Have you ever woken up with a stiff neck after a sleepless night? The feeling of sharp pain that suddenly comes on with no real explanation? Most likely it is what therapists call Wry neck. Let’s look where we usually start, at the anatomy.
Anatomy Time!
The neck consists of seven bones called vertebrae. These bone sit on top of one another creating a vertical column starting at the shoulders going to the base of the skull. Each of these vertebrae have connections with the bones above and below. One of these connections is called the facet joint. Each vertebrae has a facet joint on the left and right side of the vertebrae and allow the bones to rotate and “glide” up or down.
When sudden onset of pain occurs, the likely culprits are these facet joints. In a Wry neck scenario, one or more of these joints gets aggravated at the end range of its available motion. The aggravation can be caused by too much time in a certain position, decreased strength of supporting muscles of the vertebrae, or even increased stress. All of these factors can cause too much pressure and force to go through these facet joints, which will eventually insight an inflammatory response. An inflammatory response causes a small amount of swelling to occur in and around these facet joints, though it is rarely visible on the surface of the skin. It can cause the neck to feel “stuck”. This swelling may also cause some of the surrounding musculature of the neck to go into spasm. All of these issues can be caused by a small facet joint getting overworked.
The good news is that Wry neck can be resolved relatively quickly, most often within a week, and with specific stretching and movements, you can accelerate the process. The first step to getting out of this situation is to stretch the supporting neck musculature, namely the upper trap and levator scapulae. These two muscles often go into spasm or feel right during a Wry neck.
Upper Trap Stretch - In standing or sitting, place one hand behind your back. Reach the other hand over the head. Pull the ear gently to the side of the reaching hand. You will feel a stretch along the side of the neck. Keep the eyes facing forward and try not to rotate the head. Maintain this stretch for 30 seconds, and repeat 3 times.
Levator Stretch - In standing or sitting, place one hand behind your back. Now look to the opposite side at a 45 degree angle. Reach the other hand over the head and place on the back of the skull. Gently pull down and forward. You will feel a gentle pull on the opposite side of the neck. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat 3 times.
After stretching, which will hopefully calm down these overactive muscles, you should look to the joints themselves. Because the swelling may have caused a lack of motion, it is important to slowly move the joints to regain their full range. The facet joints are angled such that you can improve their motion from two different movements. The chin tuck and neck rotations. Doing these gentle movements will improve the range of motion over time and help the joints deal with the inflammation and swelling.
Chin tuck - Lying on your back, nod the chin while keeping the back of the head pressed down to the ground. It will feel like making a double chin. You may feel a slight stretch in the back of the head and neck. Keep this position for 10 seconds while maintaining normal breathing. Repeat 10 times.
Chin tuck with rotation - Lying on your back, nod the chin while keeping the back of the head pressed down to the ground. It will feel like making a double chin. Slowly rotate the head back and forth. Do not lift the head off the ground. Each rotation should take about 5 seconds. Repeat 10 times.
Have you ever experience a stiff neck, if so do you think it was a Wry Neck scenario? Comment below if you have any other neck related issues you want me to cover!
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