Question
"Hello,   When I was eleven years old fell on my head not once, but twice while practicing gymnastics. Since that point I have had chronic pain in my neck. Throughout my teenage years I was able to maintain it, but in the past few years it has gotten quite worse. I am now 28 and the pain is worse than ever. I have found that I am never fully NOT in pain; I only have periods of time where experience LESS neck pain. I occasionally am required to sit motionless and upright with a neck brace on, to alleviate the pain.   In addition, in the past few years, I've found it impossible to be a passenger in a moving vehicle unless I am the driver. If I am a passenger, even for a few minutes, I get terrible headaches and slight vertigo which effectively incapacitates me for hours to a full day (this includes transportation by trains, boats and aircraft). Even when I do drive myself around, there is only so much I can withstand -- even a couple of hours can be quite taxing.    I am also subject to random spells of vertigo, which can last for several hours to days; sleeping upright seems to help, and sometimes lying on the edge of my bed with my head tilted back and to the right -- followed by rotating to the left -- alleviates the dizziness.    I've seen a couple of specialists over the last couple of years; the first one said that the inability for me to be a passenger in a vehicle is due to damage to my neck stabilizers -- that I can't compensate for the movement unless I anticipate it myself (hence being able to drive but not be driven). He also said that there was nothing they could do... I had an MRI taken last year, and results were inconclusive; the specialist could not see anything from the imaging. I am exhausted and frustrated looking for answers, and the constant ordeal is draining my sanity. Any help or insight would absolutely fantastic...   Thank you very much Simone"

Answer
hi simone-

yes, it's a terrible drain on a person to be in pain all the time!

interesting, about the 'neck stabilizers'- it would seem that physical therapy might help here.

my recommendation would be to talk to a physiatrist, aka a rehabilitation doctor. Especially someone who is familiar with sports injuries- i am willing to bet there is something that they can tell you.

i'm sorry i don't know the specific info for you, but i hope you'll look into the above. don't give up yet!

good uck, and please write again if you have questions or problems finding someone
leslie