Lads I'm looking for some reassurance, advice, whatever, over this long term neck problem I've had. 5 months ago I woke up in the middle of the night with a very strong dull ache on the right side of my neck. It was this constant, dull, overwhelming ache and an inability to turn my head properly without stiffness and pain. It worried me enough to get to A&E where they did an ECG and told me to fuck off and take ibuprofen.
For 2-4 weeks I dealt with that pain and immobility, taking lots of painkillers. The GP run blood tests, did some cranial pressure thing, said it was likely muscular.
After around a month or two, I started to get intermittent headaches, and headache like shooting pains in my temples, behind my eyes, ears, back of head. These happen quite randomly and are frightening.
My neck/trap area (circled) still feels tight and stiff, but it's the mirror opposite side now that feels like that. My right side feels fine. I still often get these headache symptoms. The maximum pain I felt was during those first few weeks, thankfully that didn't last long.
I'm a hypochondriac, so I paid for an MRI around 4 months in, it's findings:
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At C3/C4 level, there is a small right paracentral disc protrusion with mild right neural foraminal narrowing
affecting the exiting C4 nerve root. No central stenosis is present.
The remaining neural foramina are patent throughout.
The facet joints appear unremarkable.
No central stenosis in spinal canal. No other neural impingement or significant disc herniation.
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I was advised to see a physiotherapist, which I have been, but nothing is really changing, although it's not getting worse.
I went to the dentist recently due to jaw pain on the left side, after an X ray he said I'm just clenching my jaw.
I don't have any obvious red flags symptoms like weight loss etc. I've seen quite a few professionals regarding this, and none seem worried.
My problem however is I feel this is severely impacting my mental health . For some reason, despite this MRI and re assurance, I can't help but worry I need a brain MRi, or that this is some kind of hidden illness I am dealing with like cancer. I've never had an injury like this, and certainly not from fucking sleeping. I'm looking for some re assurance I suppose that this isn't a big deal, because it's really impacting my life. I've been offered amitriptyline and have declined. I used to be on SSRIs and they did wonders for my anxiety but brought other kinds of issues.
With respect mate it sounds like you want to be ill.
The most I can offer you is to check your room for drafts - I used to get horrendously stiff neck and shoulder pains largely because they were exposed to a cold chill nightly for weeks. All I could do to ease the pain was stretch. A few days after I turned on my heating it fixed itself.
I’m sorry you’ve been dealing with this for so long—it sounds exhausting, both physically and emotionally. Let’s break this down to address your concerns and provide reassurance where possible:
Reassurance About Your Physical Health
MRI Findings
The disc protrusion at C3/C4 is small and only causing mild narrowing of the neural foramen (the space where the nerve exits). This is not uncommon and often correlates with localized neck pain, stiffness, or occasional nerve irritation (like shooting pains).
Importantly:
No central stenosis: Your spinal canal (where the spinal cord sits) is uncompressed, so there’s no risk of spinal cord injury.
No other significant issues: The rest of your spine, facet joints, and discs are normal. This is not a structural "emergency" (e.g., cancer, infection, or severe nerve damage), which aligns with your doctors’ lack of concern.
Headaches and Shooting Pains
These are likely referred pain from neck muscles, nerves, or the jaw. Cervicogenic headaches (originating from the neck) often feel like temple/eye/ear pain. Jaw clenching (bruxism) can also refer pain to the head, neck, and even mimic sinus issues. This explains why your dentist noted clenching—it’s a common stress-related habit that exacerbates neck tension.
Why Symptoms Shifted Sides
Muscular issues often “mirror” as your body compensates for stiffness. If your right side improved, your left side may now be overworking, creating new tightness. This is typical in chronic muscle tension.
Addressing Health Anxiety
The Brain MRI Question
There’s no medical indication for a brain MRI here. Symptoms like yours (localized neck pain, headaches, jaw issues) don’t align with brain pathology (e.g., tumors, strokes). Red flags for brain issues would include seizures, progressive weakness, vision changes, or cognitive decline—none of which you’ve mentioned.
