Arthritis?

kitty4me · ‎03-21-2010

I have Arthritis in my Neck. It hurts to turn Head or look down. I have been putting heat on it on hopes it will get better. My medication has expired since it don't flare up much. It has been painful since yesterday. Would cold work better?

pattypeep · ‎06-06-2011

My massage therapist helps a great deal with the arthritis in my neck. Also, an anti-inflammatory is a blessing. You might also want to review what kind of pillow you sleep on. I used to "stack" pillows and woke up every morning in pain. A couple of years ago I bought one of those kind that are sloped to cradle your neck. It is foam and $20 at Costco. It took a few nights getting used to sleeping "flatter", but made a huge difference.

Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea-Robert A. Heinlein

hckynut · ‎03-10-2010

On 5/13/2014 Katey1261 said:
I have Arthritis in my Neck. It hurts to turn Head or look down. I have been putting heat on it on hopes it will get better. My medication has expired since it don't flare up much. It has been painful since yesterday. Would cold work better?

Has arthritis been diagnosed by your doctor? Many times neck pain can be that a nerve was compromise, even for a second, and the residual pain can last for weeks. You can never go wrong with ICE, but it works best if used at the first onset of pain. Heat at some point brings more blood to the healing area and so that too is good. Many therapists suggest "heat/ice/heat/ice", but not during the initial stages of an injury.

You don't mention the type of "medication that has expired", so are you saying you have been prescribed a pain killer or a muscle relaxant for this pain? If it is in the Opiate field most doctors don't give "refills" to very many patients unless they have a severe and visual diagnosis of the exact problem.

I've had 3 crushed vertebrae in my neck since the 1970's and I have dealt with a lot of issue at times because of it. I have 2 Orthopedic Doctor friends, one of which is a Spinal Specialist. Both of them said it could do more harm than good to do any invasive procedure to my neck at this point in time.

What I have done for it over the years and presently is to make sure I have full "range of motion in my neck(as much as possible with this type of issue)", and also worked on strengthening all of the supportive cervical area muscle groups. Also found just the right pillow for myself and that too helps me.

I do not take any anti-inflammatory meds(aspirin/advil/aleve) or any in the Opiate or NSAID fields. Had about 130 blood transfusions since 2008 and no way I am going to risk my colon bleeding again because of a "pain in my neck".

Wish you well with this and you might consider doing what you are able with the "range of motion" things as they help many people suffering from some type of cervical pain.

hckynut(john)

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

A cold pack might be better. Don't put heat on something that is already inflamed. One thing you might try is Aspercreme. I'd say I get about a 30% relief in pain when I use it, so it's definitely worth a try.

Aspercreme comes in a yellow box and is unscented. It's cheapest at Walmart.

kitty4me · ‎03-21-2010

I do have Arthritis in the Neck. The Doctor ran an x-ray on my Neck and found it. If it wasn't for that I would have not known. I will try some of the suggestions from here. Thank you all.

I was given Cyclobenzaprine 10mg.

NanaS · ‎04-21-2010

Try the JOINT FORMULA 88 cream that is available at QVC....it really works ! I have arthritis in my lower back, knee and hands and I can tell you I use this cream all the time and it relieves the pain instantly for me. I also use heat at times and I have an infra red heat therapy that I use.