Question
About a year ago I woke up one morning and my neck had a grinding sensation to it when I turned my head to the left.  I went to a doctor and they said that it was probably a tendon rubbing on a vertebrea when I turned my head.  The grinding never stopped and has actually gotten worse.  My neck constantly pops now along with my back if I shrug.  I have constant discomfort and I'm unsure what to do.  I have visited a doctor since then and had many xrays taken.  The xrays showed that my spine was perfectly healthy.  I have lost some range of motion when turning my head to the right but if I massage my neck the movement returns temporarily.  I have never had neck problems and hoping that there is something that can be done to correct the problems that I am facing.  If you have some advice please let me know what it might be.

Answer
Dear Adam,

This may sound a bit condescending, but I am constantly amazed by how many people have neck or back pain and continue to go to their MD's for an answer and never get any feedback.  Have you ever been to a chiropractic physician?  Unfortunately medical doctors have no idea what to do in these cases...it just isn't their area of expertise. MD's shine with serious trauma, infectious disease, etc...but musculoskeletal issues are really only treated effectively in the chiropractic profession...it's what we do.

The first thing I would say about the x-rays is that you probably have no degeneration or frank pathology on the views.  That however, does not qualify them as being perfectly healthy.  The spine has a normal configuration and if your structure has deviated from the normal values, then dysfunction has already set in and movement patterns have been effected.  This will effectively limit joint motion, increase muscle imbalances, and place asymmetrical stress on the all of the associated anatomical structures.  Not to mention that if the joints are not moving properly, this will encourage degeneration of the joint space cartilage and disks.

Concerning your specific symptoms, grinding does not usually indicate a tendon problem.  Snapping would be more indicative.  However, grinding is often experienced with initial cartilage wear in the joint spaces, and adhesions in the myofascial system.  These issues are usually pretty easy to deal with though and do not take long term treatment to reduce grinding and pain.  It is also more likely to be a myofascial problem due to the fact that you improve with you massaging the area.  

I would recommend that you seek out the care of a chiropractic physician to normalize the joint movements, and try to find one with a massage therapist on staff to address the myofascial aspects.  You should see significant improvements in 4-6 visits.  Oh, and make sure that you take the chiropractor your x-rays to visualize so they won't have to take more.  Good Luck Adam.

Respectfully,
Dr. J. Shawn Leatherman
www.suncoasthealthcare.net