Neck pain and MAV

Specific Illnesses & Conditions VM/MAV
1

I was wondering if anyone could give me a bit more info on how neck pain relates to MAV. I have suffered from neck pain for many years prior to the dizziness. I had put it down to working at a computer and mild scoliosis which means my spine is slightly curved out of alignment. However since the dizziness began over 3 years ago the neck pain has just gone worse and worse. Right now I am suffering really bad dizziness and what seems like a total relapse and my neck pain (which is there every day) is just horrendous. I originally thought I had VN and had read on other sites etc that the neck is tense from holding the head and dealing with the mismatched balance signals from the inner ears. Now that I am looking at the possibility of having MAV, I have seen that neck pain is mentioned as one of the signs of migraine… I cannot find much info on this and I wondered if anyone knows whether the neck pain is a migraine symptom in itself? is it a result of the dizziness causing the neck to tense? is it the nerves being oversensitive? or do I just have a bad neck anyway? I just really want to know why it could be this bad. I also wondered if migraine meds would help with this symptom or would I need to have an x-ray/MRI of the neck and see an orthopaedic consultant about it?

Also, I just wanted to check something else - is labs/VN a peripheral vestibular disorder only and migraine a central (CNS) disorder only or is that over simplifying things?

Thank you guys x

2

Hola,

Neck pain is certainly a symptom of MAV for me and I think for a few others on here. I’m not sure on the physiology of why, all I know is that when I feel bad, my neck is more stiff and achey and my head feels like it’s too heavy for my neck to hold.

I had physio on my neck for a good few months- can’t say it did anything for me. But massages do seem to help. That said, they can also set a huge migraine off.

Re your peripheral/central question- that’s how I understood it, but then I’m not so sure as the migraine can also cause symptoms like tinnitus, etc.
Essentially, I know migraine can be a difficult diagnosis to accept in the beginning- you wonder how all this can really be migraine when it’s all so ear related etc. Heal your Headache is a great book to read if you’re at that stage- you will probably find yourself turning each page and exclaiming “thats me!”

Good luck x

1 Like
3

Good luck from me too, . . . and I’m so glad you posted.

See, I’m having a real on-the-edge day in terms of fuzzy-headedness, almost hallucination. I hit the gym today, and there’s one machine—maybe deltoids and triceps–that involves my pushing the weight up, and I notice how this is a big challenge for my neck and shoulders.

So I read your post ad I say, “Oh. No wonder I’m halfway out of it.”

Rather a relief, even though I realize this may not actually turn out to be the cause.

Anyway, thanks.

David

4

Hi,

See this thread:

http://mvertigo.cloudapp.net/t/if-you-have-daily-headaches-migraines-please-look-here/3538&p=31957

S