What happens when you get a kink in your neck?

Question

You know when you wake up, and you can only turn your neck in one direction because it hurts like hell (likely from sleeping in a bad position)?Physiologically – what’s happening? Is it something related to muscles, joints, tendons, nerves? Is there a best course of action to resolve the pain and whatever’s causing it?

In: 466

Answer 1

I get this a lot, especially after weighlifting. My fix:

I lie down on my back on a flat surface and completely relax the muscles of the neck. Then, gently massage from the skull down the neck all the way down across the shoulders and inside the shoulder blades (rhomboid muscles). Then, gently stretch the neck – left, right, chin to chest, and twist the neck (very carefully). Finish off with massage of same spots.

5 minutes, usually prevents the cramping from getting worse and often eliminates it entirely.