To everyone here who suffers from chronic and relatively severe neck pain, I just wanted to take a few moments to let you know about a recent success I have had in this area. I'm only in my early forties, but I have suffered from pretty severe neck and shoulder tightness/pain for about 4 years. Although not afflicted with full-blown panic disorder, I am a high-strung, Type A, individual with at least a moderate degree of anxiety. A doctor put me on Neurontin about 4 years ago...although it worked for awhile, I did gain about 20 pounds and also found that after a few months it didn't work consistently. I also have sleep problems and became unable to sleep without Neurontin. I tried several times to taper off of it but the insomnia prevented any success. About a month ago, I started taking Lexapro and the results in terms of my neck pain have been nothing short of miraculous. I had lost most of my weight (even with Neurontin) through a very intensive exercise program with a personal trainer combined with about 2.5 months of the South Beach diet, but was still having significant pain and some sleep issues. Since Lexapro, I've had almost no pain, I've tapered the Neurontin down from 3600 to 400 milligrams per day, and I've lost 10 more pounds than I had originally gained (with continued personal training and a low carbohydrate diet of course). I think I'll be off of Neurontin completely in about a week or two. 300 milligrams of Trazadone plus 10 milligrams of Lexapro at bedtime is helping me sleep better as well. I can't really tell if I have that much less anxiety, but I must given the relief in terms of muscle tension. Now, instead of wondering whether I'll be able to keep my weight off because of Neurontin and still having a lot of pain, I've entered a personal training contest focused on building the maximum amount of muscle definition in 3 months, getting close to 20% body fat percentage (instead of 35% where I was 4 months ago), and having a more restful sleep that sometimes even includes dreams that I remember. I highly recommend that you discuss this medication with your doctor if you are having moderate to severe neck pain that is somatic rather than structural in nature.

Hi! i also suffer from this. My neck is always tense and achy. when i go to sleep at night i shut my eyes so tight, i cant seem to be able to relax them......not to mention the way im constantly clenching my jaw (my jaw also pops). I got a tooth pulled this week and im so sore!!! and it is all from clenching my jaw so tight. I sometimes hold a pen in between my lips to keep myself from clenching my jaw so tight, but there is only so much time i can walk around with a pen in my mouth you know,lol. i have tried relaxation tapes, it works great for the body but when i get to there part where im supposed to relax my facial muscles and my jaw thats where i lose it.

I have this same tension. Actually after reading this thread I am beginning to wonder if this tension is what has aggravated my neck injury. I was getting along fine till about a month ago. The thing is that we've had a whole lot of storms this year and I had severe panic every time I heard the words severe or tornado. I would spend a week in a state of worry about storms that may or may not come. I would shake and cry and my body felt as though the adrenaline just would not stop coming. I'm sure now thinking back that I felt my current condition coming on but I was helpless to stop it. I spent 2 weeks out of the last four barely being able to get out of bed. I am trying now hard to get myself back up and going again but the edge of the fear won't back off especially when I am home alone. I just want my life back and to look foreward to getting up instead of dreading it.

Hi CanadianMel, Just to be on the safe side, please be sure to let your doctor know about this increase in pain. If you found the hot bath helped, you may also want to try a warm compress for about 15 minutes a few times a day. Casey _____________________________ The Panic Center Support Team

Hi Everyone, I have had bad tension in my neck for a while now, seems to be sore and tense every other day. I just started on meds. (a week now) and it actually has increased my anxiety and my neck tension. I try to soak in a hot bath which seems to relax me. It doesn't really send me into panic because I know that it is just tension and very normal, it is just really a pain in the neck! (sorry bad joke).

Hey everyone! I have the same problem! I am for ever getting a sore neck on both sides (mainly the left side) and have seen a ciro DR and regular massage as well as now a shatsu (spelling) type, which helps, but since I have panic attacks and am pretty much anxious throughout the day it gets tight again and is a "trigger" point as they say. I sometimes think it's something else (but I think that's part of the panic) and sometimes when I feel a bit better I say it has to be this panic but I think it's a big cycle and they both effect each other over and over again! My head has been really tight, sore and pressure in the back and someone told me it's a tension headache. I have had a full check up and have been to the ER 6 times in the past month so I MUST be okay (although I want an MRI to prove it)... I am going to soak in hot water and epson salts! Sam S

Hi Jao and All in this Discussion, Yes, this all is VERY familiar. My biggest complaint since I was about 12 (now 28) was over chronic extreme neck pain and headaches that just never goes away. I have seen chiropractors, physical therpapists, neuroligists, regular family physicians, but no one could really tell me what my problem was. It wasn't until 3 months ago when I vistited a headache clinic that my dr. (and I) were able to make an association with my neck/head aches to anxiety. I always knew I was an anxious person and "high-strung" but my doctor characterized me as someone typical of having chronic tension headache generalized anxiety disorder - something that she said over HALF of her headache patients have. I'm now on my first week of Lexapro, so I can't speak of its benefits yet. In fact, I'm still in the awful agitation/panicky side-effect stage that I hear goes away by week 2 or 3. I find that heat works wonderfully, but it is only temporary when it is applied (micro-waveable bean pads/logs are nice). Does this sound familiar to anyone and has anyone found anxiety medications effective for relieving the extreme muscle tension in the neck?

I think everyone with anxiety problems has muscle tension too; it's like automatic...our nervous system does it all for us, it's set up for that. Your medications can contribute to making you feel better in this area also, or trying all the usual relaxation methods can help a little too. :)

Do any of you feel that your anxiety and panic is related to your muscle tension? I'm sure mine is related. It took a long time to realize that my neck tension and the pressure and numbness in my scalp were caused from muscles. I feared a brain tumour or something similar which caused my anxiety. I didn't realize what those symptoms were, so I developed panic attacks also. Even now, if my tension headache is bad or if my neck is stiff, my anxiety is bad even though I know that it is nothing serious.

I use a hot shower and let it beat right on the spots that are tense as well as the areas around it and my scalp. it works wonders for me. Be carefull though I noticed a "weird" feeling in those muscles the first time I did it and it triggered a panick attack BUT once I realized the weird feeling was the muscle spasm releasing I got over that fast!!!