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Neck Pain Due to Fragmented Sleep
A recent study at John's Hopkins University, published in the Journal Sleep, discovered what many of us have known for years: lack of sleep hurts, literally.
What researchers called "fragmented sleep" (waking their patients up every hour for 7-8 hours) caused lower pain tolerance and more spontaneous pain in normal healthy women than keeping them awake for 36 hours straight.
This is a great case of science finally listening to MOMS, who say that waking up all night with their kids "just hurts!"
What does this mean in the long term? It's hard to say -- but these researchers are asking if poor sleep can be an early signal of chronic pain.
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Technorati Tags: sleep doctor, chronic pain, neck pain, insomnia
What researchers called "fragmented sleep" (waking their patients up every hour for 7-8 hours) caused lower pain tolerance and more spontaneous pain in normal healthy women than keeping them awake for 36 hours straight.
This is a great case of science finally listening to MOMS, who say that waking up all night with their kids "just hurts!"
What does this mean in the long term? It's hard to say -- but these researchers are asking if poor sleep can be an early signal of chronic pain.
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: sleep doctor, chronic pain, neck pain, insomnia
24 Comments:
I agree. I literally have pain in the neck, shoulders and back due to lack of sleep. I am so used to not going to sleep on time that it has became "abnormal" for me to go to sleep until at least after 12am. And, I wake up early all the time. No matter what. Not matter what time I went to sleep. My body is like a clock and timed to get up at 7 in the morning. Go figure huh! So yes it is true that its painful not to sleep.
my eyes popped out of my head when I read the subject. could it be true that my pain in the neck has a somnolent origin? While I see no solution, considering that I still get woken up to texts from college students at one in the morning, teenagers coming in after midnight, my kindergartner waking up in the middle of the night, my husband snoring, and up again at 6, at least it's comforting on some level to know that there are others out there suffering with me for the same reason.
I also agree.. I have a hard time going to sleep at night at normal time of 9:30-10:00pm.. if I go lay down I just toss and turn, so I stay up later 11:30pm-12:00 watching tv, computor etc. til my eyes are heavy then I can go right to sleep, however it only lasts 2 hours and then I'm up again for 1-2 hours and the cycle continues until alarm at 5:30am..At this point I'm really tired and my body hurts all over especially neck and shoulders.. this is a continuous cycle
Wow, this was amazing to read. I have had neck & shoulder pain for a long time... maybe it explains why I wake often and am now getting insomnia almost every other night. Not bad enough to have chronic pain, but knowing it is exacerbated by not sleeping well... bummer.
i wake up at 12:30a, 2:30a, 5:00a and then have to be up at 6:00a, I suffer with neck and shoulder pain during these times and sometimes end up with a really bad headache. i would have never put it all together as sleep related
Well I'm glad to see that doctors have only proven waht I and many others already knew. I go to sleep every night fine and the days where i get up early to go to school I know that I will be limping around all day with chronic knee pain and asking my boyfriend for a shoulder rub. Where as on non-school days when I sleep for at least 8 hours I am evergized and there is NO shoulder neck or knee pain
As someone who has two different sleep disorders, as well as fibromyalgia - I can definately state that lack of good, quality sleep causes pain - not only in my neck and shoulders, but in other areas as well. Using a cpap machine has not helped me get any better quality sleep, nor for any longer. Makes for a very miserable day because I have to keep working.
Okay--I agree. I am in perimenopause and my sleep patterns are a mess!! I fall asleep too early, 8 or 9pm, then wake up around 11 or 12pm, can't go back to sleep for an hour or two, then sleep only 3 or 4 hours, wake up, toss and turn, etc. I feel terrible-all sorts of aches and pains, especially in my neck and shoulders like several others have said here. So, what is the answer? How do I fix this?
7 years ago I had a lunbar puncture that was normal. I have a Chiari malformation and somatosensory evoked potentials showed a delay in transmission to and from the brain at the cervico-medullary juntion. I see one of the top neurologists in the NE and he doesn't think I have MS, and thinks the Chiari could cause all my problems. However, one sysmptom is something I have only found three other people having. When the light is just right, if I swing one of my arms around in a figure eight I see trails. It's been calld cerebral polyopsia and my MRI shows a restriction of flow that could be causing pressure at the back of the brain. But does this vision issue sound like something relatyed to MS? My MRI's show no demylenation, but I feel like I'm walking in a pool of water. They can;t do another lumbar puncture as I definitely have excess pressure of CSF. There have been some reports of the cerebellum herniating even more when that amount of fluid is removed.
