I was on the muscle relaxant for a full day, and I was no better. Any time I moved, I was retriggering the spasm.
The neck brace stopped that. I still had to be careful, but at least I could walk around and sit and such without constantly re-spasming (which I suspect was actually exacerbating the injury).
I do agree in concept with the concern about combining such an injury / muscle relaxant with strong pain killers. The pain is warning you as to damage; numbing it seems like it might well promote furthering that damage and/or hindering healing.
In my case, once I was braced and stopped retrigging -- and possibly worsening -- the spasming, the remaining pain was entirely tolerable. Of course, the limited effective activity was another aspect requiring coping. That included sleeping: Getting into bed, and keeping things immobilized in bed, was a bit of effort. I learned how to sleep with a neck brace on, and I "trained" myself quickly not to roll from side to side -- despite my allergies that promote frequent shifting.
I was on the muscle relaxant for a full day, and I was no better. Any time I moved, I was retriggering the spasm.
The neck brace stopped that. I still had to be careful, but at least I could walk around and sit and such without constantly re-spasming (which I suspect was actually exacerbating the injury).
I do agree in concept with the concern about combining such an injury / muscle relaxant with strong pain killers. The pain is warning you as to damage; numbing it seems like it might well promote furthering that damage and/or hindering healing.
In my case, once I was braced and stopped retrigging -- and possibly worsening -- the spasming, the remaining pain was entirely tolerable. Of course, the limited effective activity was another aspect requiring coping. That included sleeping: Getting into bed, and keeping things immobilized in bed, was a bit of effort. I learned how to sleep with a neck brace on, and I "trained" myself quickly not to roll from side to side -- despite my allergies that promote frequent shifting.