- posted: Feb. 08, 2022
Introduction:
One of the most common issues we see at inTune Chiropractic Clinic here in Mount Juliet, TN is people waking up and suddenly cannot turn their heads. Patients describe it as a muscle spasm, or a “hitch,” or say that they “tweaked” their neck while sleeping but waking up and not being able to turn your head can be a frightening experience if you are not sure what is happening. Good news for you is that most of the time there is no severe issues, and the pain and stiffness can be helped with just some light exercise, manual therapy, and even chiropractic adjustments, otherwise known as spinal manipulations.
Types of Neck Pain:
Most neck pain falls into two different categories: Axial and radicular.
Most likely you are experiencing axial neck pain which just means pain directly associated with the neck (cervical spine) and occasionally some pain or stiffness into the shoulders.
Radicular pain is when nerves are irritated and pain “shoots” or radiates along the nerve down into the shoulders, upper arms, forearms and even to the tips of the fingertips! If you are experiencing radicular pain, it is a good idea to have this examined by your healthcare professional (i.e your local Chiropractor!) to rule out any red flags which could lead to other more serious conditions.
What is Causing It?
- Straining of the neck or upper ribs: maybe you were moving some heavy furniture the day before or possibly had a whiplash-type injury from performing a back handspring in gymnastics. These could all cause some mild strain/sprains to the muscles, ligaments, and tendons of the neck. Your body’s job is to protect the spinal cord and so while you are sleeping the neck muscles tighten up to hold the spine in place but by doing so causes you pain and stiffness.
- Joint Pain: another cause is general joint pain caused from irritation of the facet joints which connect each vertebra in your spine. Improper movement, repetitive motions, or some new activity that your body has not adapted to yet can cause your neck to stiffen up and become irritated. So, when you wake up and can’t move, just realize the best thing you do is to gently try to get movement in the spine. Remember, Movement is Medicine!
- Exhaustion of the Muscles: the last big one is just general exhaustion of the muscles and surrounding soft tissue in the neck. Maybe you are stressed or anxious and are rolling around all night, this lack of quality sleep will cause the muscles to tighten up and become irritated. Like stated above with joint pain, you may have started something new the day before your body is not used to like a new workout plan. Since these muscles are not adapted to this new workout, they may become overly exhausted and if you know us at inTune Chiropractic we let you know that if a muscle is exhausted or weak (deconditioned) it will tighten up on you and decrease your range of motion.
What About Sleeping Position?
This is a more recently hotly debated topic on sleep position and neck and back pain. Current research states that there is no good quality of evidence supporting that different sleeping positions cause neck pain upon waking. You may have read multiple articles about how different sleeping positions may be better or worse for your neck, but currently none of these are backed by evidence. It is better to just find whatever position is the most comfortable for you to enable you to get the best sleep possible and by getting good quality sleep your body has time to heal and recover from the day or that new workout, or all the furniture you moved causing mild strain/sprains.
Takeaways and What Sports Chiropractic Can Do:
Movement is medicine and when waking up with neck pain you may be scared to move but like was stated before, most neck pain is not a serious condition and the best thing you can do for your neck is to continue moving it, exercising, stretching and keep a positive attitude that you will get better. Psychological stress that you are injured has shown to be the top causing attribute to having chronic neck pain. So, tell your brain that it will all be okay, and you will heal and recover that much faster!
For our patients who wake up with that annoying neck pain we perform an examination to pinpoint exactly what tissue is irritated in order to develop a unique, specific approach to get you feeling back to normal quickly. By using chiropractic adjustments, manual muscle stripping (deep massage), instrument assisted fascia work, stretching, cupping, Piezowave2 or shockwave therapy and even the use of sports massage therapy by our very own licensed massage therapist, Shelby Wyks!
inTune Chiropractic Clinic is Mount Juliet, TN most premier sports orientated chiropractic office. We treat every patient that walks in the door the same as we do for our elite level athletes. With a combination of specific chiropractic adjustments, soft tissue therapy, and an approach of active rehabilitation we can get you to meet all your goals.
