Pressure in my head/neck

Hello everyone. Lately, I’ve been dealing with frequent pressure in my neck. It feels like something is blocking my breathing, almost as if an artery or vein on the side of my neck tightens up and "vibrates."

It's similar to what many people experience during high-stress periods in major cities like New York City.

What do you think these symptoms might point to? My biggest fear is the possibility of a stroke; it seems like something that can strike even the healthiest individuals without warning.

I previously uploaded my cervical spine X-ray results, but I can re-attach them if necessary. This used to feel much more manageable.

For context, I am 26 years old, 6'2", and weigh about 198 pounds. My routine includes weightlifting and cardio five times a week, along with frequent sauna sessions—usually 4 to 5 rounds at a time.

Hey, I was dealing with this intense pressure in my neck, head, and ears. On top of that, the headaches were brutal. Doctors initially suspected migraines, but it turned out to be carotid and vertebral artery dissection. I’m only 34, and even the specialists can't give me a straight answer on why this happened.
You absolutely need to get an MRI.
I actually just started a thread about this specific diagnosis, but—crickets! Not a single response. It’s probably because it's such a rare condition, but let me tell you, it's anything but harmless.

I just scanned through this thread and noticed there aren't any replies yet. It’s a shame.

I am at a loss for words. I have an appointment with my primary care physician this Monday, and I plan to bring this up and ask about the MRI. To be honest, the whole idea of an MRI makes me uneasy; I have been getting joint exams for years, yet they treat the MRI results like they are some kind of divine scripture.

It seems one has to be wealthy to simply afford the luxury of understanding their own health by paying out of pocket at a private clinic like Mayo Clinic.🙄

Can anyone please provide some actual, concrete answers or offer some practical advice?

That sounds like your neck issues acting up again. I’ve been dealing with similar symptoms for quite a while now. That twitching feeling in your neck? It's just muscle tension. If you keep pushing yourself too hard, it’s only going to get worse—stress tends to make those neck muscles tighten up even more. You should look into some therapy, see a neurologist, or find a physical therapist. Honestly, try to shake off the stress, get moving more, and avoid sitting or standing for too long.

I know I have neck issues, but sometimes even my veins feel like they’re tightening up, and it’s honestly not a great sensation.

Between the stress and everything else, I can't just walk away from it all. I've had a rough life, and certain traumas have definitely left their mark. I'm only 26, and I really don't want to be completely burnt out by the time I hit 40.

As for sitting, it's almost impossible to avoid. I work in tech, so I spend most of my day at a desk. To compensate, I hit the gym, stretch regularly, and occasionally go swimming or hit the sauna. I also try to get a few miles of walking in once a week.

Lately, I've started seeing a physical therapist for occasional massages...

Like I mentioned before, it’s not your nerves tightening up—it's actually your muscles and tendons. Stress just makes those neck muscles knot up even tighter. Honestly, sitting around all day is probably the absolute worst thing you can do for your neck. And look, you aren't the only one dealing with a stressful life; plenty of people are feeling the grind, myself included. But that isn't an excuse to not take a little breather every now and then. You've got to just tune out the world for maybe half an hour. For me, just going for a 5-3.7 miles minute walk every day worked wonders for my neck. I'd suggest seeing a physical therapist or a neurologist to get some tests done so you know exactly what's going on, then you can start some specific exercises. I was in such bad shape once that I could barely use either of my hands because of my cervical spine. Decompression really helped me get back on track. You definitely haven't hit the level of pain I was dealing with, at least not yet. You just need to move more. Just be careful, though, because hitting the gym with bad form can actually make things way worse. This won't be a quick fix, either. It's going to take some time.

I’m throwing in the towel. I’ve tried everything—massages, swimming, long walks, magnesium supplements, a strict diet—but nothing makes a difference.

On top of that, my joints and tendons are completely shot. It feels systemic. My knees have chondromalacia patellae, my shoulders are misaligned, and my elbows feel like they’re right on the verge of snapping.

There’s this one thing you realize when you actually sit down and talk to the older generation. The sheer level of stress they lived through is probably more than most of us could even handle. We're talking genuine trauma, constant fear, and massive losses—famine, violence, wars, dealing with wild animals, just a raw struggle for survival.

It’s also what makes us so fundamentally different and, honestly, kind of broken. They stayed connected, they celebrated, they danced, ate home-cooked food, and shared plenty of hard liquor. They were active from sunrise until basically 3 or 4 in the morning, constantly moving under the sun. Then they’d just crash once the sun went down.

We’re essentially the same people, we’ve just become physically stunted because we lack all those fundamental things. If you actually go to bed at a decent hour, you're letting your body do its job—regenerating and getting your hormones back in check.
Nothing beats being an early riser.

We don't get enough sunlight, which completely wrecks our Vitamin D levels—and yeah, it's technically a hormone.

