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I have severe RA in my back, knees,& mostly neck. MRI shows nothing but bone on bone. Now, when I turn my head or sometimes for no reason, it's like a firecracker going off in my head. It's so loud at times others hear the crack. It's painful, and scary. What I want to know --- what causes this?what can I do to stop it?Is it maybe a pre-curser of tjhings to come?
Optional Information: Person's Gender: Female Person's Age: 74 Already Tried: Alternate heat/ice,topical rubs (myoflex/etc) Chiropractic, pain management (MD), intense P T. group prayer at our church.
Hi
This is Dr Sathya and I am very glad to help you with your question.
I see that you have severe RA in the neck area too, did they mention about Atlantoaxial subluxation?
Atlas is the first cervical spine bone (C1) and axis is second cervical bone (C2).
They form a joint between them and it is called as atlantoaxial joint.
Patients with RA of the cervical spine (neck area spine) commonly have this joint (atlantoaxial joint) involved and it can result in atlantoaxial joint subluxation (slipping of the joint bones, similar to shoulder dislocation etc).
If this happens then when patients move the head (or neck) they can experience this type of sound you have been experiencing, including severe pain too.
So you need to find out from your clinic drs whether you have developed atlantoaxial subluxation.
If you indeed have developed this condition then it needs to surgically fixed to prevent future dislocation of this joint between C1 & C2.
It is important to rule this condition out ASAP because if the dislocation is severe then the bone can compress the spinal cord too, so this needs to be identified & fixed ASAP.
And if this condition is ruled out then you need an MRI of the head too just to make sure nothing else is going on in the head/brain area, but with severe RA we first need to rule out atlantoaxial joint dislocation.
If you have any additional questions do not hesitate to ask me; and if you feel you have received the information you are looking for and feel satisfied with my answer click on the smiley face to compensate me for the time and effort put by me in answering your question.
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