Crook In The Neck

Crook in the neck is the uncomfortable pain that you feel in your neck. This makes it difficult for you to move the head or neck. You can experience a stiff neck when you sleep in an awkward position as you wake up in the morning.

Crook in the neck can occur abruptly or slowly. Any person can experience a stiff neck and pain emanating from a crook neck. But women are more vulnerable to this unbearable condition. In case the condition is severe, the pain can spread up to your shoulder blade and to the tip of the shoulder joint.

Causes

Stiffness in your neck can be as a result of the following causes:

Wrong sleeping posture: Stiff neck occurs when you sleep in a wrong position. Wrong posture and sleeping for a long duration can strain your neck muscles and exert pressure on the nerves. This causes stiffness in your neck, inflammation and pain. Stiffness of the neck can also occur when you place the pillow either too flat or high such that it makes you sleep in an awkward position.

Trauma or injury: Trauma to the neck is another possible cause of crook neck. Examples of traumas to the neck include: falling from the building, being involved in a car accident or being hit with a heavy object around the neck region.

Cervical spondylosis: Spondylosis is a possible cause of neck stiffness. This condition affects the cervical spine especially the joints and discs in your neck. It is also known as neck arthritis or cervical osteoarthritis. It occurs as a result of wear and tear in the bones and cartilage found in the cervical spine.

Cervical spondylosis can be caused by many factors such as:

• Injury or trauma: Any form of injury to your neck like being involved in a car accident can cause cervical spondylosis.
• The ligaments that join bones in your spinal cord can become stiff over time. This makes your neck stiff thus affecting movement.
• Another trauma is associated with occupation. Some people do work which involves a lot of heavy lifting and movements. This exerts more pressure on the spine causing wear and tear.
• Herniated discs: The discs in the spinal cord can develop some holes which allow the spinal fluid to leak into the surrounding tissues. This fluid can exert pressure on your nerves and spinal cord leading to pain and stiffness.

How to Get Rid of a Crook in Your Neck  (Home Remedies)

Stiff neck is not a serious condition and can be managed by simple home remedies. These remedies can help alleviate stiffness and pain caused by crook neck. The following are some home remedies you can use:

• Apply heat: Heat is effective in improving circulation of blood in your affected neck thus boosting healing. Some people prefer warm water from a shower or bath. Others prefer applying from a heat wrap.
• Apply ice packs: Ice helps in decreasing inflammation in the neck and allow it to heal. Put ice packs in a clean cloth and apply it on your neck for about 10 minutes. Do this thrice each day until the inflamed area reduces.
• Avoid overstretching: Do not overstretch your neck because it can worsen the symptoms.
• Massage: Massage is also good in improving circulation in the affected area. Use coconut oil to massage your neck to reduce pain.
• Sleeping posture: Check your sleeping position if it is the cause of stiff neck.
• Diet: Eat a healthy diet to boost the strength of your muscles. You can eat food rich potassium such as bananas, milk, avocados, dates, etc to help relax your muscles
• Exercise: Simple exercises like stretching your arms and turning your neck in both clockwise and anticlockwise direction can help provide relief from stiff neck.

Medical treatment

In case the cause of your stiff neck is a medical condition such as cervical spondylosis, a diagnosis may be done to find out the cause of stiffness before treatment.

Treatment will involve the following:

• Physical therapy: Your doctor may take you to a physiotherapist for treatment. The physiotherapist will teach and guide you how to stretch your neck muscles to improve movement and reduce pain.
• You may also be introduced to a This specialist will help manipulate your neck muscles to enhance movement and reduce pain.
• Medication: Your doctor can prescribe drugs to reduce pain and inflammation in your neck. Pain relieving drugs include ibuprofen. This drug can also be bought from over-the –counter.
• Other medications that can be prescribed include steroid injection to reduce inflammation such as prednisone. Drugs to ease pain caused by damage to your nerves can also be recommended such as gabapentin. Other drugs such as cyclobenzaprine can be suggested to cure muscle spasms.