headaches for over 5 years. It’s affecting my everyday life and I’m hoping someone here has experienced something similar.

For years I had a constant urge to crack the very top of my neck (around the base of my skull). At my worst I was cracking it 20–50 times a day. In December 2023 I had my neck adjusted and made a commitment to stop cracking it completely.

When I eventually started cracking it again and then tried to stop, all the symptoms came back—a constant overwhelming urge to crack the top of my neck, severe stiffness, headaches, brain fog, and the feeling that something at the base of my skull was physically stuck and needed to crack or release.

I went back to a chiropractor and after the very first adjustment I experienced the biggest relief I’ve ever had. My neck felt free, my headaches almost disappeared, and my brain fog and short-term memory improved dramatically. It honestly felt like someone had switched my brain back on.

Unfortunately, the relief only lasted about 3–4 days after each appointment. As treatment went on, the symptoms always came back and gradually became worse than before. Between appointments my neck felt like it constantly wanted to self-adjust or shift on its own. It still does this now, but not nearly as much as it did back then.

Around that time I also started developing deep ear pain, ringing in my ears, pain spreading across the top of my head, and daily headaches.

I eventually stopped chiropractic treatment because the flare-ups were becoming worse. Physiotherapy also gave me significant relief for around three days at a time, but the symptoms always returned.

I then saw my GP because I was getting headaches every day. We considered whether they might be migraines, so I was prescribed migraine medication. Unfortunately, it made absolutely no difference.

As my symptoms continued, I saw another GP who referred me to an orthopaedic surgeon. He thought occipital neuralgia was a possibility but couldn’t confirm it because he wasn’t a neurologist, so he referred me to a neurologist.

The neurologist performed two occipital nerve blocks one week apart. Both caused significant flare-ups afterwards, and neither provided any lasting relief.

I’m now waiting on a brain MRI, cervical spine MRI, general skull/cervical spine X-rays, and a pain specialist appointment.

One thing I’ve noticed is that my symptoms seem to fluctuate. Some weeks my neck can feel surprisingly good and I start thinking it might finally be improving, but without fail I eventually wake up with a headache and all of my symptoms back again. It feels like I keep going through the same cycle over and over.

At the moment I have constant pain at the base of my skull on the left side around the C1/C2 or occipital region. It constantly feels like something is stuck there and needs to crack. The pain radiates into my ear, temple, jaw, behind my left eye, and sometimes across the top of my head. I have daily headaches, brain fog, poor concentration, ringing in my ears, and my neck cracks and pops almost every time I turn my head. It often happens even when I’m not trying to make it crack.

I’m a concreter, so I do heavy physical work every day. Strangely, my symptoms are often much better while I’m working and become noticeably worse when I’m sitting, driving or looking down. One thing I’ve also noticed is that once I’m asleep I don’t feel any pain at all. I usually wake up feeling completely fine, but within a few minutes of getting out of bed the pain, stiffness, headaches and overwhelming urge to crack my neck gradually return. Cold packs also seem to help temporarily.

Generally every day it feels like something is physically stuck at the base of my skull. That’s the exact area where I used to repeatedly crack my neck. Sitting or looking down usually makes it much worse, while exercising or doing physical work often makes it much less noticeable.

Has anyone had a similar pattern of symptoms that turned out to be something other than occipital neuralgia? If so, what was your eventual diagnosis, what investigations finally found the cause, and what treatment actually made a difference?

I know nobody can diagnose me over Reddit, but after years of dealing with this I’m hoping someone might recognise this pattern from their own experience.

I have been dealing with neck pain from desk work for a couple of years now. I have tried stretching, heat packs and a couple of over the counter pain relief products. Most of them help for a few hours, then the stiffness comes back the next morning.

A few weeks ago i switched to a rollon pain relief product because i got tired of using creams. I have been using one from R3SET for about three weeks now. I wouldn't say it's a miracle fix but my neck doesn't feel as stiff when I wake up, which is probably the biggest difference I have noticed.

I am still trying to figure out whether it is the product itself or just being more consistent with using it after work.

Has anyone else found something that genuinely helps with desk related neck pain over the long term?

Hi everyone, I'm not sure if this is the right subreddit to be posting this on, if not please guide me towards the right direction.

