pinched nerve back of neck?

[Natasha006]

Has anyone ever suffered from this. I dont know if thats what Ihave but for months iI have been suffering from severe neck pain. Right on the back where my spine meets the cranium

Its painful causes vertigo nausea. Tension. When I massage it I feel a little bit of releief.
I am so sick of feeling this way. The doctor said its prob just a strain...nothing to worry about. But they didn't send me for any type of xray or ultrasound. I can't sleep at night becauseiit causes so much pressure in my head that I feel like it's a tumour or a brain aneurysm.
My head feels hot sometimes on the inside.
I had a ct and a brain scan two Yeats ago and an MRI brain last year. Both clear. But this neck pain started three or four months ago. Its ongoing and consostsnto..
I get weird sensations from it and I'm severely worried its making me crazy or that iIhave a deadly disease

Can I pinched Nerve in the back of the next cause this many issues.
The nausea the vertigo the dizziness. Pain when and tension looking left or right
Acid reflux
..
I'm really scared.

[Emilym80]

Hi there,

I've been having some issues with nerve irritation/pinching for a while now.

They can definitely cause vertigo/dizziness. The tension is probably muscular, which is causing or exacerbating the nerve irritation. If it's your vagus nerve that's trapped, it could cause nausea.

I don't know if it could cause reflux, but if you happened to have reflux, it could stimulate the vagus nerve and that could be causing your nausea.

I'm not a doctor, so I'm only guessing, but if your gp has told you not to worry then you should follow their advice. You should also see a physio, as they'll be able to tell you whether or not it's likely to be a pinched nerve and, if it is, they can give you exercises to alleviate the tension/irritation in your neck.

All the best :)

[Daniele_T]

3 years ago I had a bit of traumatic time in my life.
I got shooting pains in my chest and left arem

a quick trip tyo A&E and was checked out fine..apart from a suspected blood clot on my lung.

Anyways, to cut it short I had a trapped nerve in my neck (not coincidentally with the traumatic time)


I still have it now on and off and it is made far worse with anxiety, it also sometimes causes anxiety too.

They go hand in hand and it is extremely common to get trapped nerves with anxiety.

[Davit]

I have a deteriorating Odontoid, this is the pin your head rotates on. It has caused a pinched nerve that is not only painful but leaves my skin feeling tight. Massage helps as does Red Feather pain spray. It is not going away but some days the nerve doesn't pinch and it is okay. As far as I know nothing can be done for it. I was given morphine but if I use it I sleep.

[Libra]

Do you get any dizziness with that ?

[Daniele_T]

You will get dizziness with all nerve issues in the neck and those which affect the neck...because a trapped nerve in the neck pulls on the shoulder, chest, arms, ribs...it is reasonable to know that those muscles also can pull on the neck.

Physiotherapists and medical professionals refer to nerves in the neck as neuro!

They will take great care and be very gentle with nerves or damage in the neck area because yes....it can cause dizziness, problems with balance or vision etc.

Dizziness is a very common symptom of anxiety and I get it in some form every day.

[Libra]

Thank you Daniele T , that's helpful info.

[Daniele_T]

You're very welcome...

I know that with any symptom we always have the 'what if...?' thoughts.

I certainly do and thought that I'd add, I dont have to be in pain to feel dizzy or light headed.
Because I've lived with it for quite some time now I do realise that on days when i've been anxious or just sat wrong then I can get dizzy spells later at a time when i'm relaxed..or at least think I am.

Sadly our bodies are far more complex than we like to give them credit..I always liked to believe that they were machine like and that symptoms would have other immediate causes or signs of what caused them...this really isnt the case.

I wouldn't discourage you from getting any light headedness checked out by a medical professional but, as said, with anxiety it is a very common symptom and if you've had clear ecgs then it is very very likely a trapped nerve or two thats doing it.

I used to wonder about brain tumours and what not but apart from the rarity of such illnesses, especially in young people and young adults, there would be other symptoms over the time I've had my problems.

Take care Libra

[Natasha006]

Thank u so much for all your help and your comments and insight. It helps knowing that other ppl also experience this as well. Doesn't help that I have anxiety though. I guess its all related. I feel like I have way too many symptoms about way too many things so your right could be anxiety. But I dont feel like my neck or nerves are getting better. Going for massages doesn't help.