Go get your Vitamin D checked.
Spending an hour out doing some Nordic walking in the sun is way better than grinding for hours in a gym.
Chopping wood like the old folks used to do is better than any other workout. Even gardening has massive benefits; you're grounding yourself, connecting with soil microbes, boosting your immunity, soaking up the sun, and finding a sense of peace in a whole new world.
But man, it blows my mind how we can call ourselves healthy while living like this—drinking out of plastic, eating processed junk... we’re basically preserving ourselves in chemicals with everything we consume.

.

Petra explained it perfectly. You’ve got to set some realistic priorities in life and actually stick to them, otherwise, the stress from chasing impossible goals will absolutely wreck your health. That neck issue you're having is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what stress can do to your body—everything from blood sugar spikes to heart and vascular problems.
Ps.
Honestly, chopping wood works wonders for neck pain. It beats any gym workout or physical therapy session I've ever tried.

nimblemoose2 said:I’m throwing in the towel. I’ve tried everything—massages, swimming, long walks, magnesium supplements, a strict diet—but nothing makes a difference.

On top of that, my joints and tendons are completely shot. It feels systemic. My knees have chondromalacia patellae, my shoulders are misaligned, and my elbows feel like they’re right on the verge of snapping.

Honestly, it sounds like anxiety mixed with health anxiety. You're only 26, man, and you're already stressing out about brain issues? I think you might be hyper-focusing on every little sensation in your body too much, and that just makes all the muscle tension way worse.

Look, I’ve already mentioned that I stay active. I get plenty of sun exposure daily. In the winter, it’s nothing but snow; when it piles up, I spend about three hours outside shoveling my driveway. Once spring hits, I’m out mowing the lawn. On weekends, we usually grab a coffee at a local diner for an hour and then I spend another two hours walking all over Indianapolis. When summer rolls around, I’ll be working in the garden too—doing those "tough" chores people act like are some magical feat. I've been there, done that; it's nothing special.

When I brought up the gym, I wasn't talking about standard weight machines. I mean pull-ups, dips, and battle ropes that really wear you out. A little bit of free weights here and there, followed by about 30 minutes on the stationary bike, plus stretching. All in, I’m looking at a solid hour and a half to two hours.

I also go swimming once a week combined with a sauna session. Honestly, I can handle a heavy set without even warming up properly, yet I'm being labeled a couch potato here.

Even professional athletes with entire teams of coaches, doctors, and physical therapists deal with injuries. I'm just a guy teaching himself how to train. Plus, I have an autoimmune thyroid condition. It isn't severe—just elevated antibodies—but my other levels stay within the normal range.

The real issue is around my neck and shoulders, specifically how certain blood vessels are structured. Trying to swing an axe overhead or doing any overhead movements is just reckless given my history with swimming and pull-ups.

It seems like getting an MRI is treated like finding the Holy Grail in a video game. When you're stuck in a hospital waiting for something, there isn't even one person ahead of you, yet appointments are booked out eight months in advance. I can't justify paying $333 at private clinics; I'm not exactly rolling in money.

So, what's the move? How do I actually get an MRI or whatever scan is needed to check my neck and head to see what's going on?

Matthew Bishop44 said:Honestly, it sounds like anxiety mixed with health anxiety. You're only 26, man, and you're already stressing out about brain issues? I think you might be hyper-focusing on every little sensation in your body too much, and that just makes all the muscle tension way worse.

I think the anxiety part is accurate. It stems from massive stress—my parents were murdered when I was a kid, and ten years later, the legal battle started. There have been investigations, trials, one thing after another. We just saw our first acquittal, then a conviction, and now we're back to a third round because of some legal technicality.

On top of that, I was physically assaulted just days before my mother had to testify. That kind of trauma leaves its mark.

As for the hypochondria?

The doctors didn't exactly make things up either. They diagnosed me with chondromalacia patellae in my knees and some spinal stenosis in my neck, among other things I can't quite recall...

It's easy to judge someone you've never met.

Everyone handles life's curveballs differently. I lost my mom really early on, and it was just me, my sister, and my old man—who, before she passed, drank everything away until we were left with nothing. I won't even get into the details of how hard that was. I've lived through the highs and the absolute lows, so I totally get where you're coming from. Everyone here is telling you to just relax because there are plenty of things you just can't control. You'll only make things worse by fighting them. You have to accept that some things are out of your hands and life just keeps moving whether you're ready or not. Also, you mentioned those thyroid issues—that can definitely spike your anxiety levels. It causes your neck muscles to tighten up, which puts pressure on your veins. Then, when you finally sit down to rest, all those muscles and vessels in your neck just start twitching. My family always asks me why I'm doing that, but I'm not! It just twitches on its own. If you ever took a hard hit to the head, that could have made your neck problems even worse too.
As for splitting wood, you're 100% wrong there. I don't know why, but nothing works better for the neck. At least for me, and I've got three messed up discs and damaged nerve roots.

nimblemoose2 said:I think the anxiety part is accurate. It stems from massive stress—my parents were murdered when I was a kid, and ten years later, the legal battle started. There have been investigations, trials, one thing after another. We just saw our first acquittal, then a conviction, and now we're back to a third round because of some legal technicality.