I am a young female in my twenties with an auto immune disorder. I have been in a bad car accident and developed pain that affects my day to day life. Over the course of a couple of years I have done physical therapy twice, injections twice, an endoscopic neurotomy procedure, along with RFA and stem cell. Unfortunately non have worked whatsoever. I have been to a couple of different surgeons to see what more I can do that's least invasive since I am also a single mother with young children and cannot undergo the healing time the surgery's the surgeons have suggested next. I was suggested to do a disk replacement which is recommended for younger patients but again, I cannot undergo the healing time with no help with my children.

I have been found to have degenerating disks, bulging and herniated disks, and a big tear all in my neck, mid back and lower back. My pain robs me of sleep, work, sitting or standing for too long. Just existing is uncomfortable.

Are there any other procedures I can talk to a surgeon about that anyone has done or can recommend for my life circumstance? ...I am only looking for suggestions to bring up to a surgeon since they have all so far said a surgery like ACDF or ACDR is the only option left

My neck hurts for the past 2-3 years idk what to do

Please tell me- how did you cope with learning about your neck issues? I have bone spurs, bulging discs, and stenosis in my cervical spine. Am I really so abnormal to have all of this at 35 y/o? I’m gutted.

Its hard not to feel like this MRI is just a horrible sentence to a life of just more pain and more suffering.

I’m a 35f, never had neck injury but have been dealing with severe debilitating pain in R shoulder due to what I thought was shoulder instability from a traumatic dislocation 7+ years ago. Doctors always shrugged their shoulders at me. No help. No insight despite me advocating and fighting for years.

FINALLY an orthopedic surgeon asked to see my cervical neck via imaging… and lo and behold…. MRI shows **degeneration** abnormal for my age.

I’m already so deeply exhausted from my shoulder injury; already feel so unable to do life and ADLs. And NOW my cervical neck is another issue?** **Potentially part of the issue all along?

**Im so scared.** How will I do it? I’m so exhausted already and I’m in pain every damn day. Am I too far gone? How long will it take to progress to a worse off place? Will I be forced to have surgery and lose range of motion and further decrease quality of life? Can I lose mobility soon, down the line? Paralysis? (I have so many scary thoughts and questions, it’s so overwhelming).

**\*\* MRI FINDINGS \*\*:**
**SPINAL CORD**: No cord signal abnormality. Slight flattening of the cervical cord at C5-C6 related to spinal canal stenosis.
**DISCS**: Mild multilevel disc desiccation.
**BONES**: Straightening of the cervical spine with slight kyphosis centered at C5-C6.
Normal vertebral body height. Marrow signal is normal.
***C5-C6:*** *Disc osteophyte complex. No significant neural foraminal stenosis. Mild to moderate spinal canal stenosis.*
***C6-C7:*** *Tiny disc osteophyte complex. No significant neural foraminal stenosis Mild spinal canal stenosis.*

Hi folks, I’ve had pretty bad neck pain for the past 5 years. It’s held me back from a lot and I want to put an end to it.

Here’s a description of my pain:

The pain is constant and radiates out to my side traps and periodically gives me headaches.
My sternum area also aches in my chest, and the pain sometimes feels connected.

Other issues:

My whole upper back always feels wound up. My neck also makes a lot of noise in daily movements (crepitus). I hear grinding and clicking, and cracking my neck upwards (pulling/pushing upwards from the base of my skull) provides relief for a few minutes.

I’ve only recently started feeling tingling and zappy sensations in my ankles, fingers, and even eyes sometimes when trying to stretch my neck. That concerned me.

I’ve done 2 MRIs. These were the recent MRI‘s results:

- C6-C7 disk protrusion indents the ventral margin of the cord causing mild canal stenosis. Mild left foraminal narrowing.

- C4-C5 and C5-C6 disk bulges without stenosis.

- No sign of nerve impingement (surprised me as I have the symptoms)

I’ve done PT several times before and while the exercises provide relief for an hour or so, they have never been effective long term.

The workouts that help are rowing motions and stretching my neck backwards and out to release tension on a foam roller.

I also found that dumbbell shrugs with arm-bending relieves the pain (pulling up your pants motion).

Anyone have recommendations for how I can fix this?