Another thing I noticed and this is probably completely off topic is.... When I go and have a bowel movement instantly afterwards I am nauseous. I feel like my heart is racing a thousand times a minute. My sternum feels like it's filling with air and I have a hard time breathijg.
I'm really feeling like something is wrong. Maybe I am suffering a heart attack... Maybe my blood pressure sky rockets. But my sternum literally feel a like its heavy and someone is sitting on MW
... And I noticed it right after a bowel movement. I'm sitting down now and feel a slight burning sensation on my throat too. . . this is scary now.

[Natasha006]

Now I have this new burning sensation at the back of my neck like where my spine meets my skull ... It burns and also my shoulders feel like they are burning too and my temples and teeth hurt

I honestly doubt that all these sensations are caused from a pinched nerve. And I'm on vacation so I'm freaking out thinking I have a tumour or meningitis. Or an aneurysm.

[Daniele_T]

It is possible that a lot of what you're getting is anxiety and posture related.
Also symptoms come and go and change a lot...I had terrible stomach acid a few months ago with panic...that's gone and now it's all muscle aches..sometimes it's dizziness..sometimes it's palpitations..sometimes it's a combination of the lot and more.

When you have a bowel movement take note of your shoulder position..are you leaning forward? Are your shoulders hunched up and tense? Are you forcing it a little more than would be normal?

Try to relax as much and often as you can and allow your shoulders to be dropped and relaxed.
The saying keep your chin up is pretty profound...try to imagine a string is pulling your head up from the top and centre point of your skull.
Keep your shoulders relaxed whilst thinking on this and try to maintain that as often as you can through the day.

Again don't strain and just relax with it.

Give that a go and it'll do far more than any physio.


The thing I always ask myself is..if I went to a doctor and explained my symptoms, just which ones would I mention? It's impossible to have so many and still be functioning day after day and week after week and then they go away and come back...often at times when I've got a lot on.

Best wishes Natasha

[Natasha006]

Thank you so much Daniele for sending me that response. I feel that way all the time. I never know what symptom to explain to my doctor. Do I talk about my head pressure.. or my stomach pain, or chest fullness. Its always something new. Nothing relates and its always scary. I wish that I could control the stress/anxiety where I can actually enjoy each day instead of worrying that something will happen. Its really scary. but I am going to try and defeat the fear so that I dont have to live with it.

I am guessing its my posture..and im hoping that i can solve this soon

Again thank you for your reply. It meant alot to read something thats very close to what im going through.. in fact as im writing this message i have extreme head pressure so naturally im worried about an anuerysm.
hope its not the case

thanks again

Nat

[Emilym80]

Hi there,

I agree totally with Daniele- burning sensations are pretty typical in nerve pain. I have issues with my posture at the moment and sometimes I have extreme burning across my shoulders- at others, my neck feels cold. I get tingling and sharp pain, too, with headaches.

Try and be more mindful of your posture and see if that gives you any respite (don't let yourself slouch, etc). It might feel worse at first. Also, massages may not relieve the symptoms because whoever's doing the massage probably won't know exactly what's wrong and how to alleviate your symptoms if it's something more complex like nerve irritation.

Take care :)

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi there,

I agree totally with Daniele- burning sensations are pretty typical in nerve pain.

Same here, I've had plenty of nerve inflammations over the years from traumas and they all feel like a strange burning or pins & needles type of feeling but with pain. There is also a loss of sensation and I found it was like when you touch your foot when the pins & needles have jusy hit and it doesn't quite feel like how it normally feels when you touch your skin, its like its slightly numb and you feel it a little deeper but not deep enough for it to feel like muscular. If it travels, as well hence its unlikely to be muscular, its often a sign of it.

[Natasha006]

Thanks everyone for posting. I just keep getting weird feelings. I dont know. I feel like even when I am not anxious i feel ill.
my neck does hurt when i move it from side to side but i feel like maybe it could be a pinched nerve mixed with something else possibly?
for example i was just sitting watching tv, and i started having heart palpitations.. im not even sure that i would call it that
basically i feel like i drank three cups of coffee without having any caffiene whatsoever. no i feel like maybe im having the beginning symptoms of a heart attack in females.. im afriad to close my eyes in case i dont wake, up
ive heard stories of girls my age falling asleep and they are healthy and their heart just stops. im worried.
i dont know.. ahh.. i feel like such an idiot and a basket case.