Looking for advice on chronic neck and back painl

Hi Dustin & welcome to Healing Well. You mentioned seeing a chiropractor, what other type of drs have you seen? Contact the facility where you had the MRI done at & request a copy of the written report along with the CD of the MRI. See exactly in the written report what it says. Some drs will view an MRI as being normal because the patient is not a surgical candidate in their opinion. That does not mean there are some finding on it. You may have to pay a small fee for the above but its worth it.

There are lots of various ways to treat the type of pain you are describing. Moist heat heat/cold packs, trying different kinds of OTC analgesic patches such as SalonPas or Tiger balm. If you can get access to a heated pool that is a very good source for helping with pain. Inquire about doing a trial for a Tens Unit. Your insurance should pay for rental on one. If it helps usually after a couple of months insurance will pay for one.

Most of us here are under the care of pain mgt drs & I would ask one of my drs to refer me to one. You most likely will be given some type of medication, but there are other things that can help as well. A good muscle relaxer can help with the spasms & tightness. I would be doomed without a muscle relaxer. There are some meds that can be tried for the arthritis you have too. Keeping as active as possible is a must. Us older CPers tell people use it or lose it, it may be painful getting up & moving around but doing nothing will sure make things a lot worse.

With it being a weekend & a holiday the forum tends to be slow, so keep checking back as others will pop on & post. Take care.

I just joined here as well and am in my 30's too, 37 year old female. I would definitely obtain your MRI report and see if your PCP can refer you to a Pain Management Dr. For some, they make a huge difference in their quality of life and there are other options for some other than pills. I've had several spinal injections and RFA's, for me, the injections were not a good experience but after a few days, the RFA's helped a bit. I do take medications but they make it possible for me to get up. (Most days) Maybe discuss a different combination of medications?

Ice and heat (depending on the day) can be huge for me. I'm not suggesting you do these things but for me, very very hot heat can help loosen things up, a steaming hot damp towel from the microwave is my favorite, or a heating pad without the cover, I have lobster back and neck often. When using ice, don't put the ice pack directly on your skin, I have stupidly given myself some pretty severe freezer burns. BioFreeze and Bengay can feel great sometimes and look up various ways of propping/supporting yourself with pillows for your type of pain too. I have 5 pillows I do various things with that sometimes help me get more comfortable. I've begun doing some guided meditations for muscle relaxation over the last couple of years too, you can find several free ones on YouTube, I was actually surprised at how well one in particular relaxed me. My TENS unit sometimes helps while it's on too. Also, sometimes a primal yell can actually go a long way. (When you're alone) My current girlfriend will occasionally give me a back and neck massage and when I'm having intense spasms, this helps so much.

Good luck to you, truly. I can relate.

stretching unfortunately can sometimes do more harm than good - movement is generally a better route - what kind of daily exercise are you getting -

stress can also play a big roll in back and neck pain - anything out of the ordinary that might be impacting your body ? noisy neighbor, rude mailman, long commute in crazy traffic ?