Ask:
head/neck pain
For the last few weeks I've noticed that my neck has been extremely stiff, and usually once a day or sometimes twice I'll tilt my neck as far as I can to the left and something will crack/shift. It doesn't crack when I tilt it to the right. Also, for the last few weeks I've been getting migranes off and on - I never used to get migranes, and I've probably had five or six in the last month.
This stiffness/cracking can't be a good thing. What can I do to fix it?
I've always been a library brat, so my neck is used to tilting to the right to read book spines, and last year I had a free consult with a chiropractor who measured the angles my neck could bend, and my neck could bend much farther to the right than it could to the left.
Um, random info that might be useful: I work 3rd shift and go to school full time, so I average around 5 hrs of sleep a day during the week, slightly more on the weekends. The building where I work is always cold - I often have to wear a jacket despite being indoors and occasionally even grab a blanket and sit wrapped in it.
I'm 22 yrs old. I'm very obese (375lbs) which is probably adding to the strain, but I'm on Optifast to lose the weight.
Another random thing I can't explain: for a couple years now, I've noticed that whenever I'm particularly stressed or tired, my head will suddenly jerk to the right: I'll be looking straight ahead and feel a little twitch in my neck, and the next thing I know I'm looking to the right. This isn't painful, just strange and worrying. Is this a symptom of a more major problem?
Answer:
neck cracking
Dr. Joshua,
I did not see a reply from you and am still hoping for some advice. An update: Work hasn't been as cold as it was back in October, and I've noticed that I'm not getting the migranes anymore, so I'm reasonably certian those were linked. My neck still cracks approx. once a day when I tilt/stretch my head to the left. It's not really painful, but there's always a loud crack and the feeling of something shifting. Every once in a while it won't crack one day, and then the next day I'll tilt my head to the left and there'll be either two or three swift cracking sounds "CRACRACRACK". One time my neck did a triple-crack and my roommate heard it on the other side of the living room. The stiffness is gone for a little while after it cracks, but then it starts building up again. The doctor at Optifast said that it might be arthritis and suggested that I see my primary physician, but my schedual is hectic and I haven't had a chance to go in yet. Do you have any advice?