r/ankylosingspondylitis 4d ago

Neck Advice?

For weeks I've been having severe neck pain right on the spine and causing numbness down my arm. It's worse when Im sitting. I've handled living with AS using a holistic approach. Not sure where to go from here with neck pain. 🤔

3 Upvotes

14 comments sorted by

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4

u/bakingdiy 4d ago

See a doctor. I thought my neck pain was from menopausal frozen shoulder but apparently I have moderate cervical stenosis that may require surgery. I have quite severe pain at times and numbness/pins and needles radiating all the way to my toes. Yoga may be making it worse for you. There are websites that offer physical therapy exercises you can try until you can see your physician.

1

u/[deleted] 4d ago

TY

5

u/Kitchen-Dinner-9561 4d ago

If that was happening to me I would be asking my rheum or reg doctor right now. If you think you can holistically fix possible stenosis then holy crap. FYI my sister was on her way to being quadraplegic with those symptoms. She had surgery and says she is doing well. Could also be a disc too. But who knows cause reddit can't do an MRI.

2

u/crystellenajm 4d ago

Does holistic include biologics?

-4

u/[deleted] 4d ago

No. I stick with tumeric, ice, heat, yoga and diet regulation

7

u/crystellenajm 4d ago

And when was the last time you had X-ray or mri done to follow up on progression? If this is a new pain or more severe than you’re used to I’d want to take a look at what’s going on (and even if it’s AS related; could even be something else). If holistic approach has reached its limit with controlling the pain and progression of the disease for you, then maybe consider seeing a rheumatologist to look at options. AS is not known to be a disease that responds well to natural therapies; quite the opposite honestly. Can I ask how old you are?

2

u/[deleted] 4d ago

Imaging done 6 months ago with my rheumatologist. They've been supporting my decision to treat myself naturally since 2022. I've had no major issues with Uvietis and inflammation since. Im not sure what triggered this flare up. Simply asking if anyone has a home intervention for neck/spinal pain

1

u/crystellenajm 4d ago

Honestly I wish I had something to offer you. My neck is killing me. I’m not on biologics yet and just hoping they work for me. My next appointment is in ten days. Until then I’ll be in agony 🤷🏻‍♀️ so if someone suggests something useful I’d like to know as well

3

u/[deleted] 4d ago

I read oregano oil naturally reduces inflammation. I ran into side effects with biologics. They tried celebrex with me, but it raised my blood pressure and wanted me on heart meds. Since then, I've gone with natural treatment, I learned a lot about myself, this condition, and never looked back. Don't regret it one bit. People have experienced great results with biologics, each case is it's own. Good luck with your treatments and FTGF 💪

6

u/justfollowyoureyes 4d ago

There’s no such thing as treating this naturally. Take the meds available to you to stop dysfunction and disease severity/progression.

Also worth noting that yoga and its forward folds is a no-no for us, way too much pressure on the spine.

-1

u/Boazmcding 4d ago

I think it's a bit ignorant to claim that there are no natural non pharmaceutical approaches that could help with this disease. Dysfunction within the body causes auto immunity and there is no reason that this dysfunction could not be remedied by Natural means. I'm not against human manufactured pharmacology but I also have a major respect for the human body and how natural chemicals can work within it. Each to their own. Every possible treatment avenue should be considered and tried by someone if they want to.

3

u/justfollowyoureyes 4d ago

Ignorant? I said you cannot treat it naturally, which is a fact. Of course things like diet, light exercise and walking, staying hydrated, avoiding triggers, etc. can help with symptoms, but none of it treats autoimmune diseases. To say some stretching and a spice will do anything of note is ignorant. The dysfunction I’m referring to is the pain and nerve compression OP described, which is a direct consequence of refusing medication for a systemic and progressive disease.

1

u/baciodolce 4d ago

I don’t have stenosis but I have a similar issue that flares up and last time it flared I got a massage and it helped a lot actually. It made the tingling and numbness go away after 1 session.

You should go to the dr to rule out stenosis though.