Symptom relief?

[ymmat83]

Has anyone found any tips or tricks to help relieve some of these symptoms? Head pressure, neck pain, and balance problems make everything so difficult. I'm a newbie here and don't see the neuro until April. I haven't been given a dx yet but my gp says that my MRI shows that the base of my brain is extending down into my spinal column. It really looks to me like I have chiari and I just want some relief!

[Slowelady]

Heat on the back and shoulders and Ice for the base of the neck helps me with the neck spasms and headaches... light massage but as I was recently informed only do light massage as it can cause symptoms to be worse if it is deep tissue.... stretching can help a little....

  Here are some things to ask you Neuro about when you see them.... Physical Therapy for the spasms. My Neuro gave me a numbing cream (cause I don't like taking meds) that I use on my neck and shoulders that provides temp relief if it gets too bad. It's called Neurogenic Plus 10. and I like Cambia for my migraines cause you don't get a rebound headache and it helps with the shoulder and neck spasms as well. Hope that you find some relief and answers!

[selmaS]

  Hi when possible go bare foot..as walking in bare feet can help with balance issues or wear a flexible soled shoe....with warmer weather finally a promise with a change in season this will be easier sooner then u think.

The other thing u may want to do is look at the list of activities to avoid with Chiari and Syringomyelia as it will help to not do certain things as they can trigger symptoms to flare.
See the Health pages for this article -http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/list?cid=186

U can also have ur PCP do blood labs to make sure u do not have ne low levels of Vit D, B12, or magnesium and potassium.....as they can also cause dizziness , balance issues and HA's.