Bad sleeping posture is just a trigger. The real reason for a stiff neck is...

Author: Liu Xin, Emergency Department, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University

Review expert: Guo Shubin, Chief Physician, Emergency Department, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University

Many people have had this experience: they were fine before going to bed, but when they woke up, their neck suddenly couldn't move. The slightest movement would cause unbearable pain, and they couldn't even turn their heads. This is what we often call a stiff neck.

Most people think that stiff neck is caused by improper sleeping posture, but the reason is not that simple. It may be that your neck is sending you a signal for help.

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What exactly is stiff neck? What are the symptoms?

"Stiff neck" is also called "lost neck", medically known as "cervical and shoulder muscle fasciitis", which is generally caused by the excessive tension of the neck and shoulder muscles for a long time. Usually young people are more likely to suffer from it. There are several typical symptoms:

There is nothing abnormal before going to bed, but after getting up, the neck will feel pain and discomfort, usually on one side. When the body changes from lying down to standing, the pain will worsen and may even cause pain in the shoulders and back.

The movement of the neck is significantly restricted and cannot be turned freely. In severe cases, it may be difficult to lower or raise the head.

Due to muscle stiffness, the head may tilt toward the painful side, and the pain may be significantly worse when the head is turned to the other side [1].

Most cases of stiff neck can be cured within four or five days, but in more serious cases it may take weeks or even months to recover.

Most cases of stiff neck can be cured within four or five days, but in more serious cases it may take weeks or even months to recover.

If you have a stiff neck, you should look at the cause and be more careful about the internal cause.

There are usually three reasons for stiff neck:

One is incorrect sleeping posture. Lying on your stomach, tilting your head to one side, or curling up too much while sleeping will cause the muscles on one side of your neck to spasm due to long-term stretching.

The second is an inappropriate pillow. A pillow that is too high, too low, too soft or too hard will cause the neck muscles to be overstretched or flexed, leading to muscle spasms.

The third is the neck getting cold. This often happens in the summer, when many young people like to turn on the air conditioner when they go to bed at night. Long-term exposure of the neck to a low temperature environment can cause poor blood circulation, leading to muscle stiffness and pain.

However, these factors are only triggers of stiff neck, not the real causes.

To understand the real cause of stiff neck, we must first talk about the neck muscles. Daily movements such as lowering the head, raising the head, and turning the head are all controlled by the neck muscles. However, in recent years, more and more people have been working at desks for a long time, or looking down at their phones for a long time, which has caused the muscle fibers of the neck muscles to be overused for a long time, and the elasticity has become increasingly poor.

At this time, if you occasionally have an improper sleeping posture, an uncomfortable pillow, or catch a cold or get damp, it can easily cause a stiff neck.

People who suffer from long-term strain on their neck muscles may also experience recurrent symptoms of stiff neck. This situation cannot be simply treated as stiff neck, but it should be recognized that this is a cervical spondylosis and medical attention should be sought as soon as possible.

How to relieve and prevent stiff neck

When the symptoms of stiff neck are relatively mild, you can use the following methods to relieve them yourself.

First, cold compress. Stiff neck is generally an acute injury, which is often manifested as local pain and stiffness. Cold compress should be applied within 48 hours. You can wrap small ice particles in a towel and apply them to the affected area for 15 to 20 minutes each time, twice a day. In severe cases, you can apply once every hour.

The second is hot compress. After the pain is relieved, you can apply hot compress to the painful area with a hot towel, hot water bottle, heating pad, etc., which can speed up blood circulation, relieve muscle stiffness, and further relieve pain.

Finally, massage. If the neck and shoulders are still painful after the above methods, you can use the muscle separation method to massage. The patient sits down and exposes the neck and shoulders. The family members or medical staff stand behind the patient, apply a little safflower oil or muscle relaxation oil on the affected shoulder, hold the top of the patient's head with one hand, and put the thumb of the other hand on the patient's shoulder pain and gently massage, and gently push outward. Do it 3 to 6 times a day. After muscle separation massage, neck and shoulder pain can generally be relieved.

If the symptoms of stiff neck are severe, some patients with high risk factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases need to be alert to the precursors of acute cerebrovascular disease and must go to a regular hospital for treatment.

It is not difficult to prevent a stiff neck. Don't keep your head down for a long time. You can effectively prevent a stiff neck by shrugging your shoulders, turning your head, and stretching frequently.

Shrug: Keep your body upright, relaxed, and shrug your shoulders upwards. Hold still for 3 seconds, then take a deep breath and tilt your head back as slowly as possible. You can do this 10 to 15 times in a row.

Head movement: Use the head to slowly stretch and retract in four directions, up, down, left and right, alternately.

Stretch: Stand up, raise your hands above your head, and rotate your neck at the same time, do this once every 30 to 60 minutes. Studies have shown that stretching can not only speed up blood circulation and relieve muscle stiffness, but also relax your mood.

Therefore, a stiff neck is not simply caused by an incorrect sleeping posture, but also a distress signal from your neck muscles. If not handled properly, it may lead to new diseases.

References:

[1]Liu Libin. Classification, diagnosis and treatment of stiff neck. Practical Clinical Integration of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, 2009, 9(6):77-78.

Source: Science Popularization China

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