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Stiff Neck: When to see doctor?


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About a month ago I woke up to a stiff neck/shoulder. It took about 1.5 weeks for it to go away. It started in the shoulder and worked it's way to the neck.

 

On Sunday I was playing volleyball and after a game I could feel my shoulder stiffen up. The area became inflamed, much like it did the time before. I would say the location of the pain is between the neck and shoulder (closer to the neck). The area felt like it had swollen to the size of a thumb.

 

The swelling has gone down but now my neck is very stiff.

 

Coworkers are suggesting I see a doctor. Last time I went to a doctor about my back, I ended up waiting in the waiting room for 3 hours then the Doctor just told me I have a "bad back". I don't want to waste my time.

 

Could my neck pain be anything serious. It has been sore since Sunday.

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Given that you live in Canada, Im not sure why you wouldnt have gone to the Dr right away? Aside from time lost in the waiting room, you have nothing else to lose and very much to gain? Its not like we pay for healthcare

 

If its been ongoing for a month, you need to go to a dr......

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So I attempted going to the doctors yesterday. My Doctor's apparently has closer, or moved.. There was no note on the door, I just was greeted with an empty room that was under construction when I went to the office.. Then I went to the walk-in clinic by my house... They apparently don't have eough doctors for walk in, and are now closed on Wednesdays...

 

Hopefully I will get off early today so I can check out another clinic....

 

Someone at work tried to give me a massage today to lossen it up... Although my neck is still stiff (getting better).. She commented on how large my shoulder was swollen... (which to me is considerably smaller than it was before)...

 

It honestly just feels like a really big knot in my upper shoulder... Between the neck and the shoulder, but just a little lower so that it is still on my back...

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It feels more like a swollen area.. It's quite hard... It's by no means soft... Not sure if I would say it's as hard as bone...

 

It's not hot to touch, if anything it is cold. My colleague who tried to massage it out commented that it felt cold to touch... (I iced it in the morning which was 4 hours earlier)...

 

The swelling has gone down and it is almost gone...

 

I managed to go to the doctors yesterday and I would have to say it was a complete waste of time. After waiting for an hour to see the doctor (There were only 2 other people in the waiting room and I was there first; how can it take an hour to see a doctor?).... The doctor ended up telling me that basically I can just stretch it out... He didn't give any insight as to what the problem was... I knew it would go away, I was more concerned the cause of it as this is the third time it has happened 10 months...

 

To make my Doctor's Office experience even worse, at the end of the interview I attempted to ask him a question about another problem I've been having (sinus problem). I finished telling him the problem and then he told me that I can only ask about 1 problem per visit and that I would need another appointment to discuss it futher... I wanted to slug him at that point...

 

I'm going to wait a couple of days and write a review on Google Places... After already checking it out, I see they have a score of 1 star...

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Have you ever seen a physiotherapist or an athletic therapist? That would be my suggestion: try a sports or physio clinic.

 

With you being very active in sports, having previous problems with your back - my first impression would be this could turn into a chronic condition if you let it pass, or it could be treated, and more than likely you will at the very least get a straight response there about whether this is a muscular issue.

 

That is quite ridiculous to hear your experiences with trying to get into a doctor! Alberta is the worst province ever in terms of trying to get health care (only my humble opinion lol) in Canada.

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ha, I've been taking ibuprofen like Candy since last Sunday...

 

The swelling has finally gone down considerable. It's probably about the size of my pinky finger now. I have been sleeping like crazy since it started acting up, I need about 10 hours sleep to get through the day now.

 

It seems like the worst of it is over. On the brightside, on Friday I realized what caused the injury. About 15 minutes before my neck started to stiffen up I got hit in the back of the head with a volleyball (off serve, a hard server) twice. One of the hits was perfectly aligned to my neck... I don't know why it took me so long to figure out that was the injury. I didn't even realize it until someone was standing behind me with a ball, and I had the sudden urge to freak out fearing that it would hit my neck/head.

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