Crick in the Neck

Today I woke up with a crick in my neck.

Not only does my neck hurt, but I've had a killer headache all day, probably as a result from the crick.

So I spent the whole day rolling my neck around, stretching, etc. I even took Aleve - nothing helped.

Well apparently (app-arently), according to this article, I was going about it all the wrong way.

For those of you too lazy to read it, it basically says that a "crick in the neck" is not pulled muscles as people often think, but a strained ligament. In general, it takes 10-14 days to repair. That's no good news.

It says that stretching it is one of the worst things you can do. Oops. And that taking pain medication tricks you into thinking it's better so then you think you're fine and you do things to hurt it more.

The best thing you can do is take it easy, do some light aerobic exercise (to get the blood pumping), and give it time.

I hope you have learned something from this post, and next time you wake up with a crick in your neck, don't stretch!!

LB