Suggest Treatment For Tingling Sensations In The Arms And Severe Neck Pain

Posted on Sun, 7 Aug 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 7 Aug 2016 Answered on

Mon, 29 Aug 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : I have been having neck pain and stiffness for over a year. Muscle spasms at times. Very stiff in the morning. I find it hard to sleep. So stiff in the morning I cannot turn side to side and have difficulty opening my mouth to eat. Get numbness and tingling in my arms and hands when I lie down. Pain is from the right side of my spine and radiates out from there. I have had MRI's that have been negative. I have tried Physical Therapy with no help. I have had nerve issues in the past and was seeing a Neurologist with testing for MS. I do have lesions on my brain however they say no MS. I do not know where to turn. It seems the pain moves around my body over time along with numbness and tingling. If I wait long enough it goes away and comes back somewhere else. Looking for ideas.

Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
consider acupuncture or chiropractic care

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for your question.
If you have lesions in the brain on MRI then you certainly need to continue seeing the neurologist. However, if you are having severe pain that is not controlled then I suggest that you see a well trained acupuncturist and/ or a chiropractor. They may have ways to help you ease your pain that are not available to regular Western Medicine Physicians.
Warm compresses with gentle stretches may help with the stiff muscles.
Another thought is to see a Rheumatologist and see if they think you may have some sort of connective tissue disease that is causing your pain ad stiffness.
Let me know if you have further questions
Dr. Robinson

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar