What should you not do before a neck MRI?

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asked Dec 25, 2023 in Pain by Deomenic (2,200 points)
What should you not do before a neck MRI?

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answered Sep 1 by Babbacock (14,210 points)
Things you should not do before a neck MRI are wear or keep any metal on your body, don't eat or drink before the neck MRI if your doctor says so.

You may also need to limit your bathroom trips and always follow through with any preparation instructions and tell the MRI technicians about any pre existing conditions.

Before you have the MRI done on your neck you will have to remove all metal objects, such as hearing aids, dentures, jewellery, watches, and hairpins.

You will also need to take off all or most of your clothes and change into a gown.

If you do leave some of your clothes on, make sure you take everything out of your pockets.

An MRI can also cause a burn with some medicine patches.

An MRI can show inflammation in the neck and also help to diagnose tumors, bleeding, infections, swelling and other inflammatory conditions in the surrounding tissues or in the vertebrae.

A cervical spine MRI can also help evaluate issues and symptoms such as numbness, pain, weakness or tingling in the shoulders, arms or neck area.

The best scan for neck muscles is an MRI scan which is best for issues with neck muscles and other muscles, soft tissues and spinal cord.

A CT scan is often best for cervical spine problems when they want to look closer at the bones or blood vessels in the neck and they may order both an MRI and CT scan and sometimes an X ray.

The scan that is best for neck pain is an X ray scan which is most often used as the initial imaging test.

In some cases an MRI without contrast or CT scan may be needed for neck pain.

To sleep if your neck hurts you should sleep on your side or your back and avoid sleeping on your stomach.

Use a supportive pillow that also keeps your neck aligned with the spine when sleeping with neck pain.

You should go to the doctor for neck pain if you have any severe neck pain or the neck pain gets worse, does not go away or you have any tingling and or numbness or weakness in your shoulder, arm or hands.

The red flags for neck pain are severe neck pain and tingling and or numbness or weakness in your hands, shoulder and arm.

When sleeping with neck pain 1 pillow is usually enough to sleep with neck pain.

If you need an additional pillow then you should use another one if needed and the pillow should support your head and your neck by filling in the natural hollow of your neck between your shoulders and head.

To sleep with neck pain you should sleep on your side or your back and avoid sleeping on your stomach.

Use a supportive pillow that also keeps your neck aligned with the spine when sleeping with neck pain.

The emotion that is linked to neck pain is anxiety and depression which can lead to chronic neck pain.

Neck pain is worse at night due to stress and tension being placed on the neck and it's muscles as well as your joints, ligaments and the spine.

The alternative to MRI for neck pain is a CT scan which can be used if you can't have an MRI.

If you have metal implants or a pacemaker or other implanted devices then you should not have an MRI but can have a CT scan instead.

An MRI can come back normal but you still have neck pain which is a clear indication that the neck pain is not coming from a herniated disc and instead the neck pain would be coming from a damaged facet joint.

Getting a normal MRI with severe neck pain can actually be a good thing.

To release tightness at the base of your skull you can do so by applying some gentle pressure from your fingertips at the base of the skull.

You can also massage the base of the skull to release tightness and tension at the base of your skull.

Another option to release tightness at the base of your skull is to place a rolled up towel under the head and neck as you lay down on your back and the pressure from the rolled up towel can provide a gentle massage and release any tightness and tension at the base of your skull.

An ice pack and keeping the area warm can help neck pain at the base of the skull.

Also massaging the neck at the base of the skull and moving your neck around can help ease the neck pain at the base of the skull and taking some over the counter pain medicines such as Aspirin or Ibuprofen can help get rid of the neck pain.

When your neck hurts just below your skull it means you have an issue with your suboccipital muscles which are 4 pairs of suboccipital muscles that are located at the base of your skull.

The job of the suboccipital muscles are to support the movement between your skull and the first and second neck vertebrae.

A chiropractor can help with most neck pain and can provide a safe and non invasive alternative treatment to neck pain.

The first signs of arthritis in the neck are chronic stiffness and chronic pain in your neck which can be worse with upright activity.

Other signs of arthritis in the neck are a sound or feeling of popping in your neck when moving your neck, involuntary contractions of the muscles or spasms which cause pain or a loss of movement and or headaches which can start from your neck and numbness and weakness in your fingers, hands and arms.

You should get an MRI for neck pain if the neck pain does not go away within a few weeks or gets worse or if you have weakness or numbness along with the neck pain.

An ER will treat neck pain through medications and sometimes through physical therapy and if you have more severe neck injuries the hospital will use a neck brace or in severe enough cases surgery may be needed to correct and fix the neck pain.

The best painkiller for neck pain is ibuprofen, aspirin or naproxen or other NSAID medications.

If neck pain is nerves then the neck pain will also be accompanied by numbness, tingling and or weakness in your hand, arm or other places.

If your neck pain is just painful and does not have numbness, tingling, and or weakness in your hand, arms or other parts of the body then it's most likely muscular neck pain.

To sleep with neck pain you should sleep on your side or your back and avoid sleeping on your stomach.

Use a supportive pillow that also keeps your neck aligned with the spine when sleeping with neck pain.

The signs that your neck pain is serious is if the neck pain lasts several days or a week or longer and if the neck pain also spreads down to your legs or arms then the neck pain would be serious.

The red flags for neck pain are severe neck pain, weakness, numbness or tingling in your arms, shoulder or hands.

If you have any of the red flag symptoms of neck pain you should see a doctor.

Meningitis neck pain will feel like intense, deep pain that can extend into the head or down the back.

The neck pain from meningitis can get worse when you stretch and can also involve more than just the neck and shoulder area.

Moving your neck up and down stretches the inflamed tissue of the meninges.

A headache from meningitis will feel like a migraine headache and the headache usually begins quickly and affects the entire head instead of just one location.

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