Time can heal many wounds, but not this pain in the neck

Ask Dr. Keith Roach M.D

Time can heal many wounds, but not this pain in the neck

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 77-year-old man in reasonably good health. I am physically active and at normal weight. About a month and a half ago, I suddenly experienced very sharp neck pain upon waking, a severe pain that prevented me from turning my neck.

Some days later, my doctor indicated that time will heal it. Blood tests were normal.

This neck pain still bothers me, although the severity has appreciably declined. A chiropractor did not help. Is this something I just should live with and assume that it will eventually go away, or could there be a more insidious cause for it? — L.H.

ANSWER: Although there are many causes for sudden onset of neck pain, the description you give is most consistent with torticollis, also called “wryneck” or just “twisted neck,” which is what “torticollis” means in Latin.

Most cases of torticollis in he is unable to answer in- adults are spontaneous, often relating to minor trauma, and your description of it coming on upon or immediately after waking is common. It is often due to damage to the muscle, which can spasm, causing the head to be turned to one side and sometimes downward.

Torticollis may resolve in a few days, but several weeks is not uncommon.

However, six weeks is getting on to being a long time to continue to have symptoms. Blood testing is not commonly used to make a diagnosis, as most of the concerning possibilities are seen primarily by imaging studies, whether plane (i.e., taken in a single plane) X-rays or a CT or MRI scan.

The list of more serious conditions that can present themselves with neck pain is long, but especially includes a herniated disc and osteoarthritis. At age 77, a more thorough evaluation is appropriate after six weeks.

I would say it’s time for a re-evaluation. If your doctor needs help, a neurologist is likely to have a lot of expertise with this condition.

Dr. Roach regrets that 1-23

dividual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGood-Health@med.cornell.edu or send mail to 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803.