My just turned 7 year old daughter has complained of her neck hurting (all the time) for quite some time. At first we attributed it to her being sick so much since October (6 rounds of strep, multiple sinus infections, and the flu!). She did take a hard fall in soccer in the fall and hurt for a few days. She tries to "pop" her neck often to "help her neck feel better".
Her pediatrician referred us to the orthopedic doctor. They took an x-ray of her neck and found nothing wrong. They sent us for an MRI. Again, nothing was found to be wrong. He suggested we do a "wait and see and take a history" approach. In a couple of months maybe we will discover a pattern of when it hurts, etc. He also said we were welcome to get a second opinion and he could refer us to a pediatric orthopedist at Scottish Rite or Cook's Children. The pediatrician had suggested a neurologist may be the next step.
Through all of this, she has not slowed down with her activities (still plays soccer, active in school, doesn't lay around the house moaning). She seems to not focus on the neck pain while she is busy. She is most vocal about her neck at bedtime. We have tried to ignore the problem method in case this is an attention seeking tactic too.
Sorry for the long background. Here's my questions to you all:
Have any of you dealt with something like this with your own child? What was the outcome? I don't want to rush to every specialist in the area, but I don't like not knowing the source of the pain. I want to do what is best for my child, but don't want to subject her to multiple tests if not warranted. Should I just wait and see and record a history of when the pain hurts, what was she doing, etc. as the orthopedic doctor suggests? After all, there is no apparent sign of a problem in the MRI. She looked very normal in the MRI.
Thanks in advance for your input!
We did try the chiropractic route a couple of times. She felt better for a few hours and then the pain returned. We decided to try the new pillow and all finally seems to be better! Amazing what a new pillow can do!
just a thought--if the pain is evident in the morning...you might try a new/different pillow (less thick??).
Good luck Mom.
SSH
I may be the only one who thinks this but it is possible that it is behavioral. If it doesn't bother her when she is active maybe this is the only way she can think of for getting your attention. Its not uncommon for a child to exaggerate a pain for more symaphathy but if she is making it up this might be a situation that you need to sit down and really talk to her. Don't ignore her though she is doing it because something is wrong emotionally so if she doen't get the problem resolved she might find a more effective outlet and you might like it even less. If that doesn't work then I say explore a chiropractor or massage. Also consider stress as a factor. My muscles twitch in all sorts of places when I get stessed or overly worried. Her body could have a different reaction to stress.
C. - It sounds as though your daughter may need her neck adjusted by a chiropractor. Have you considered seeing a chiropractor with a specialty in pediatrics? I take my kids to Dr. Alexia Grantland in Grapevine and I love her. Her number is ###-###-####. She is wonderful with children. If you want to find someone closer to you you can check the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association website -- http://www.icpa4kids.org. I was very skeptical when I first went to a chiropractor, but I have found that chiroprators can work wonders.
Best wishes, C. R.
I also recommend a good chiropractor. The adjustments for children are a little different than those of an adult. They've been patterned especially for children and seem to be gentler.
Something that my chiropractor sells is a chiropractic pillow. I'm not sure of the name of the one he sells, but I googled and found this one http://www.therapeuticainc.com/sp_features.html It is endorsed by the American Chiropractic Association (according to the ACA site), and comes in a child or petite size. This might help her to sleep more comfortably.
My chiropractor is Dr David Kinnison in Keller. ###-###-####
Good luck!
Check to see how she is sleeping. It could be her pillow, or even her bed. You can get special pillows for back sleepers, front sleepers, and side sleepers. Also the Sleep Number beds are the best in providing support, but expensive. THe best thing after that would be a memory foam matress or a memory foam matress topper (the thicker the better).
Usually pain upon waking is an indicator of not getting a good nights rest too- which can lead to all sorts of problems later on if it continues (weight gain, mood swings, short attention span ect..)
If it's her bed or pillow than seeing a chiropractor will only be a temporary fix. The pain will return and you will have to see the chiropractor again and again until the root of the problem is fixed.
RPocai
I actually have a similar problem in my neck, and my 7 year old complains about leg pains alot, and not in the normal "growing pains" area of her leg. After many specialists for both of us, and no conclusion, we too have used chiropractics with great success. So much so that my husband is now in school to become a chiropracor. I also attribute some of it to diet reactions. I have been told that I have fibromyalgia, and that if I will cut gluten, the autoimmune reaction will stop. We are working on that. But your daughter may have a nerve being pinched when she lays a certain way, or something that I am fairly certain a chiropractor could take care of. I promise it is far better that you can imagine, and not a lot of popping and rough adjustments. Good luck! ~A.~
Have her do neck exercises to relieve tension:
http://www.becomehealthynow.com/article/exerciseneck/1047/
Also, I would suggest you look for a good chiropractor and massage therapist. I have had many neck issues for several years. I went to physical therapy for 3. I finally broke down and went to a chiropractor. Since all the therapist would joke about them being quacks, I was leary. I can tell you the chiropractor fixed me up in a month. I go back once every couple of months to have my spine checked. It is the best thing I have done for my neck and shoulders.
I am in Coppell so I go to Coppell Wellness Center in the Tom Thumb parking lot. I can get a massage and an adjustment for around $60. I think just an adjustment is around $20.
Good luck!
Jodi
Dear C.,
My daughter had some neck pain but mostly back pain. She is also 7 years old. I took her to my chiropractor, who helps me with my neck and back pain and he really helped her. They know so much more about certain things than medical doctors. The fact that some poke fun at chiropractic shows their ignorance in their "specialty field". (Sorry, can you tell I've had it with the medical field?!)
We use Dr. Max Waddell in Keller. He is very good.
Hope this helps!
A. S.
Have you checked into a chiropractor? Neck pain is right up their alley. Ask around for good ones in your area (or check reviews on this site I guess!) and particularly ones that are familiar with treating children.
DC Roger Clifford
Arapho and Dallas North Tollway
###-###-####
Hours: 9-1 and 3-6 (they close from 1 till 3)Monday-thursday
Friday 9-1
He is a chiropractor that specializes in neurological related things but does lots of kids and pregnant women too. He is on many insurance plans but will work with you financially also. It sounds like your daughter just has some neck strain that is possibly related to the soccer injury. The popping the neck is a HUGE sign of that. He is very gentle and a wonderful person.
I would suggest you take her to a chiropractor. If you are in the mid-cities/Watauga, Kelller area, Dr. Scott Ruth is at Alliance Spine Institute in Watauga and he works with kids all of the time ###-###-####.
hope this helps.
find a chiropractor that works on children and while there ask them for referrals to a natural health nutritionist in your area. do this today, she will be better by next week. (it will take longer than a couple of times) and then go at least twice a year or more.
please let me know if you have learned anything about your childs condition. my daughter now 10 has complained of neck pain for the past 2 or 3 months (mostly while she is laying down trying to get comfortable.since she was about 4 years old she has had some sort of issue with her neck popping while nodding her head up and down slowly. has an appointment with some sort of specialist in 2 days, but so far xrays of the c-spine shows nothing thanks
