Some things you can do at home to ease a stiff neck are moving, applying heat, and taking painkillers. If it doesn’t go away, you might get help from an expert, like a physical therapist.
People sometimes say they have “a crick in their neck” when the muscles around their lower neck and shoulder blades feel stiff. This is not the same as chronic or regular neck pain, which can be caused by many things and tends to come back at regular times.
If you have a crick in your neck, it’s probably more stiff and uncomfortable than really painful. You can treat it at home most of the time. A crick in the neck can sometimes make it hard to move for a short time.
Find out why you might have a crick in your neck and how to quickly get rid of it by reading on.
What Is A Crick In The Neck?
The phrase “crick in the neck” isn’t very specific. It can mean a number of problems with the cervical or thoracic spine, as well as problems or injuries in the areas around the neck, like a strained muscle in the upper back.
People often use “neck crick” to mean either neck pain or a stiff neck. It can also mean a type of neck pain that makes you feel like something is “stuck” in your neck or in a facet joint, which is where your cervical vertebrae meet. There are many things that can cause neck pain and cricks in the neck, but here are some of them:
Spasm: A muscle spasm is when a muscle contracts without your control. Most of the time, they are caused by hurting or overusing the muscle. When you put stress on muscles in your neck and upper back, they can start to twitch. The weight of your head—about the size of a bowling ball—is on your neck.
Bad balance for your head and neck makes your head weigh more, which puts more stress on the muscles in your neck and upper back. A lot of experts think that muscle twitches are the main cause of most neck cricks.
An intervertebral disc herniates when the soft inner layer of the disc pushes through the hard outer layer. This can happen in the cervical spine. Due to its small size, the spinal column can press on a nerve root if there is a herniation.
If you have a herniated disc in your cervical spine, you might feel pain in your neck, but more often than not, you’ll feel pain that goes down one or both arms. Radiculopathy in the upper back and shoulders, on the other hand, may feel like neck pain.
When there is stenosis in the cervical spine, there isn’t enough space in the spinal canal for the spinal cord or the nerve branches that come from it. Stenosis is often caused by bone spurs in the spine that are caused by osteoarthritis. As with bulging discs, radiculopathy is more likely to be caused by cervical spine stenosis than neck pain.
What Are The Symptoms Of A Crick In The Neck?
If you have a crick in your neck, you might feel stiff but not hurt. But most of the time, you’ll have both. You might find it harder to turn your head to one side, so you’ll probably turn your shoulders or your whole body to make up for it.
These are the most common signs and symptoms:
- Neck stiffness
- Not being able to move your neck or head as easily because you don’t have enough movement
- Pain in the neck or shoulder that gets worse when you move
- Spasms or knots in muscles
- You might want to pop your neck.
- Making popping sounds when you move your neck
What Causes A Crick In The Neck?
The most common reason is crick in the muscles, tendons, or ligaments in the neck. This sudden, vague neck pain or stiffness is not caused by a health problem. Most of the time, these joint problems are to blame.
Muscle Strain
When you overstretch a muscle, you hurt or tear muscle fibers, which is called a strain. Most of the time, this damage is what causes a crick in the neck.
The levator scapulae are often strained muscles. that go from the back of your neck to your shoulders. You can lift or shrug your shoulders with this muscle. It also helps you tilt your head by working the muscles in your neck.
A muscle tightness in the neck or upper back may be caused by:
- Keeping your head in a bad position for long stretches of time
- Bad posture at your work, like slouching, all the time
- “Text neck” happens when you look down at your phone for long amounts of time.
- Being in a bad position to sleep
- Lifting heavy things or doing other things at work, in sports, or while exercise that can lead to overuse injuries
Neck Sprain
The stable part of your neck is held together by muscles. A neck sprain gives you a crick in the neck when they are hurt. A neck sprain can happen from an impact or from moving quickly and forcefully. Falls and car crashes (whiplash) are two examples. Most people will hurt and be stiff the most in the first day or two after getting hurt.
Musculoskeletal Health Conditions
A crick in the neck can sometimes be caused by certain underlying illnesses. This link takes you to that makes your neck hurt, your muscles twitch, and your body feel stiff. A crick in the neck can also be caused by the less common things below:
- Disc herniation in the neck: When a disc in the neck bulges, it presses on nerves. This makes your neck hurt and gives your arm tingling and weakness.
