Does anyone else have neck aches since diagnosis?
I'm speaking about the top vertebrates in the back of my neck. Dr. says RA doesn't affect spine but mine feels swollen. It's warm to touch and I can't rotate my neck easily. Anyone have an answer? The pain is making me not sleep. I look forward to a response?
Hi FridaFrida! I am sorry you are dealing with neck pain. While I do not want to contradict your physician, I know that many of our members have dealt with RA-related neck pain. You can read more about it here -- https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/ra-can-real-pain-neck/comment-page-1/#comments (check out the numerous comments following the article to see how many people have experience with this!). Here is a little information about how RA can affect the spine and neck -- https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/symptoms/cervical-spine-pain-and-stiffness/. Also, one of our contributors has written about her neck pain and the recent surgery she had due to the pain and damage to her neck. You can read one of her pieces here -- https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/big-pain-neck/. It definitely is a real symptom and should be treated as such. I hope this information is helpful for you and you get some relief from the pain! Best, Erin, RheumatoidArthritis.net Team Member.
I am constantly having pain in my neck and shoulders. I can only turn my head left and right a small amount not the normal. I recently got x-rays and this is what they said;
Moderate posterior spurring at C3-4, mild at C4-5 and C5-6, Moderate-severe facet arthrosis at C2-3 and C3-4
Moderate-severe upper-mid cervical spondylosis.
Now I don't know what all that means but I know it hurts and sometimes its hard to drive due to limited turn radius of my head? If that makes any sense.
OH boy, I don’t know if I have enough time to regale you with all the adventures of my neck issues. About 15 years ago I was told I had spinal compression fractures that had deformed my spine, which affected my neck. Then about 12 years ago my ankle started curling under and making me walk crooked. Well, apparently, your eyes always seek to be level so that meant my neck had to be crooked to keep them level since my body was slanted. You can imagine what 12 years of a slanted neck PLUS RA damage can do to a body. I finally had to get cortisone shots and nerve blocks in my neck and shoulder muscles. Now, I finally had the surgery to correct my ankle and my doc is almost back to straight so, well…. here we go again! You are not alone. Keep on keepin’ on, DPM
