Neck Stiffness
Ross Hauser, M.D.

OS, a 52 year old male, first came to Caring Medical in April of 2007. He was suffering with tinnitus for the last four years. His “buzzing” in the ears was accompanied by neck stiffness. This all began after a period of professional and personal stress, and he remembers sleeping in an awkward position around the same time. OS intermittently had chiropractic adjustments which would lessen the severity of his symptoms for a time, but they would never completely go away. Caffeine would worsen his condition.

OS’s history offered some interesting clues. The tinnitus was more prominent in the left ear, and early on he had clicking in his left jaw/TMJ, which was not as severe by the time he made it to the clinic. He had two cranial surgeries, in 1976 a cyst was removed that was pressing on his optic nerve, and in 1995 he had nasal surgery for chronic sinus infections, related to seasonal allergies. OS is a computer programmer and thus spent many hours hunched over a monitor. He had occasional headaches, which were worse at the onset of his condition.

All these things were taking a toll on OS. He was not sleeping well, his energy level was down, and he still needed to take Claritan and over the counter anti-histamines for his sinus problems and Tylenol PM to help him sleep.

We suggested that OS have Prolotherapy on his neck to help with the stiffness and that he have some lab tests to see if there was anything that was contributing to his poor health. His Testosterone level was low (287 ng/dL, normal range being 250 -1100) so natural testosterone replacement was prescribed in order to get his physiology into an anabolic or “healing” mode and to help with his energy. His DHEA level was also extremely low (36 mcg/dL, normal range being 25 – 240) and he began taking a 25 mg dose per day. DHEA is a hormone precursor produced by the adrenal gland and is converted to testosterone by the body’s tissues. OS also had food allergy testing done to see if there was anything he was eating that was contributing to his symptoms. Food allergies can cause a host of symptoms, including joint pain, headaches, sinus congestion and inhibition of healing.

Chronic food allergies weaken a person by robbing a person of the very energy he is supposed to be getting from food. It turned out that he was very allergic to dairy and eggs, and wheat somewhat less so. We suggested he avoid those foods to see if it would help.

OS responded well to Prolotherapy. After three treatments he reported, no neck tension or tightness. He said his tinnitus was 75% improved and was continuing to improve. He had been taking a supplement we recommended that may have helped his tinnitus, possibly by improving microcirculation in small capillaries. After two months of natural testosterone replacement he said that he was feeling good because he had more energy. His nasal symptoms had improved since he was avoiding the foods he was allergic to and needed to take a lot less of his Claritan and decongestants.

It was probably a combination of factors that led to OS’s poor health. Stress, poor posture, a couple of surgeries and a hormone imbalance all contributed his multi-faceted symptoms. That is why it was important to look at OS’s problems in their entirety, and devise a treatment plan personally suited for his health.

We used Prolotherapy to help heal any structural defects in his neck since lax or damaged tendons and ligaments certainly could contribute to the stiff neck and headaches he complained of. A lot of things OS did may have helped alleviate his tinnitus.

The testosterone treatment gave him more energy and thus he was able to exercise more, helping to reduce stress in his life. He had already told us that stress worsened the symptoms. At his initial consult he verbalized to us the stress he had in his life at the present and recent past. We explained to him that it was important for him to take steps to reduce his stress to improve his health. That was up to him but we were able to reduce some of his physiological stressors by helping him eliminate from his diet foods he was allergic to, balancing his hormones and recommending some herbal supplements to help his body heal. We have found at Caring Medical that this type of holistic approach to multi-faceted problems gives our patients the best chance or regaining their health.

OS became a much happier man just a few months after first stepping in the door at Caring Medical. One can imagine what it is like to have a “stiff neck” for years and finding nothing to relieve it. It is bad enough to endure a day or two of neck stiffness from sleeping wrong. Add to that a persistent buzzing in your ears and you can understand that he was “stressed out.” OS was now sleeping better, exercising more…things many of us take for granted. While he still had a stressful job, he was able to focus more without the distraction of feeling terrible.