Any hint at MS from what I have stated?
Thanks,
S
P.S. I have a hot tub and heat does not seem to affect me.
When I do not get a good nights sleep, my knees hurt like crazy, it has been that way for over 30 years.
I am posting this to the person with Chiari Malformation,
I had decompression surgery last year for this very thing. The thing is with the delay in transmission to the organs in the body many a problems have been resolved due to the surgery. Chiari is scary when you have the facts, don't stop searching for relief. It took me years. I thought I had MS also. But fortunately for me Mine was somewhat fixable.
I am posting this to the person with Chiari as well.
I had the chiari decompression surgery 5 weeks ago. I'm only 19, but have been dealing with delays in transmission and severe headaches and neck pain, as well as sleep apnea. I would have the chiari surgery over again! it has helped me so much. i get much better sleep, i have more energy. the delays, headaches, and neck pain are a million times better!!! i can live a normal live now! i recommend the surgery to everyone who is suffering from any symptom of chiari! it's VERY worth it!
I was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation about 7 years ago, after experiencing excruciating headaches. At that time, the diagnosing doctor made it seem almost like an "afterthought" and assured me that my headaches were not due to the Chiari Malformation. As the years passed, I went to a neurologist as well as two chiropractors. In the meantime, for the past few years, my first indication that I will have a serious headache is neck and shoulder pain. I wake up with it in the morning, and couldn't understand why this was happening if I was getting a good night's sleep. Was I sleeping all "crunched up"? Should I sleep on my side instead? Unfortunately, we can't control how we sleep once we're already asleep! I have been seeing my current chiropractor for about a month and a half, with little relief.
What does the Chiari decompression surgery involve? Who is an ideal candidate for the surgery? Do you have to go to a craniosacral specialist to have this surgery performed?
I just got a report from my doctor today, stating that my MRI showed that I have a Chiari I malformation with cervicomedullary compression, without edema. It also stated that the cerebellar tonsils extends approximately 12 mm below the foramen magnum. If any of you bloggers have the same diagnosis, please let me know where I might find further information concerning this type of malformation? I am a 60 year old lady and have had many MRIs, so I know that this is not something I was born with, or something that has been long standing. In 2004 I had a laminectomy and disk fusion at the C4-5 level, with a resultant solid fusion. My orthopedist is in the process of referring me to a neurologist, but I like having as much information beforehand so that I might converse intelligently with medical professionals about my body. Somehow, they seem to give you a bit more respect if you've taken the time to do some research on your own, not too much, so that you don't end up sounding like you know more than they do. I look forward to hearing from any of you who may have been diagnosed with the same condition.
I am having neck pains and severe headaches when I wake up in the morning. This has been going on for about a month now. I normally don't go to sleep until about 3 or 4 am and wake up around 9:30. I am trying to find out what is causing these pains. If anyone has insight to this topic, respond please
I have so many questions. My mom called me and told me that my sister is being treated for chiari and that she wanted me to go get check out now too. I have some symptoms but not all that of them fit this disorder. I do have headaches but I only get them when my neck pops. I can turn my head and my neck pops and it burns like crazy, horrid pain sometimes and sometimes bad but not so bad i can't stand it. Just depends on how hard it pops. Anyway when it is a bad pop it runs up the left side of my neck and into the top of my head and I get a bad bad headache. I have really bad pressure in both my shoulders and across my chest and into my upper back and neck. I have been to the ER now 3 times in the last week and all they can do is give me a pain shot and sent me home. They tell me to ask my dr. and I don't have an appt with him until the 18th of this month. Until then all I can do to get relief is go to the ER. I have to discribe the pain in my shoulders to you. Have you ever had a surgery where they got into the abdomine and fill you with air and then when there done they sew you up and all the air has to come out. Well you have this massive pressure in your shoulders and it hurts so bad you can't hardly breath. I take pain meds but they don't really help and I can't lay flat because the pressure of the air in my shoulders is so great and gets greater when I try to lay down and sleep. So I don't get much sleep. Do you think this sounds like a symptom of Chiari? I haven't been to my regular Dr and asked him about this yet. I have an appt with him on the 29th of this month. Until then what do I do about this unbearable pain I get. I can't keep going to the ER. Thanks for the help and information.
