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?
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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.
**Trust me on this one…….. it’s your pillow.**
Every time a person tells me that his neck hurts in the morning, I always tell them it is their pillow—- usually too big or they have the bad habit of folding the pillow to position the head on a higher plane. The older you get the bigger problem this is because you are not as flexible as when you were young.
Stop using a pillow for 4-5 day and if you see a major difference, then that is your problem.
You don’t need big pillows, use a small one, like one for children, it takes a little getting use to it but it will stop all your morning neck problems. Think about it, you have a big pillow that is bending the p!ss out of your neck all night long. It’s going to hurt in the morning.
EDIT: I did not say a FLAT pillow, I said a small pillow. Everyone is different so you have to just try it out. 75% of the population are side sleepers in case you think that it won’t work for you because you sleep mostly on your side.
Lots of interesting ideas but I think most posts are over thinking it. The vast majority of these are strains in various muscles in the neck.
Nobody’s neck muscles are perfectly healthy, and twitches or night jumps can cause minor strains in them. Especially if you sleep in funny positions and have compromised neck fitness (who doesn’t?).
Of course there are dozens if not hundreds of other reasons, but the cast majority of “cricks” in your neck are simple muscle strains. They go away on their own and will respond mildly to TLC.
Since a strain is a very small tear, there is no magic fix. Think of it like a cut in your skin, can anything really make it heal faster? Not really. 5-10%, maybe.
I would get this sometimes. Can only turn my head one way and feel like I have a neck brace on. What I do is lay face down on the bed without a pillow and slowly force my head to face the way that it doesn’t want to go. Slow and steady. Once I can lay flat facing the painful way, I’ll lay there for a good 10-15 mins. Rinse and repeat a couple of times and it’s usually better in the morning.
I have had this so many times from sleeping but also from having my right arm/shoulder/neck wrenched when my dog has unexpectedly pulled on his leash. I can’t say enough about the Thermacare neck heat wraps (US) which deliver hours of heat and that eventually relaxes the spasming neck muscles. They almost always do the trick for resolving the discomfort, more than OTC anti inflammatories like ibuprofen, etc. . I’m a nurse in a college clinic and the kids are always amazed by these things.
Ive had one for 5 days now, been really stressed and partner wont help massage. Its slowly going down but its taking its time…
ELI5 version: Your body gets held in a position that it’s not typically held in for an extended period of time, so your muscles are becoming over stretched and therefore strained. In this unusual position, maybe blood flow has been inhibited, maybe the temperature changes and you shivered or sweat, maybe you’re dehydrated, maybe you injured yourself during the day and it’s finally settling in as you sleep. Sometimes the aches and pains we experienced during the day don’t show themselves til the evening. There are a lot of factors that can cause your muscles to feel worse when in an unfamiliar position, especially for an extended period of time.
Try using a flat buckwheat pillow. They are somewhat smaller then regular pillows. Search around for a good deal. May be able to fins one for $40.00.
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