Cancer Fear
Cancer-related pain does not improve on its own or stay stable for months. It typically worsens progressively, accompanied by systemic symptoms (weight loss, night sweats, fatigue). You’ve had no red flags, and your MRI ruled out spinal tumors.
Practical Next Steps
Physiotherapy
If progress is slow, ask your physio to reassess their approach. Focus on:
Postural retraining (neck/shoulder alignment).
Strengthening deep neck flexors (critical for stability).
Soft tissue work for tight traps/jaw muscles.
Consider adding dry needling or acupuncture for muscle tension.
Jaw Clenching
Ask your dentist about a night guard to reduce strain.
Practice relaxing your jaw during the day (lips together, teeth apart).
Massage your masseter muscles (cheek area) gently.
Pain Management
Amitriptyline: Reconsider this. At low doses (10-30mg), it’s often used for nerve pain, headaches, and sleep/anxiety. Unlike SSRIs, it’s not activating and can break the pain-anxiety cycle.
Alternatives: Magnesium glycinate (muscle relaxation) or CBD oil (if legal in your area).
Mental Health Support
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Specifically for health anxiety. It helps challenge catastrophic thoughts (e.g., “This pain means cancer”) and builds coping strategies.
Mindfulness/Relaxation: Apps like Headspace or Calm can reduce muscle tension from stress.
Final Thoughts
This is not a hidden catastrophic illness. Your symptoms align with a mix of musculoskeletal strain, nerve irritation, and stress-related clenching—all treatable with time and targeted care. The hardest part is often the anxiety loop: pain → fear → muscle tension → more pain. Breaking this cycle requires patience and a dual focus on physical rehab and mental calm. You’ve already ruled out serious causes—now it’s about trusting that process and giving your body time to heal.
You’re not alone in this. Many people recover fully from similar issues once the pain-anxiety spiral is managed. Be kind to yourself, and keep advocating for your health without letting fear drive the narrative.
I know it sounds dumb, but I genuinely do have a lot of pain and stiffness in my neck, along with those fleeting headaches. I haven't googled / used LLMs out of fear it will return something nasty, but I've really tried everything else, from massages, osteopaths, physios, etc. This is something I very much want to move on from.
I still think the underlying cause is stress, and that you have created a feed back loop. Where because of one thing you make another thing worse which makes another thing worse.
The only alternative I have and it will sound ridiculous is a 48 hour fast. Not for any of the usual magical healing properties people claim but I found after 48 hours for some reason I had the best most satisfying sleep of my life. I hadn't slept that well in decades. It was a sleep of total relaxation. When I say fast still drink water and electrolytes. Try it for a couple of nights and let me know what happens.
>>6318 Dumping a shitload of info with no context, no idea if it's helpful and no human imput is a stupid waste of time and space. You need to get your head out of your arse before you speak to me again.
My biggest bugbear with it, is I've already had people say to me 'but the AI says this' and the AI can only be as smart as the general consensus on a topic, (Even if the current consensus is wrong). It will represent the end of critical thinking, as people like the cunt above start increasing in numberputting the AI on a pedestal and will dismiss anyone else's free though that doesn't agree with the AI. We will no longer be able to advance as a society because original ideas will be dismissed before they are fully formed and explored.
The placebo effect works in reverse too you know lad. If all you think about is how unwell you are, you will actually make yourself unwell. As far as I can see that's all that's going on.
The doctors have basically said nothing's up with you, so in all likelihood, there's nothing up with you. Your prescription from the .gs Medical Practice is a peaceful holiday somewhere warm and to stop thinking about how unwell you are.
>>6326 >The placebo effect works in reverse too you know lad.
Going to have to challenge you there my friend. The nocebo effect has never been objectively proven and is instead accepted upon faith. The evidence in favour of it tends to amount to subjective reporting which is prone to various forms of biases, biases that the skeptical community wouldn't accept from alternative drugs practitioners trying to prove the misaligned chakra effect or the imbalance of Chi energy effect.
With respect that's a slightly different thing, as I understand it.
You can't placebo yourself sober from being drunk, same way you can't placebo your way out of a brain tumour or terminal cancer. But you can placebo yourself into thinking you've had painkillers or mood stabilisers. It can alleviate symptoms but not cure the disease. It's often misunderstood but the placebo is your brain thinking it's being affected by something that it's empirically not, whether that be drugs or your grandma's special soup or a voodoo witchdoctor potion, or whatever our cultural equivalent has been through the ages.