i am only 23 years old and i have been freaking out thinking something so seriously wrong with my..i have really bad neck pains and headaches i wake up every 2 hours and i cant sleep and my hands go numb..its really scary cuz i dont know what to do..anyway its nice to know im not the only one.xoxo
I often wake up with pain in the lower back of my head and neck. No matter which pillow I try or how soft it strts out, when I wake up in the night it feels like I'm sleeping on a rock and the pain in my head is terrible. Any ideas what causes this?
If you have been diagnosed with chiari malformation or think you might have similar syptoms, DO NOT GO TO THE CHIROPRACTOR!!! I have an 8mm herniation and thought seeing the chiropractor would help but it just made things worse. The ONLY thing that relieved my headaches was decompression surgery. The manipulation of the bones in the neck preformed by your chiropractor will make your symptoms worse. You need to speak with your neurologist or doctor about relief. I repeat - do not go to the chiropractor.
I too have a Chiari malformation. Mine is a 10 mm herniation. I agree with the last perso leaving a comment do not go to the Chiropractor, also do not listen to your general doctor. See a neurosurgeon. They are better at brain things than neurologists too! I had a subdural hematoma that I had a shunt placed on my brain for that should have helped with the herniation but unfortunatly it didn't so I am having the decompression surgery on the 18th. After my last surgery I was sooooo sick and lost 20 pounds (I was only 5'4'' and 130lbs. before the surgery.) Can someone tell me how their recovery went. I felt as if I was on my death bed for about 3 1/2 or 4weeks after the shunt surgery!
Wow, for such a "rare disorder", I am seeing more and more Chiari sufferers every day! I agree with all of you other Chiari sufferers out there, be vigilant!!! This is a terrible condition that is so underdiagnosed it is disgusting. Just a suggestion to all of you migraine, fibromyalgia and sleep disorder diagnosed patients, have your dr order a Cspine MRI. Ask for the written as well as film results for your own so you can make your own decision as to whether you are being misdiagnosed or not. Many docs don't even tell their patients that this is present on an MRI!! I was going to an ENT thinking I had a sinus prolem because of extreme headaches, facial numbness, and severe ear pain. He assured me there was nothing he could help me with, that I should see a neurologist. If it was not for his insistence on this issue, I would not have any answers still. Unfortunately, Chiari malformations are a "grey" area for many docs. If you have a CM I suggest finding a neurosurgeon that is familiar with this condition (there aren't very many) and being your own advocate. This is a very serious condition that can be made much worse by going to a chiropractor!! I hope all of you neck, shoulder, headache and sleep deprived people get the help you need. Remember, just because a doctor tells you that a Chiari is "nothing to worry about", DON'T LISTEN!!!! It IS something to address ASAP!! I have suffered for over 10 years with bladder problems, bowel problems, sleep problems, severe headaches, severe nausea, slurred speach and the list goes on and on. Not once did any one suggest a cspine MRI until June of 08. I could have been on my way to being well years ago had I known about this simple non invasive test. They tested me for everything else under the sun, was told I had Interstycial Cystitis for which there is no cure, and the whole time I had this CM, which can effect your entire body. Let's face it, a CM can inturrupt the spinal fluid from reaching areas of your brain which can cause very serious health issues. WAKE UP PEOPLE! You know your own body! Take care of it!!!
My husband has Chari 1 Malformation and OBVIOUSLY nobody will help us and it is getting worse and worse by the day. Dizzyness, SEVERE headaches, and no appetitite, neck shoulder pain, sleep apnes, on and on. Does ANYBODY know of a good DR. In Ohio????? Or Anything that helps with the headaches?!
I have Chiari Malformation I with a 17 mm herniation. After a severe fall three years ago, a very wise ER Dr ordered an MRI. However, this physician has left the area and no one else seems that concerned about it. I cannot find anyone around here (Mississippi) that knows anything about it. I have multitudes of symptoms and no where to turn. Any advice?
There is a neurosurgeon in Jackson, MS, Dr. Lancon, who knows about Chiari. He diagnosed me from a CT scan that was done for another reason. Hope you can get some help...!
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