Question
I woke up at 2:30 this morning to intense pain in my neck(left side) and left shoulder.  I moved my head around, trying to streach it out and my neck popped twice.  I felt better for about 2 seconds, now I can't move without pain and even staying still us extremly painful.  What can you suggest for me to do?  I just took a couple of advil for the pain, but they haven't kicked in yet.
  Thanks
      ~Carrie

Answer
Dear Carrie,

Your complaint is a frequent one showing up in chiropractic offices, and is sometimes called torticolis or wryneck. Most of the time this is really nothing more than muscular contractions in response to prolonged abnormal sleeping positions that create asymmetric stress in the neck, but can include upper cervical spine dysfunction.  It can last for more than a few days, but is often a self limiting problem.

Often, spinal adjustments of the neck will help to alleviate pain more quickly due to the fact that joint restriction are often part of the problem...which is why you heard the popping in the neck and this can create pain from the joint spaces. You need to realize that most of the symptoms are really felt in the muscular system.

Antinflammatory medication can often help with the symptoms, but small range of motion activities, mild stretching, spinal manipulation and ice packs are the best approaches.

Good luck Carrie.

Respectfully,
Dr. J. Shawn Leatherman
www.suncoasthealthcare.net