Does anyone have a remedy for stiff neck?

L

lulu68

Cathlete
Hello,

I have had a stiff neck for about 3-4 weeks now. I'm very short so tipically when someone much taller me goes to hug me my neck area will hit the tallers persons chest, so my normal reaction is to pull have neck back to avoid hurting it, but I think the oposit happen I ended up hurtin my neck, but then again I have been doing alot of barbell squats or I could have just slept wrong. Anyways its begining to affect my sleep plus I'm not able to look over my shoulder when I'm driving and that makes me a little nervous. I've had them before and they tend to go away by themselves but this one is sticking around longer. Hope you can help!

Lourdes
 
Have you tried changing out your pillow to see if that is cause? Are you doing any stretches for your neck and shoulders? It sounds like you are curving your neck slightly upward during your barbell squats instead of looking forward.
 
Pinched nerves in the next and upper back have actually become a "hobby" of mine, I get them so often. LOL.

Heat will help the most. Then stretch.

For heat...you need hotter than your average heating pad. I use a sweat sock, filled with converted rice. (Rice holds heat wonderfully!....I learned that from a massage therapist.)
The sock lets you localize the heat better than a pad or pillow.

Microwave it for 2 minutes, and then arrange it where it needs to be. Leave it for as long as you can take it. Take a break, and then do it again... for the duration of the heat lasting in the sock.

It will help immediately, and in the morning, you'll be back to normal.

(PS: your back - traps - could be a major contributing factor...make sure to take care of that area as well. It's my #1 culprit for pinched nerves in my neck.)
 
Great advice from Melissa. Another thing that is really helpful is self-myofacial release with either a foam roller, tennis balls or pinky balls. I use a soft weighted exercise ball. You can look up some exercises on you tube to guide you. All I know is that using the balls to get in the muscle to release it is so beneficial. For my neck and traps I lay on the floor or hard surface and put the ball in the area of tightness and lay on it for a minute or two. For your traps, if you don't want to lay on the floor, you can put the ball in a tube sock and wedge it up on the wall and lean up against it. The sock works great as you can move the ball around to get in the muscle to release it.

With heavy weight training, I get pretty sore and all kinds of kinks in my neck and back. A massage is such a luxury and wish I could have more of them. Sometimes my hubby will try and give me a good massage, but he's not the best masseuse. His massage's always remind me of the Seinfeld episode of Elaine giving the massage to Jerry. :)

Hope you can get some relief from you neck pain.

Dianne
 
If it is just a 'stiff' neck, with tight muscles, then definitely try the heat trick. If its got sharp pain, you may be out of alignment. I sometimes sleep without a pillow on my yoga mat. I know its a bit uncomfortable. Lie down either with your feet up and pelvis tilted up or completely flat in shivasna. I find that its a great position for meditation and that just a little time completely flat with realign my neck. I do think it was the weight work. I hope that it feels better soon.
 
This is a little bit weird, but it may help to stretch other areas too, not just your back and neck. I sometimes get a stiff neck and I find that stretching my other tight areas - hip flexors (runner's lunges and crescent pose), piriformis (pigeon stretch) and shoulders (clasp hands behind back and lift) as well as neck - helps my neck.

Stebby
 
Thank you all very much for all the great suggestions...I will definately try all of them!!! For those of you who have dealt with stiff necks, is it normal for it to feel worst when you are in a relax stage and for intance when I'm sitting or trying to sleep? The reason I'm asking is because I'm still able to continue doing my high impact workouts. In fact the only time my neck feels somewhat normal is when I'm up and moving and towards the night when I'm trying to relax and of course when I'm trying to get some sleep. Thank you again!!
 
Yes!
That tells you that it's a muscular issue...not a skeletal issue.
When you work out, your muscles are warm and active. Thus...not clamped down on your vertebrae.
Once you cool off, they constricty and start pulling on the surrounding joints and fascia.

That should also tell you that unless you do something to alleviate the muscle strain you are repeatedly causing (with stretching, heat, and postural variations), the issue will continue to get worse...or not improve, at the very least.

So, that's good news. You just need to address it, now. :)
 
melimcn said:
Yes!
That tells you that it's a muscular issue...not a skeletal issue.
When you work out, your muscles are warm and active. Thus...not clamped down on your vertebrae.
Once you cool off, they constricty and start pulling on the surrounding joints and fascia.

That should also tell you that unless you do something to alleviate the muscle strain you are repeatedly causing (with stretching, heat, and postural variations), the issue will continue to get worse...or not improve, at the very least.

So, that's good news. You just need to address it, now. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks! Who do I see for ths problem, my primary care physicion?
 
I second the Deep tissue massages and body stretching, as well as epsom salt baths. Muscles have connective tissue - hence the myofacial release and deep tissue massage remedies help a lot.
Frequent gentle stretching through the day - legs, hips, chest, shoulders, Abs, etc - really helps.
Good luck!
 
All the advice given has been excellent. I just wanted to recommend Kundalini yoga. It looks pretty weird, but there is a lot of neck and spine work--much more than I've found in other styles of yoga. Plus, you practice with your eyes closed, so who cares what you or they look like doing it? It feels wonderful when you're done. I always had trouble with tension in my neck before I started doing these exercises.
Like other more 'mystical' styles of yoga, I just focus on the exercise instructions and tune out the rest, plugging in my own beliefs. I have some of the Ana Brett & Ravi Singh DVDs, and Ravi can be absolutely nauseating with his stupid little attemps at rhyming. And I hated the ones they produced after 2007--I think they got too far away from the actual yoga.
 
Lourdes,

I've had the same problem since Thanksgiving and it got so bad that I went to physical therapy. I had pain going all down my arm, it hurt so bad, I couldn't swing my arm when I walked the dog and when I would drive, I would have to keep putting my arm down. I went to Airrosti therapy and my problem was pretty much taken care of in 5 visits. Now, I had about 45 minutes of exercises I had to do on my own at home, but it was worth it. I use a foam roller several times a day everyday. I lay on my back, and raise my glutes and I give myself a hug to get my shoulder blades out of the way. I roll back and forth for 8-10 times, then turn a bit to the left for 8-10 more times and a bit to the right for 8-10 times. I also did a lot of neck stretching exercises as well. You can look down, then look left, then look right. Also another good one is to put a Theraband at your hairline and look up and down slowly for 10 times, then left and right slowly for 10 times. I hope this helps and I hope you get better!

Amanda
 
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