I was playing basketball when I reacted quickly to catch a pass. I remember turning my head real fast to see the ball coming and that’s when my neck just tightened right up. It was sore for the rest of the game but I still played. I stayed in the shower for a few extra minutes letting the hot water just hit my neck which seemed to help a little.
Unfortunately, I woke up the next morning in excruciating neck pain. It was difficult to turn my head especially but I could feel pain with just about anything. What do you think this is and when will I be pain free? -Serious neck pain sufferer
This does sound exactly like a muscle strain. What most likely happened is when you reacted quickly it caused a spasm in the muscle and the muscle tightened up. This is another way of saying a pulled muscle. You will have pain because through the muscle runs a number of nerves. A strain or pulled muscle often creates inflammation which will put pressure on nerves.
Healing time for this will vary depending on how severe the neck strain was and what you are doing or not doing. Avoid strenuous neck positions and things that may aggravate it like turning too fast or things like playing sports. You may have to do this for a few days or a few weeks until the pain goes away. If the hot shower helped continue using that as well as a hot pack.
Sleeping position is extremely important also. The cervical traction pillow works great at aligning your neck and helping you to maintain a good sleeping position. With rest, heat, and a neck pillow like the cervical traction pillow you should get fast neck pain relief allowing you to get back to your normal activities.
Additional Reading Resources:
This does sound exactly like a muscle strain. What most likely happened is when you reacted quickly it caused a spasm in the muscle and the muscle tightened up. This is another way of saying a pulled muscle. You will have pain because through the muscle runs a number of nerves. A strain or pulled muscle often creates inflammation which will put pressure on nerves.
Healing time for this will vary depending on how severe the neck strain was and what you are doing or not doing. Avoid strenuous neck positions and things that may aggravate it like turning too fast or things like playing sports. You may have to do this for a few days or a few weeks until the pain goes away. If the hot shower helped continue using that as well as a hot pack.
Sleeping position is extremely important also. The cervical traction pillow works great at aligning your neck and helping you to maintain a good sleeping position. With rest, heat, and a neck pillow like the cervical traction pillow you should get fast neck pain relief allowing you to get back to your normal activities.
Additional Reading Resources:
