Question
While working out two days ago I was doing a seated leg press excruciating with 380lbs of weight. While on my 3rd set I was straining and felt a sudden burning excruciating pain shoot from the upper left portion of my neck where the back of my skull meets the spinal area...The pain was very severe and I quit the work-out and went home. It subsided while a light radiating headache persisted for a few hours. The following day I was feeling better and sneezed which triggered the same pain which made me close my eyes and sit down for a few minutes. When the pain occurred I wasn't breathing properly and I was straining and pushing with much force. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Answer
Hello, Mehran,

First piece of advice:  stop doing 380 lb leg presses.  You're conditioning yourself to be musclebound and prone to spasm ...

... which is what happened, at the very least, to produce the pain you've experienced: neck muscles in spasm.

If you weren't breathing properly, it also tells me that you use poor weight training technique and should be coached by a professional trainer to avoid further injury.  The fact that your pain is on one side suggests that your head wasn't straight when you were training, which leads to general muscular imbalances.  Tight muscles also create tight joints.  Think about your future with tight joints.

Please see the article, On Weight Training, at somatics.com/page4.htm.

The article will tell you what you need to do to clear up your problem.

with regard,
Lawrence Gold