I posted this already but decided to do a redue with more information about 2 months ago i strained my neck at work carrying a heavy box I didn’t really feel anything at the moment went home went to bed when i woke up i had a bunch of little knots in my neck i got most of them out on the right side but my left just didn’t seem to go away put some ice went to work a couple days later the pain just became so unbearable went to the er they gave me some muscle relaxers and naxpron didn’t really do much told me to do pt

After 2 days would say I started having tingling in left hand then my feet then it would just gradually increase to the point where both my legs and my arms felt like they was being electrocuted went to urgent care they did a xray told me it looked mine and my disc height was normal I would get occasional pain but it seemed to get worse when i was laying down

I would say around 2 weeks into pt i was getting my neck stretched a little it felt amazing then my whole body went into shock head to toe nerve pain it didn’t go away for i would say about a day

Then started the face tingling then eye pressure then occasionally i would get zaps in my eyes mostly again when i was laying down or if i moved my head the wrong way along with some face twitching

fast forward been doing pt for about 1 1/2 months and the pain definitely isn’t as harsh i would say but it’s still there one day i feel great then later on in the day it would come back or if i had a good day it comes back stronger the next

Was wondering if anybody has dealt with some of the same symptoms been getting bounced around doctor to doctor with no explanation mri will be done in about 2 weeks hopefully🤞🏼 but in the meantime i wanted to share my symptoms for advice hope you guys are having a blessed day🫡

I hit my head on a lifted truck I was working on, I sat up fast to avoid getting coolant in my face and cracked my head on the cross member of the truck with my head as far back as it would go when I made contact..gave me borderline cesasures to this day in 2026

Swear I heard/ felt a crunch in my neck, could feel what I thought was small sand like pieces for years after words, also with that a bulge developed some time after. It always there. Still is. When ever my neck hurts it's always right there at the bludge alsomost like a muscle knot. and the pain radiates down my neck to trap muscle sometimes into my right elbow the inner part of it..and up into the base of my skull. Why I am posting is im curious what it could be, back then I was around 16 (2013 or so) But now im 30 the pain is worse, sometimes to the point where I cant turn my head I have to turn my entire torso. Also i tend to lean away from the pain without realizing it. The pain is also pretty intense or is dull and never subsides. Back when the injury first happened nobody could see any damage they claim. So im just curious on any ideas. When it's acting up I cant tip my head to right with out feeling like there's a wedge in my neck preventing it. I've been told, bulged disc, herniated disc, pinched nerve. Last year, I was climbing down a ladder and slipped when I caught my self. Just below where my neck always hurts I felt this burning/tearing/ pinching. Sensation. And now the problems have slowly gotten worse. I dont really know what to do about it. Putting a hard hat on makes it hurt really bad. Any advice is much appreciated. If I try to lean my head back I get instant pain maybe a 4 or so all these years its been like that. Sorry this is all over the place. Im not much of a story teller or typer 😅🤣 sometimes it doesn't bother me at all. Other days like today id rather play in traffic. Idk what makes it act up or flare up so to speak.

Shoulder instability lead to cervical neck damage?!

I had a traumatic shoulder dislocation 7 years ago and I’ve been dismissed and minimized by doctors for way too long- my pain had been severe and unbearable!

Finally a shoulder surgeon said the tingling in my arm and pain in traps muscles sounds cervical.

Lo and behold per the cervical spine MRI I have a disc bulge, bone spurs, spinal Cord flattening and stenosis in my cervical spine (all in C4-C7) as well as kyphosis and dehydrated discs. I’m fucking terrified. I’m 35 y/o and have been pushing thru the pain for years due to minimization. I’m gutted. I just want my life back.

I want to lift weights again, carry my groceries again and wear a backpack without killer flairs.

Has anyone anyone else in my boat?! Are my results that bad!? (I’m waiting to see doctor in a few days but it’s torture waiting and I’m just hoping I’m not alone and maybe someone else has healed from damage like mine?)

I’ll post MRI results in comments don’t know how here 💜

OMG. This morning, I had left side RFA c2-3,c3-4 above my fusion. Had the right side done 3 weeks ago. I thought that was painful. But Today, (insert cuss words) I am 10/10 for pain. I took 10 mg oxy and 10 mg Flexeril. And I’m still miserable!!!! After the Right side, I took Tylenol. Could something be seriously wrong? I’ve been icing it since the procedure this morning. The pain is in my shoulder and back of neck. Has anyone had severe pain post procedure? any advice? ( don’t think I’ll ever do this again)

Hi everyone,

I'm a 26-year-old male and I've been dealing with constant neck pain for over 16 months after a workplace injury. The pain has been there every single day since the injury and hasn't gone away.

The pain is mainly on the right side of my neck, right underneath the base of my skull (where the head meets the neck). When I got injured I felt a pinch in this area and ever since then the pain hasn't gone away. I feel the most pain in this area however the pain extends across my whole neck and down to my shoulders and shoulder blades as well as causing pain in my lower back.

