I'm freaking out right now... this morning, I was bent over drying my hair with a towel, and when I went back into the upright position my head went back a little and a sharp pain shot through my neck for a few seconds then it was over. My neck didn't hurt for several hours, but then I was looking up at something and as soon as I tilted my head back, there was a loud "pop" and that same sharp pain shot through again for only a few seconds. Now i'm scared to death to move my neck at all, it doesn't hurt now but feels pretty tight and the muscle in my back right under neath my neck on the left side also feels tight. What in the world did I just do to myself?? I know tilting your head back is a no no with Chiari, but why? And should I be worried???
Has anyone else ever done this? I have no idea why neck strain or whiplash is bad for chiarians. I don’t want to go to the ER but need to know if I should. I have no syrinx or obstruction of csf flow…
Does the pain subside? I think you should go with your gut, if you feel that something is just not right go to the ER. Always trust yourself. If there is pain then there ma be something that need to be looked at. It couldn’t hurt anything if you do go, only if something did happen and you “poo poo” it away, that could cause damage.
Hope this helps a little.
Barb
It feels like a regular neck strain, the typical light dull pain in lower neck, a little bit of tightness in lower neck and my back right under my neck. No other symptoms. Chiari symptoms are the se as they have always been. I have severe anxiety and panic attacks so of course the first thing I do is think “omg could it have done something to my chiar”.
It may be a strain then? Is it better now? I hope it improves for you. No one needs chiari and anxiety!! Do you use the creams that everyone else uses? I haven’t tried it yet (can’t find it) but I’d like to try it. It sounds like it really helps.
Barb
Yea I called my PCP and she said it sounds like a strain. It just feels sore at this point. But a muscle relaxer and some Tylenol helped a little, I’m using my baby’s boppy to keep it still for tonight. Is there a certain reason why we aren’t supossed to tilt our head back? Does it just aggravate symptoms or can it make it worse?
I’ll have to try that. Neck and back pain have never been one of my symptoms, I don’t even get the usual headache that starts in the back of the head. I’ve never strained my neck before but wow it hurts. This morning it feels like all the muscles are tight in my upper back, neck and shoulders. Yikes.