On top of that, I was physically assaulted just days before my mother had to testify. That kind of trauma leaves its mark.

As for the hypochondria?

The doctors didn't exactly make things up either. They diagnosed me with chondromalacia patellae in my knees and some spinal stenosis in my neck, among other things I can't quite recall...

It's easy to judge someone you've never met.

Hey, I didn't say anything mean! Honestly, like 90% of people dealing with anxiety deal with health anxiety too. Just try thinking about your pinky toe for a second and see how fast it starts aching.

Matthew Bishop44 said:Hey, I didn't say anything mean! Honestly, like 90% of people dealing with anxiety deal with health anxiety too. Just try thinking about your pinky toe for a second and see how fast it starts aching.

That's poor trolling and unnecessary cynicism. Am I supposed to believe I just imagined my knee issues, my thyroid antibodies, and the physical altercation I went through?

This isn't a joke forum. If you don't have anything substantive or intelligent to contribute, it's better to stay silent.

Thomas Cook said:Everyone handles life's curveballs differently. I lost my mom really early on, and it was just me, my sister, and my old man—who, before she passed, drank everything away until we were left with nothing. I won't even get into the details of how hard that was. I've lived through the highs and the absolute lows, so I totally get where you're coming from. Everyone here is telling you to just relax because there are plenty of things you just can't control. You'll only make things worse by fighting them. You have to accept that some things are out of your hands and life just keeps moving whether you're ready or not. Also, you mentioned those thyroid issues—that can definitely spike your anxiety levels. It causes your neck muscles to tighten up, which puts pressure on your veins. Then, when you finally sit down to rest, all those muscles and vessels in your neck just start twitching. My family always asks me why I'm doing that, but I'm not! It just twitches on its own. If you ever took a hard hit to the head, that could have made your neck problems even worse too.
As for splitting wood, you're 100% wrong there. I don't know why, but nothing works better for the neck. At least for me, and I've got three messed up discs and damaged nerve roots.

I believe you have been through hell, without a doubt. Look, I am not saying those experiences didn't leave a mark on your mental resilience or create a defensive stance toward the unknown. However, some issues are purely physiological due to physical damage. I cannot simply attribute everything to stress. Stress doesn't cause joint issues out of nowhere; when it comes to the thyroid, I can see the connection, but what you are describing sounds like mechanical damage.

I worked with battle ropes, a sledgehammer hitting a tractor tire, and wall balls at the gym today. It felt incredible—a real rush of positive adrenaline.

I would enjoy it more if my neck and shoulder didn't tighten up with every single movement.

What I’m trying to get at is that stress just makes that neck injury feel so much worse. It causes all those muscles to tighten up, which just cranks the pain up a notch. If you could find a way to relax, you'd definitely feel some relief. You probably won't ever totally get rid of it, but if you can dial it down, it'll be way easier to get through your day. Just stick to whatever exercises actually make you feel better. Don't go overboard all at once—just do a little bit every day. That was my experience; decompression really did the trick for me. Honestly, since you had those impacts, you should probably get some scans done to make sure things aren't messed up. Either way, finding a way to unwind, whether it's through exercise or something else, will help your neck function more normally.

nimblemoose2 said:That's poor trolling and unnecessary cynicism. Am I supposed to believe I just imagined my knee issues, my thyroid antibodies, and the physical altercation I went through?

This isn't a joke forum. If you don't have anything substantive or intelligent to contribute, it's better to stay silent.

Got Hashimoto's?

Thomas Cook said:What I’m trying to get at is that stress just makes that neck injury feel so much worse. It causes all those muscles to tighten up, which just cranks the pain up a notch. If you could find a way to relax, you'd definitely feel some relief. You probably won't ever totally get rid of it, but if you can dial it down, it'll be way easier to get through your day. Just stick to whatever exercises actually make you feel better. Don't go overboard all at once—just do a little bit every day. That was my experience; decompression really did the trick for me. Honestly, since you had those impacts, you should probably get some scans done to make sure things aren't messed up. Either way, finding a way to unwind, whether it's through exercise or something else, will help your neck function more normally.

It’s a bit of a catch-22 being an IT-evac; sitting is part of the job description, but I always make time for stretching. Even with this lifestyle, I stay relatively flexible—I can still pull off a split, which isn't easy, I'll admit.

A thorough checkup is definitely necessary.

casualbadger22 said:Got Hashimoto's?

Looking at these symptoms, I share quite a few: difficulty concentrating, lack of motivation, fatigue, swallowing issues, and muscle and joint pain. I'd also add excessive sweating in certain situations.
My doctor didn't give me a specific diagnosis, but during my ultrasound, everything looked normal in terms of size and structure, aside from those antibodies.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hashimoto-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20351803