So it's perfectly possible to have "placebo" illness. It's the same effect working in the opposite direction, if you will. Not the opposite concept entirely. Just how far that has to go before we classify it entirely as a psychosomatic disorder in and of itself is a matter of semantics for post-grad wankers who have never done a day's real work.
Placebo and nocebo only really apply to psychological symptoms and the perception of symptoms, but they're very real effects. We have a reasonable body of evidence to suggest that people tend to deteriorate when stuck on a waiting list, compared to people who were referred back to their GP for treatment as usual or prescribed sugar pills. It might be that people on a waiting list feel ignored or devalued, but it might be the case that being on a waiting list increases the salience of your troubling symptoms.
About 1 in 20 people who are given a placebo in a drug trial will drop out due to side-effects. The sugar pill almost certainly didn't cause the troubling symptoms, but at the very least people attribute random symptoms to the sugar pill and it's plausible that the belief that they're taking a drugs with a risk of side-effects caused them to pay more attention to minor aches or strange sensation.
I've started getting the exact same pain in the exact same location, after waking in and spending the day in a cold flat (I think the heating malfunctioned). It's been about 3 days now. Strange.
Lads I am really falling apart here. I have OCD, which is a factor in all this I guess. I've always been very "proactive" with my health, but this is something else. I've seen physiotherapists, osteopaths, massage specialists, GPS, qn ENT, a spinal specialist. All of them told me "dunno mate but you're fine". But I'm not fine, my left arm /hand is getting steadily more numb and tingling and my neck aches/stiffness hasn't improved at all. What the fuck is happening to me? I'm so pathetic. I'm worrying my family, I'm spending thousands of pounds, I'm jeopardizing my job. All I want is someone to tell me it's going to be fine, and that here, THIS is the cause of your problem, and no, your arm numbness isn't you worsening and dangerous, or a sign of impending paralysis. What do I do? I'm at the stage where I'm posting my scans here, in the pathetic attempt someone here with any knowledge can look at them and offer re assurance. I'm so sorry lads, I know it's so boring to have this thread bumped again, and irritating to see someone you are sure is healthy, go through this.
I was told I have"
"At C3/C4 level, there is a small right paracentral disc protrusion with mild right neural foraminal narrowing
affecting the exiting C4 nerve root. No central stenosis is present.
The remaining neural foramina are patent throughout.
The facet joints appear unremarkable.
No central stenosis in spinal canal. No other neural impingement or significant disc herniatio"
My question is, can this even cause left side issues?
>>6331 Do you do much cycling? I know a guy who gave up cycling to work because his left hand kept going numb, and my left hand goes numb sometimes too. As far as I'm concerned, it's just something that happens sometimes. Are there times when your left hand isn't numb? Because if the numbness comes and goes, that is a good sign.
If you really want someone to point you to a page in the medical textbook that gives a perfect explanation for all of your symptoms, then I'm afraid that often doesn't exist.
>>6333 The numbness is intermittent, but worse in bed in the mornings, that's when it's most noticeable by far. As I get up and get on with my day it becomes less obvious, aside from occasional twinges or an achey feeling.
>>6334 I have remembered that neither I nor anyone else ever replied to you, even though you sound like that was a terrible time to go silent. The numbness you are describing is exactly the same as the one I was referring to. I am confident that it's fine.
You are potentially describing Carpal tunnel in yourself. The strain that can lead to it is subtle. If you are sitting at the wrong height or have a chair without arm rests when using a keyboard can be enough to cause it.
Op is suffering from an over active neurotic imagination. The same way a fat person complains their knees hurt from walking up hill. When clearly the underlying problem isn't the walking or the hill. OP has neurotic mindworms which means their perfectly normal twinge they could solve with some yoga and a spa day is apparently a death sentence.
>They identified numerous unaddressed factors that could create the illusion of a placebo effect, including the natural progression of illness, parallel interventions, and conditional switching of treatment, as well as regression to the mean, observer bias, and answers of politeness.
