I hurt my neck paddling!

Yes, you read that right. It is not a lower back injury, but a neck injury. The mechanism is the same, but I wanted to address neck pain in this article. The fact is that you can strain any muscle or joint by doing almost any activity.

In this example, a patient of ours was shoveling snow and turned his head as he raised the shovel to throw some snow to the side. He mentioned that he was careful with his back: bending his knees, using his thigh as a fulcrum, not lifting too heavy a load, etc. But when he turned his head to the right, he immediately felt the muscles of his on the right side of his neck, from the back and sides of his head to his upper back, sixteen upwards. He said that he felt like a big spasm or cramp.

We have seen this many times before, this same thing can happen in the lower back or in the leg as well. People can sometimes describe it as a “Charlie’s horse” feeling. So why might this happen by doing an activity you wouldn’t think would cause it?

The answer is this: sometimes a muscle or a joint is about to get irritated. Let’s say, for example, that the night before the blizzard you were on the computer for hours; your neck was tense afterwards but it seemed to go away. Then you went to bed and got up early to shovel. Half asleep, while everyone was still in bed, you put on your jacket, hat and gloves, braved the cold and began to shovel.

In the example above, you can see how the shoveler’s neck was probably still sore from the night before (it may have gotten worse while sleeping too), then without warming up the muscles a bit (taking a shower or stretching a bit would have marked a big difference), or even drink some water (this obviously helps to hydrate the body, in this case the muscles and joints, which helps prevent injuries). In this case, the individual probably shakes the body up a bit, gets out in the cold, and begins to do a fair amount of physical activity.

Now, I’m not saying that doing this or anything similar will cause a neck or back injury, and I know most of us have been guilty of it in the past. However, if one is in the habit of doing this kind of thing often, one can and will eventually get hurt. I’m going to give you some tips you can use to heal your neck once you strain it, but keep in mind that the real goal is to prevent it from happening. Believe me, I’ve seen people who have pushed themselves so hard or pushed and restrained over and over again that their neck is to the point where it doesn’t heal as easily or as quickly. So, as you can probably guess, my first step in curing a strained neck is to prevent it in the first place.

Neck Sprain/Strain Healing:

1. Try to avoid it and prevent it from happening. This goes especially for those of us who have injured our necks before and have an idea of ​​what causes it.

2. Improve or correct spinal alignment. To do this, see a chiropractor, osteopath, or someone who does this professionally. A massage often helps because a good massage can help relax the muscles and ligaments, allowing the spine to snap back into place.

3. Use natural therapy first. Heat and ice are easy to make, cost nothing, and can be used anytime. In reality, it is rare that a prescription muscle relaxant is needed.

4. Start doing gentle neck stretches once you start to feel better. This will help lengthen the muscles, breaking down muscle adhesions and preventing future strains. The most commonly needed stretch is the head tilt. Slowly bring one ear toward your shoulder until you feel a stretch; hold for 10-20 seconds, relax and repeat.

5. Muscle massage at home. Use your fingertips to find those tight spots to massage. You will find that it is often a “hurt” type of feeling. Once you get a massage or spinal alignment, you’ll have a better idea of ​​how you feel.

6. Use a cervical pillow to sleep. This also helps relax the muscles helping to align the spine. It can and should also be used as one of the neck pain prevention methods.

There you go! The next time you strain your neck or feel a neck spasm coming on, use the tips above. My best recommendation is to use the list above for prevention or spinal maintenance, if desired. We’ve all heard it before, but I’ll say it again: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

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