Question
Hi
I am a 21 year old male and never sick in my entire life.  Always active with sports from childhood. I don't excercise anymore because of work and other priorities.  on occasions I do play rec. sports.  recently I was removing 50 feet of bushes with chain, hand cutters, and trimmer.  Never felt sore the next day or the following day which was very unusual..  For the last 5 weeks I am feeling my neck stiff with aching in my shoulders which goes down to my hands..  Sometimes the pain moves to my lower back too..  i have this tingling by my underarms and back which makes me very uncomfortable.  i saw the doctor about 2 weeks after the aching started and he told me to rest and take hot baths etc. to alleviate the pain.  Took my blood for any artheritic signs which results came in clean.   The pain has not been progressing and I am planning on seeing the doctor again for x-rays mri etc.  I really appreciate if someone is experiencing the same symptoms and how long does this last?  i know we need x-rays etc. to further investigate but in general what might this be ?  its taking way too long to heal...  Thank you

Answer
Without a proper exam I can't give you an exact answer, but what you are explaining to me is totally treatable.  First, stop the hot baths.  Some of your problem is inflammation, and heat brings more inflammation.  You need to ice the areas that are sore and inflamed.  You are describing bony misalignments called subluxations, which cause muscles to spasm and could potentially cause some nerve damage.  My suggestion is to see a chiropractor before you do anything else with your other doctor.  The chiropractor is specially trained to treat muscle/bone/nerve injuries such as you are describing.  The most the medical doctors can do for you is prescribe you medicine/pain relievers that could be addicting and potentially dangerous to the body.  Try a local chiropractor.  If you need help locating a good chiropractor or if you have any other questions please email me.

Dr. Starbuck