Question
I'm a 37 year old male and I was on the trampoline with my kids a few days ago and at one point started feeling like my back muscles were tensing up a bit so I got off.  Within about 30 minutes of getting off the trampoline my back pain got pretty bad.  The pain is mostly between my shoulder blades, but also a bit on my shoulders and neck.  I thought I probably should've done some stretching exercises before getting on that trampoline.

If I lay down flat without a pillow my back feels fine.  If I try to bend my head down it hurts.  I can bend over because my lower back does not hurt, it's only when I try to bend my neck down.  Even looking side to side I can't turn my head as much as I'd like.

When I took two regular strength Tylenol it seemed to help for a good part of the day, but the pain came back.  Last night I took a nice hot shower on my back and it felt much better.  But when I woke up this morning I was all stiff again.

I also noticed that swallowing food has gotten a little bit more difficult.  Like my throat is a bit swollen or something.  I sometimes find I need water to go with what I'm eating to get the food down.  Maybe I have a cold coming on and it's unrelated to the back pain.  I don't know, I just thought I'd give you as much information as possible.

I am a computer programmer and spend most of my days sitting at my desk or driving my car.  No arm rests on either seat.  I'm not over weight but not exactly fit either.

Are there some simple stretching exercises I can do at home to help relieve this pain?


Answer
without a proper examination, it is hard to say exactly what is happening.  However, you may have caused just a simple strain of the extensor muscles of the spine, judging from your onset of symptoms and causation.  I would suggest gentle forward bending of the head, keeping the chin tucked (a google search for neck exercises, most specifically flexion, will show the proper positioning).  If there is no change within a few days, I would suggest you try a good chiropractor.  They should be able to address any muscle injury, and, if need be, refer you to the proper physician if an examination turns up any problems.