Re: Ended up in ER last nigght
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: High Binder</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ArcticLight</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Who's a doc here?
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UKDSlayer. She's very helpful and knowledgeable.
I was hit by a drunk 13yrs ago and now I get the same thing you have every-once in a while and I just take ibuprofen and T3s and suffer for a few days. Mine shoots up into the base of my skull and makes my vision blur/narrow with the pain. I find that cracking my neck when it gets stiff throughout the day seems to prevent it but one night of sleeping wrong and I'll be out of commission for days.</div></div>
Thanks for the complement but in this territory fx77 is the expert and my expertise and advice here in neck & back is as the patient, not a doc.
I personally had some not-so-great experience with chiro-s after a neck injury, that was my experience and I'll leave it at that. 95+% of acute musculoskeletal injuries will resolve in a few weeks at most months; although there is a possibility you may have a herniated disc/bulge, imaging this early is discouraged unless there are neurological symptoms (tingling or weakness in arms & hands). I had a herniated disc at C7 treated conservatively (thank God) with deep tissue massage, heat, NSAIDs, muscle relaxers & PT, and some facet blocks (injectiosn with steroids). Took patience, but the way to go. If pain is at a 9/10 following an acute event, the generic algorithm in absence of neurological symptoms is: NSAIDs (motrin, aleve, Mobic etc.), a muscle relaxer, a short-term pain medication, and PT (physcial therapy); the good ones educate you on how to do your PT at home without making you come in just for them to watch you do your exercises 3x/week. (Accupuncture beneficial to some too). There are much better muscle relaxers than benzodiazepines, most physical med & rehab or pain docs really discourage use of benzo's as relaxers. The reason you were given Vicodin is simple: if you don't treat that 9/10 pain quickly and it persists, you can develop a chronic pain nerve pathway - a horrible difficult-to-treat pain that persists even after the original cause of the pain or pathology has resolved. For most, this is only needed for a few days if that, but because the long-term consequences of a chronic pain pathway are so severe, just about any ER or primary care doc will prescribe some pain medicine, again short term,in this setting for this reason. (For you military guys, this is actually why some medics are allowed to have controlled substances in theatre; some of the best research in pain management unfortunately came out of recent combat medicine.) Very, very important to do the right physical therapy, and continue it to strengthen those affected muscles (especially given martial art hobby). There are actually some very good you-tube videos on how to do PT exercises for your neck, but its best to utilize these only AFTER you have seen a doc and been told what your problem likely is. Your progress mentioned above is typical for an acute musculoskeletal event; if that pain recurs - don't do that and see a doc with knowledge in the field.
Please take those Motrin with food - bleeding gastritis can sneak up on you suddenly and a shocking number of people die every year from GI bleeding from OTC NSAIDS. Stop immediately if any stomach discomfort or blackened stool occur.
I still get spasms (knots) along my trapezius/upper back muscles now & then, found that placing very heavy pressure on the knot with slight roll over it using a tennis ball in a sock against a wall is very useful to break up those knots (deep breathe and yes its hurts) gets those knots out in a day or two, just drink lots of water after to get rid of the lactic acid.
