What causes pain in the neck and lower back?
Patient: I m trying to determine the diagnosis, causes and best treatments for my pain. My neck hurts,also upper middle and lower back, my hips hurt. When I lie on my back I get intense burning in my right thigh. I have atrial fibrillation on a continuous basis and have medium sleep apnea and use Cpap. I have nodules under the skin along my spine, thighs and arms which are painful to touch like bad bruises, I am white female 67 years and weigh 260 pounds. I eat very little but gain weight. In the past 3 years my mobility continues to deteriorate and I have poor balance and major difficulty going down stairs. Doctor: Hi, I understand your question and I will help youWith such cases in my clinic I would like to exclude serious conditions as Rheumatoid arthritis by doing certain laboratory investigation (Rheumatoid factor). Rheumatic nodules of (Rheumatic fever should be excluded also). Also I advise you to receive NSAID and muscle relaxant. I suggest doing X Ray  for your lumbosacral spine and your hips.