- Cervical disc degeneration: People over 40 are more likely to get this. As the fluid in the cervical disc breaks down, there is less room between the vertebrates, which causes pain and stiffness in the neck.
- Spondylosis or cervical osteoarthritis: Pain and stiffness are signs of arthritis in the neck.
Mental Health Concerns
If your neck muscles are stiff and hurt, it could also be because of your mental health. A new study says that long-term worry, anxiety, and depression can make you more likely to get a crick in the neck. Most likely, it’s because these mental stresses make your neck and shoulder muscles tighten, which can lead to muscle knots or spasms. These stresses can also make you feel and be more aware of physical pain.
How to Get Rid of a Crick in Your Neck
There are a few things you can do to get rid of a bone in your neck.
- Over-the-counter pain relievers
- Any over-the-counter pain killer, like Tylenol, or an anti-inflammatory drug, like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), can help in the case of joint pain. You should eat something before taking a painkiller if you wake up with a stiff neck. If you don’t, you could hurt the walls of your stomach.
1. Neck Tilts
Neck tilt is a move that many people do when they have a crick in their neck. Sit up straight in your chair and slowly bring your chin to your chest. You should feel a stretch in the back of your neck. Hold it in this position for 10 to 15 seconds, then slowly move it back to where it was. You can do this stretch four times in a row.
2. Heating Pad Or Rice Sock
Putting heat on muscles that are tight can help loosen them up. Once your muscles can move easily again, your range of motion should return. This is because the nerves in your spine can heal.
One way to use heat to ease a crick in your neck is to put a heating pad on the area and leave it there for 8 to 10 minutes. If you don’t have a heating pad on hand, heat some raw rice in the microwave for 30 seconds by putting it in a clean sock. Putting heat on your shoulder and neck will help the “rice sock” that you make work.
3. Hydrotherapy
Hot water and steam can be used to rub and calm your neck. The hot shower jets may be enough to loosen up your muscles. Stand under it and let them massage your neck. The same thing might happen if you go to a steam room or take a long, hot bath.
4. Stretching
If you do some light stretching, the stiff muscles around your nerves in the neck might loosen up. Carefully and slowly move your head from side to side. Then, roll your head forward and feel the pull of gravity on your neck as you turn your head around.
You could also lie on your back, raise your arms to shoulder height, and move your head slowly from side to side.
To loosen up your muscles, you should breathe deeply and move slowly through these stretches. If you feel sharp pains, stop stretching right away so you don’t pull a muscle and make your pain worse.
5. Chiropractor Or Physical Therapist
If the things you try at home don’t help, you might benefit from seeing a doctor or physical therapist. They will look at the crick in your neck and come up with a plan to help you feel better. A chiropractor or physical therapist may also be able to help you avoid neck stiffness in the future by giving you advice about your balance and how you live your life.
6. Shoulder Rolls
Shoulder rolls are another easy stretch that can help with a strained neck. Sit or stand with your back straight and your shoulders loose to start. As you move each shoulder forward, rotate them both forward and hold for 10 to 15 seconds. After that, turn both shoulders backwards and hold for 10 to 15 seconds. Do this stretch four to five times.
7. Head Tilts
To get rid of a crick in your neck and stretch out the muscles in your neck, this exercise is helpful. First, sit up straight. Then, tilt your head slowly toward one shoulder. Hold for 10 to 15 seconds, and then switch sides. Do this stretch four to five times.
8. Upper Trapezius Stretch
Neck sprains are often caused by tension in the upper trapezius muscles, which can be helped by this practice. Sit up straight and bring one ear up to your shoulder. This will stretch the muscle in your upper trapezius. Hold for ten to fifteen seconds, then switch sides. Do this stretch four to five times.
The Bottom Line
A crick in the neck is a common illness that makes the neck hurt or stiff. Often, it makes it hard to move your body and turn your head in one way. The main cause is generally something mechanical, like muscle strain from holding your head in an odd position. If you have a crick in the neck, you can get better with rest, ice or heat, and light stretches.