Had My Neck Cracked - Reassurance Needed Pls!

[BKF1515]

Hi, as some of you know, I have been plagued with a headache for months. After physical therapy, acupuncture, massage therapy, an MRI and an x-ray, my GP finally sent me last week to a manual physical therapist (a full doctor) specialized in back and neck problems. On the second visit, he convinced me that my neck needed cracking (a facet joint problem between the C2 and C3), and I finally gave in and let him do it.

It seemed to work. After months of pain radiating up from the left side of the top of my neck into my head, the pressure seemed to subside and I was blessed with a feeling of nothingness. The last two days were the same: no pain, no soreness, just a little tired and not full of energy.

Then today, after 48 hours, I woke up and have a little soreness in my upper back side of my neck and a feeling of pressure and heaviness in my head and body. No pain, just a feeling of extreme heaviness. Has anyone ever experienced this? My husband keeps telling me to give it time, but this extreme heaviness, combined with a feeling of anxiety, is making me feel awful and I am worrying myself into a spiral. Any advice really welcome!

[BKF1515]

Anyone, please.... I am hanging my a thread here. Feels like I have a flu-like heavy feeling which I know is coming from my neck/head. Do you think it could just be delayed soreness coming from the crack of 48 hours before?

[PanchoGoz]

Perhaps ask your doctor? it could be a common side effect.

[oldtime]

Could be the released nerve being a bit sensitive.

[snowgoose]

hello

yes I have had this awful feeling too. I cant diagnose of course over net nor should I .....best to see doctor honest for peace of mind

but mine was related to neck muscle tension and tightening .and it went eventually after about two weeks .............went to gp though who reassured me . this happened after a hair appointment which I was extremely anxious about and panicking ..........washing my hair backwords plus panic plus tense equalled the symptoms.
xxxxx

[BKF1515]

Thanks for your replies! Yes, on Friday my doctor said to expect anything - laughing, crying, tenderness, etc. But I didn't feel anything for 48 hours so that delayed aspect is scaring me.... Don\t know why, but everyone knows that H/A is a funny beast like that. Snowgoose, thanks for sharing your experience - that is what makes me feel better: hearing from those who are close to the subject or have good intuition about symptoms.... I know we shouldn't diagnose over the net, but I have been talked down from a H/A ledge many a time by someone who told me they knew what my symptoms indicated. Yes, I guess this thing could be the muscles, I just haven't felt exactly this way before and it's scaring me. This very heavy, hazy feeling at the base of my head.... I guess I should give it time but I am extremely impatient when my anxiety kicks in.

[daybyday]

I have used a chiropractor for many years. The after soreness can be common for some. My husband will ache a bit the next day.
Glad you have found some relief. Many of those nerves that come off the spine, get pinched and inpede a proper flow to areas, causes many symptoms.
Talk to your chiropractor and have him explain how all the nerves affect our body. I'm sure they will be more than glad to help you understand.

[iamspartacus]

you know that anxiety on its own can cause neck tension and headaches. I too have this problem plus a long standing back issue for which i see an osteopath. if i lift anything awkward, i get muscle spasms in my mid back which im then convinced is a slipped disc, even thought there is no pain, just tension. I would have thought though that if you had just had a spinal manipulation, that this soreness would be a natural consequence of the treatment, and will fade in time.

[BKF1515]

I had an awful evening and night last night and I feel like I can't differentiate between my physical symptoms and anxiety anymore. I have lingering pressure and a bit of pain in my head and I feel hopeless, like this is never going to go away. I spent two days after having my neck cracked thinking everything was solved and now I feel the tension creeping back in. My eyesight is whitish hazy so I feel like my head problems are affecting my vision. I feel sick to my stomach so I have no appetite. I feel like I have no desire to do anything and I have so much to do at the moment. I feel like I am losing my grip on my sanity. I have not been this bad in three years and I feel like I'm slowly falling back into the anxiety - daily panic attacks, sleepless nights, etc. and I have not been this bad in a few years.

[BKF1515]

Still not feeling well at all - have to stop myself from despairing over this pain that I feel will never go away. When will my days and nights be normal again?? These neck head problems can really plague you and become larger than life. I went to a massage therapist today who told me to be patient and that I have to give it time - also to try to work again or do other things to distract me from my pain/problem. This is just so hard.