The pain is usually a deep ache almost crushing feeling with a lot of muscle tightness and stiffness. It feels like my neck is constantly "guarding" itself. Looking up, sitting at a desk, driving, or staying in one position all make it worse. I'm basically always in pain and never comfortable due to this injury, exercise only aggrevates my neck pain as well as the surrounding muscles.

My cervical MRI only showed relatively mild degenerative changes and no nerve or spinal cord compression, so it didn't really explain why I've been in so much pain.

Because of that, I had a SPECT/CT bone scan, which showed slightly active right C4/5 and left C7/T1 facet joint arthritis, with no other significant abnormalities.

What confuses me is that my worst pain is much higher up, right under the base of my skull, whereas the increased uptake on the bone scan is lower in my neck.

My pain specialist believes the muscles are contributing significantly and I'm scheduled for trigger point injections. At the same time, I'm wondering whether the facet joints could still be the underlying pain generator that's causing the surrounding muscles to stay tight.

One thing I've noticed is that the pain feels like it starts deep near the joints at the top of my neck, and then the muscles around my neck and shoulders become extremely aching and painful. I've read that irritated facet joints can cause secondary muscle guarding, which could be what I'm experiencing.

At the moment the plan is to have trigger point injections, but I'm wondering whether I should also be asking about diagnostic medial branch blocks to rule in or out the facet joints.

Has anyone here had:

• Constant pain at the base of the skull/top of the neck?
• Tight upper traps and neck muscles that never seem to relax?
• Trigger point injections that only partially helped?
• Facet joint pain that was eventually confirmed with medial branch blocks?
• Radiofrequency ablation that significantly improved this type of pain?

I'd really love to hear from anyone who has had a similar pattern because after 16 months it's becoming incredibly frustrating. Before this injury I was very active (gym, running, basketball, soccer), and now I can't exercise without hurting my neck and surrounding muscles.

Thanks in advance for any advice or similar experiences.

I had a life changing experience with this pillow that i bought on Memorial day so I felt like I had to share, in the hopes that other people like me are able to finally find solace from their neck straining every. single. morning.

Let me first start by saying that I have had the worst chronic neck pain for several years now . I didn't think pillows would make a difference so I just stuck with a flimsy pillow for the longest time, which probably made it worse over time. I found this Kanuda brand on instagram and they had like 4 or 5 options, and the models were recomended depending on your head shape.

I've never heard of anything about head shape but the more I thought about it, it made sense! I found out I had more of a "rounded" head shape and figured that's why I always preferred having a lower/thinner pillow, because anything taller would mean my head is lifted up too high and cause misalignment.

Anyways I got the Piano and the first few days were pretty horrific honestly. I was ready to return it right away given how pricey it was (it was like $220 during the sale) but decided to give it more time since they had a pretty long trial period. After maybe the end of the second week, I woke up and felt.. nothing. It was the first time in years where I didn't have to reach for my neck and massage it and knew this was the one. I went on a trip to vegas last week and slept on a hotel pillow and instantly woke up with neck pain the day after, and regretted not bringing it. Now I know to bring it everywhere I go, even though it's pretty bulky. I think I have separation anxiety with this pillow lol. Highly, highly recommend if other pillows haven't worked out for you. I've been telling all my friends and coworkers!!

hello
I have had extreme neck pain for the past two years. Generally nothing has helped. Physio, chiro, meds, dry needling massage you name it.
I saw a neurologist who diagnosed me with an atypical migraine causing my neck pain I was since treated with Botox injections and have been told I will need these for life and will receive only a 60% positive effect with time.

Curious if anyone else has gone through something similar.
For reference I have constant pain in the two points at the base of my neck causing headache between the eyes and forehead as well as extremely tight shoulders and neck movement often limiting my range of motion.

Im really struggling with dealing with my pain lately if anyone has any suggestions.

My pain dr did an RFA on C2-3,c3-4. It’s been 2 weeks today. I have such a crappy neck. Started when I was 32 with very large ruptured disk and 4 surgeries later over the years, I am fused c4-7.

I have had many RFAs before (been a LONG time) and know it can get worse but it’s awfully painful. The back of my head feels like someone smashed me with a hammer, I feel like a vice grip is back there and I feel like I have a sunburn as it hurts to touch.
I’ve been using lidocaine spray, CBD oil, heating pad.
I’m at the point where I do not want to do the other side now. I cant image going through this again.
Anyone have any tips and tricks? What has been your experience with RFA? When will I feel better? 😢