Crick in the neck
Ever get up in the morning or move suddenly only to feel a searing pain in your neck that makes it difficult to turn your head to one side? Most of you have and would probably agree that it’s the worst! It’s hard to get comfortable in any position, and checking blindspots while driving becomes its own form of torture. All of this agony can be attributed to one really pissed off muscle called the levator scapula. As the name insinuates, its job is to elevate the scapula. It originates on the upper, inner corner of your shoulder blade and inserts into the side of your neck (there’s one on each side). Every time your shoulder comes up toward your ear, you can thank this muscle for its hard work getting it there. It also helps rotate your neck to the same side which is why it hurts to turn your head when you have a neck crick. When the muscle is stressed from overworking (ie: shoulders always up to your ears or sleeping on it wrong all night), it can go into spasm. This can radiate into your shoulder and upper back, irritating the muscles along its path.
This is an incredibly stubborn and unpredictable condition. Sometimes it can go away on its own. Oftentimes symptoms can linger for weeks or months. The best way to combat it is to seek treatment as soon as you can after it happens. I highly recommend both chiropractic and massage for the quickest relief. A good chiropractic adjustment will give needed space in between the vertebrae. Massage or bodywork can help relax the muscles that bind. The levator scapula is a force to be reckoned with. In a structural integration session, I can bring the pain level down considerably, but it will take more than one session to get it to fully relax. If it carries on longer than a few weeks, you need to look at what you’re doing in daily life that might be aggravating it. Pay attention to when your shoulders start creeping toward your ears. This is very common among computer users. Shallow breathing and a keyboard that’s not ergonomically set up can take it’s toll after awhile. There are many things you can do on your own to help your cause. When it first happens, ice it as soon as possible. This will help with the inflammation. After a day or 2, you can switch to heat. Many will recommend stretching your neck. While this seems intuitive, I find it just irritates the muscle more and initially would suggest against it. If it still bothers you in a week or so, you can conservatively try this approach. I will give exercises at the end, but first, let’s go through the other muscles that can become affected by this condition and should be addressed in the rehab process.
Ok, I’m going to try not to lose you here!
While levator scapula is the specific troublemaker, there are many muscles that contribute to this problem. For every joint there will be at least 2 opposite actions that occur with multiple muscles contributing to each of those actions. In order for balance to be achieved, there needs to be equal tension amongst all. If one gets overly tight and shortens, like the levator scapula in this example, the other muscles responsible for that movement might also get irritated. The other muscles in the case of “lifting your shoulders up to your ears” are the rhomboids and your upper traps, which is why you may feel pain between your shoulder blade and your spine when you get a neck crick. The muscles on the other side of this tug of rope are lacking the strength to win the battle and are forced to go along for the ride. These muscles that pull your shoulders down are the crucial 3 we will focus on to rehabilitate this condition. They are your: lower traps, serratus anterior, and pec minor. They are over stretched and tight and need to be relaxed and strengthened to pull the joint back towards balance by taking tension off the muscles that pull the shoulder upward, and stretching them from the opposite direction.
Like I said, this muscular issue can be unpredictable both in its painful duration and also where it is felt. You may feel it in the neck, shoulder, or traveling part way down the side of you spine.
If you wake up one morning to this unfortunate condition, throw some ice on it, do the exercises below, and book a structural integration session as soon as you can for the best chance of getting rid of it in a timely manner.
Shoulder Depression Strengthener
Stand on a resistance band with feet, hips-width (about 2 fists), and feet parallel
With soft knees, tighten your core, and roll your shoulders back and down
Keep elbows close to the body and pull up slightly on either side of the band
Hold for 30 seconds. Do 3X and intermittently throughout the day
**While you will feel this in your biceps, the purpose of this exercise is to strengthen the muscles pulling your shoulders down. This will help take some of the pull off the muscles pulling your shoulders up to your ears and also give them a gentle stretch in the opposite direction.
Myofascial Release for the Lat
**A lacrosse ball is used in this picture. You can also do this exercise with a tennis ball, foam roller, or duo-ball peanut.
The area of the lat that we’re trying to find is on the bottom 2/3 side of the shoulder blade
Place the ball in this relative area and then lie on your side with the ball in between you and the floor. Move around till you’ve found “the spot”. It’ll be quite tender.
**If you’re not sure if you’re on it, you’re not on it.**
Hold for 90 seconds
Additional Notes:
To take pressure off the neck, place a pillow between your arm and head. You only need to do this on the affected side, however, most people will benefit from this being done on both sides, regardless if you have a neck crick or not. If laying on it is too much pressure, do this against a wall. A foam roller will also be less concentrated pressure.
Self-Care Tool
The Backnobber
When it comes to cricks in the neck, the Backnobber is my favorite self-care tool to tackle this beast. Press down into the top, inner corner of the shoulder blade where you feel the pain. You can press down on the top while pulling the bottom away from you to really get deep into the muscle. From here, turn your neck away from the pain, stretching it from where you’re pinning it down. This will also feel good pressing into the other spots you feel pain. While this won’t be able to completely eliminate your pain, it will provide you with some instant relief. Sometimes you can even move the pain into more manageable areas of the upper back so that turning your head isn’t so torturous.
How to Use
Locate the upper inner corner of your shoulder blade. It should be tender since the levator scapula attaches there
Place one end of the Backnobber into that area. Try to get deep by scraping the bone with the knob
To increase the pressure, press down on the top of the Backnobber while pulling the bottom curve forward
With tip anchored in to the muscle, turn your head to the opposite side, down and towards your armpit to feel a stretch
Breath and hold. Use frequently throughout the day.