I have my - What i thought was a whiplash injury (prior to diagnosis) back.
sore stiff neck, feels like my shoulders are doing all the work holding my head up and the shoulders are too high and clicking a lot.
I have not had this for a couple of years but its bad now.
anybody else? is this PSA? or were the doctors correct?
I just wanted to clarify. . . you had a whiplash injury? Certainly any joint thatās been injured can later develop inflammation later due to PsA. But is this primarily muscular pain?
Wait. . . you have a newborn? Holding the baby can aggravate the neck and shoulders. Even if youāre not nursing, youāre likely holding the baby a lot AND looking down at the baby. My thought is that this is the likely cause. Watch your posture.
I went to a very good semi-famous massage therapist who does needling recommended by a friend. after years of bad lower back and at the time i also had a stiff neck problem (described better above), i had had it before but it comes and goes. bad at the time i went to see this guy
he took one look at my neck and upper back (and this is after physios and osteos had all had a go) and goes āyou have a whiplash injury. here lay back.ā then he wrapped my head in a towel and stretched me in a few directions and it was completely gone! not to return until now, a few years later.
I just wonder though since it returned atm when im having a PsA flare, maybe its actually that and always was. or maybe as you say it may be a place thats open to PsA symptoms as it was hurt before.
you could be right about the new born, but with my wrists im not actually holding him much lately.
Also, I want to encourage you to look into baby wearing. Itās a great way to attend to your baby and get lots of physical contact while keeping it easier on your body (especially hands and wrists).
Could be PsA nickace. Iām damned if I know whatās happening to my own body half the time, but the default is: āitās PsAā. I currently have some pain and stiffness in back, neck and shoulders, probably from excessive decorating but I doubt it would be so noticeable without PsAās help. I got my husband to prod around to check for enthesitis, which I think is my problem anyway. No yelps around back area but my ribcage is much more tender on prodding than usual. So Iām thinking possibly referred pain. Whatever that is!
Fat lot of use I am. But anyway, a rheumatologist might have a clearer view! And also ā¦ it is tricky to know what is what but I think that pain in one area can result from the awkward way we may move around or lie or sit when another area of the body is causing problems.
My understanding (as small as it is) is that any joint can be affected by PsAā¦ I seem to have it in my shoulders, particularly around the ac joints (where collar bone connects to shoulder blade), I didnāt even realise they were sore until one shoulder froze, badly lol. I didnāt notice the enthesitis in elbows either, until the rheumy slightly squeezed one and I nearly jumped out of the seat haha
Hi nickace! Surely PsA is partly to blame. Whiplash injuries can flare up for yearsāIām having neck pain now and I wouldnāt doubt it has something to do with a neck injury almost 25 years ago PLUS active PsA and past damage from it.
I found a sheet of neck exercises that worked really well for me and the pain was gone for almost a dayā¦Iām not at home now, but later Iāll attach a copy here and you can try the exercises. I think if theyāre done as often as recommended they work really well. 
Grandmaa_J
That would be much appreciated thank you.
Im not quite sure how stretching releives symptoms (one would think stretching or no stretching the joints under attack) However i confirm it definately helps my ankles and back.
does the neck stuff involve something like putting your chin on your chest and stretching the back of the neck from side to side?
Hey Nickace, itās good to have you here with us. Bummer that you āqualifiedā for our club, though. Listen, if it aches or itās inflamed, it could very well be PsA. @tntlamb is the shoulder and spine specialist (amongst many other wonderful things) around here. Heāll probably weigh in soon.
I see that you are a swimmer. What a bonus that is! Movement in water is one of the best ways of exercising and maintaining your range of motion without putting strain on your joints. I hope you are continuing to swim ( gently if you have to) despite your aches and pains.
Glad you joined us, and we hope you will be too!
Seenie
PS is the rumour about your being an IT hero true?
Seenie,
have not swam in a while admitadly. I mean to be strong and swim every day. hope to soon.
Yes its true. Im an IT Manager, and prior have been a sys admin for many years. There is nothing i dont know or cant work out!
Iāve had lots of problems with my neck lately, and Iāve only just realised that neck problems I had prior to PsA were probably the start of the PsA, I just didnāt know at the time. Mine is a general ache not unlike the type you get with raised lymph nodes with cold or flu. From time to time a nerve must get nipped as it makes me feel a bit lightheaded. I also get it along the collar bone too - although thatās more of a burning thing. I got worried a few weeks back and popped in the docs as I really thought my nodes must have been up and I just couldnāt feel them myself - but no, all was fine. Itās ājustā PsA!
Careful there nick ā¦ go float, bicycle in deep water, scull gently, stride across shallow end. Itās not time (yet) to swim laps. Gently does it. You might even see a physiotherapist and have him/her work with you to develop a program to preserve your range of motion and strengthen the muscles you need to support your inflamed joints.
My background is in aquatics (last century, LOL), and my trips to the pool now are all about my joints and muscles, not about time or distance. Knowing my background, the physio did teach me some exercises that use cool swimming moves. But swimminā it aināt. 
And she particularly cautioned me about over-exertion.
The benefits Iāve derived from my pool routine have been amazing. The first triumph was walking straight again, without a cane! I canāt say enough good things about my hydrotherapy.
I donāt think Iām quite as bad as you were by the sound of itā¦ I can swim laps.
20 or so. At least the last time I swam a few months ago.
Occasionally my wrists canāt do it but usually even when bad I can at least do laps.
Having said that Iām not sure if my new shoulder and neck issues would allow it.
Iām kinda over this whole thingā¦ It hasnāt quite sunk in yetā¦ I keep thinking maybe I donāt have it but I do.
My right ankle is quite bad todayā¦ And I have a long drive for work in the morning and being at a client site Iām sure my back will hate me sitting in some unusual desk. By the end of the day and the stop start driving Iām sure Iāll be in pain when I get home.
All these ridiculous problems that normal people know nothing ofā¦ At least diagnosis was an explanation if nothing else good and a means to get treated and better. Having a moment here! Sorry
Sorry?? Thatās why weāre here! This is the place where you can have moments without apologizing. Now if you only come here to have temper tantrums, weāll be dealing with you. 
LOL
nickace, itās a very confusing business! Every time I reply to someone Iām aware of necessarily simplifying matters. We feel better and celebrate, even if just quietly, to ourselves ā¦ feel bad again, feel sorry for ourselves, feel a bit guilty as a result, man (or woman) up ā¦ and so on and so forth ad infinitum. A bit like healthy life in some respects only worse! Times of clarity and determination and physical improvement are the best though, I wish you many such times!
I finally got a chance to send these neck exercisesā¦in the past several days theyāve helped me so much Iām thinking about delaying the neck P.T. my doctor was going to schedule! Now to attach the picsā¦I wasnāt able to scan them because our printer isnāt working, so I took pics of two pages of instructions.
Here, you are just ALWAYS allowed to have such moments. Look at how many of them Iāve had!
And sometimes just sometimes the anticipation of something being horrible doesnāt live up to itself. I so hope thatās the case for you today.
Thanks Seenie 
