Why Does My Wife Have Spasms In Her Neck?

Posting Date: 04/25/2001

Ed: My wife has had several situations where she has gotten very stiff muscles in the back of her neck that we dismissed as tension and I would massage. It would eventually manifest itself around in front and cause spasms in the front of her neck to the point where it would be hard for her to breathe. It?s very strange. I?ve taken her to the ER. They?ve prescribed Valium and an anti-inflammatory and after a few hours she was well enough to go home.

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Dr. Dean: There are two kinds of troubled breathing: One is where it seems like there is a constriction in the throat, almost like asthma, like she?s struggling just to breathe. The other is where she?s breathing rapidly in an attempt to get more air. Which one describes your wife?

Ed: Neither. The difficulty I?m talking about is that it?s just very painful for her to inhale -- probably related to the muscles in the front. A deep breath is very painful to her, and she?s got a very high pain tolerance. However, she says the pain was akin to childbirth -- that?s how bad it was. It was awful for her. It?s happened three times.

Dr. Dean: Where is the pain in her chest?

Ed: It?s near her collarbones; on either side of her neck in the front.

Dr. Dean: In general, I?m a fan of a good, professional massage/physical therapist for these kinds of things unless you suspect a slipped disc or something specific that?s pinching a nerve, in which case an arm would be involved.

While it?s impossible to know the ultimate cause, some think these kinds of spastic conditions can be caused by stress. Others think it?s caused by physical strain from performing certain physical actions the wrong way.

When you get a spasm in the muscles, you know that hurts (and I?m sure you?ve had a cramped muscle some place in your body before -- either the bottom of your foot or another common area). In your wife?s case, the breathing hurts because these spastic muscles are trying to move. You can?t stop the muscles when you breathe; you?ve got to use them to breathe. In terms of what the cause is, I don?t know. I?d hate to see her taking a bunch of Valium?Valium is a muscle relaxer as well as a sedative.