Neck Pain.

[Beregond]

Last summer, I developed a bad pain on the left side of my neck. It got so bad, I finally went to a physical therapist for it. He used the electrostim machine on it and gave me some stretches to do. It went away, but it might have on it's own for all I know.

Now it's back. It came on me suddenly, a day after training. I hadn't even done shrugs that day, because the gym was so crowded. It just hit me out of the blue. I got almost no sleep for two nights. I've been putting ice packs and heat on it, taking ibuprofen and aspirin, and Vicodin when I can't stand it anymore. Been doing the stretches again too. Today it seems a little better, but not much.


It pisses me off, because I don't want to train and make it worse, but my training was going so well, I hate to stop. It feels like it is in the left posterior scalene and/or the origin of the left trap.

Any ideas about this? Is it an old injury that comes back when I stress it again? Am I doomed to never training traps again?

One thing that I did change a few days before it happened was, I switched from the Hammer Strength shrug machine to the Smith Machine, bar in front, palms forward. I prefer the Hammer Strength machine, but I can use so much weight on it my grip can't keep up. I can't use straps because they don't work well with the rubber handles. I'm wondering if the palms-toward-the-thighs position is safer or something. I guess I could try dumbbells, but I can't use nearly as much weight with them either.

Anyone else get this? Recovery ideas? Thanks.

 

[SacToSD]

This sounds like a hard to pinpoint question, to me. What does it sound like to me? It sounds like you've got some pain due to a nerve getting pinched, a muscle tear, a bone going where it's not supposed to be, or god knows what. Maybe you could see a chiropractor and get a reasonably cheap x-ray? A lot of the time they'll have special offers like that, if you call around and ask. Just don't get hustled into thinking that you have some bizarre subluxation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertebral_subluxation or something else. Do the research and try and limit the possibilities, then take your questions to a qualified professional. When you sound like you know what you're talking about, you'll cut their BS factor down. I'm curious to know what you have, actually. I had a similar thing happen to me years ago that somehow healed on it's own. It hasn't come back. Similar signs and symptoms to yours, too. ???

 

[Beregond]

I really think it's a muscle tear. I think I tore it last summer, and when it healed it left some scar tissue that now makes me vulnerable to tears in that area again. I can put my fingers right on the spot where the pain originates, and it's in the muscle. The pain doesn't radiate the way a pinched nerve would.

I was thinking about it, and I remembered that I have been dropping my chin when shrugging. I read somewhere that was more effective. But obviously, that would lead to a greater stretch in the back of the neck, and I bet that caused the tear. Once this heals, I'll stop doing that, and we'll see. I suspect doing the shrugs with a bar in front of my quads is a bad idea too, as this started right after I switched to that.

Seems like dumbbells for me.

 

[Beregond]

Update: I laid off until the pain was gone, then started using dumbells and not going for a full stretch on each rep. So far so good!

 

[Galloping Gazelle]

Last summer, I developed a bad pain on the left side of my neck. It got so bad, I finally went to a physical therapist for it. He used the electrostim machine on it and gave me some stretches to do. It went away, but it might have on it's own for all I know.

Now it's back. It came on me suddenly, a day after training. I hadn't even done shrugs that day, because the gym was so crowded. It just hit me out of the blue. I got almost no sleep for two nights. I've been putting ice packs and heat on it, taking ibuprofen and aspirin, and Vicodin when I can't stand it anymore. Been doing the stretches again too. Today it seems a little better, but not much.


It pisses me off, because I don't want to train and make it worse, but my training was going so well, I hate to stop. It feels like it is in the left posterior scalene and/or the origin of the left trap.

Any ideas about this? Is it an old injury that comes back when I stress it again? Am I doomed to never training traps again?

One thing that I did change a few days before it happened was, I switched from the Hammer Strength shrug machine to the Smith Machine, bar in front, palms forward. I prefer the Hammer Strength machine, but I can use so much weight on it my grip can't keep up. I can't use straps because they don't work well with the rubber handles. I'm wondering if the palms-toward-the-thighs position is safer or something. I guess I could try dumbbells, but I can't use nearly as much weight with them either.

Anyone else get this? Recovery ideas? Thanks.

Hey there, hopefully by now your pain has subsided. I am a massage therapist, and personal trainer. I have had pains like this before. Sounds like a muscle spasm in your scalenes in your neck or possibly a strained muscle or ligament in that area. you should do those stretches on a regular basis, not just when you're in pain. And always ice after heating so to not promote the inflamation any further. Next time, try a deep tissue massage, hot epsom salt bath, then ice after for about 15 min until it goes numb, then take a few alieve (anti inflamitory) and go to bed. Hope that helps