My neck is too stiff, and it constantly pains due to a pinched nerve. Please help.

Question

Hi doctor,

I have neck pain on the right side of my head below my ear. I have extreme stiffness in my neck with constant burns or aches. The initial injury was caused by the exercise done during therapy and I did it to strengthen my upper back. When I did this exercise on my own, I overdid it and it has caused this injury. I consulted the doctor and he told me to use icepacks and apply heat over them. He gave me Aleve to have a reduction in swelling. But these suggestions did not work. I had constant pain. Initially, when I started to have neck pain, I had numbness in my arms and I thought of it as an arm injury. Eventually, after that, I figured it as neck pain and I did some research to conclude it as a pinched nerve. Then I gave rest to my neck and the numbness went away. But I had constant pain and it caused a popping in my neck. Please help.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Yes, you can have a pinched nerve in the neck and continue taking anti-inflammatory tablets. In addition, you can take tablet Pregabalin 75 mg twice daily and it helps for the nerve symptoms. You can do gentle range of motion exercises on the neck for two to three weeks. Then these symptoms can get subsided. After that, you can start doing neck strengthening exercises. Pregabalin can cause sleepiness and stop taking it after a couple of weeks.