Do you often find yourself waking up with a stiff neck, unable to move your head without any pain? Or perhaps experiencing some mild to sharp jolts in your neck region during sudden body turns? If so, you have a crick in your neck, and we know just how to fix it!
But first, let us delve into what it is exactly, what causes it, and the short and long-term solutions for it.
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What is a Crick in the Neck?
According to Cambridge Dictionary, a crick is a painful, usually sudden stiffness in a group of muscles in the body, particularly the neck or back. Simply put, a crick in the neck is a condition that affects and causes pain along the neck and spine.
However painful, the severity of every crick varies greatly depending on its cause. The pain is more from the discomfort of stiffness and incapacity to move freely than the excruciating kind.
A crick in the neck is common and can be caused by stress, poor posture, dehydration, lack of movement and activity, among many others. Still, the most common premise is sleeping in an awkward position.
This idea has led to the widespread misconception of neck crick being one and the same as a stiff neck. With that, many people are quick to shrug neck cricks as harmless, superficial and nothing but an unfortunate occurrence. Little do they know that the soreness and decreased neck movement range felt while having a stiff neck is merely an indication of a more serious underlying problem.
Why Do You Get a Crick in the Neck?
Since the body parts linked and affected by neck cricks are crucial to one’s full mobility and aptitude to perform activities, neck cricks should be taken seriously. It is one of the many underrated cases where due diligence will definitely be rewarded.
With neck crick having so many possible causes, it is pretty difficult for an average person to say for sure and explain how it came about, so oftentimes people settle with “I slept in a bad position last night.” But the thing is, a neck crick is not one of those conditions that demonstrates itself right away.
In most cases, the crick is initiated by a misalignment in one of the spine columns. The misalignment can be from one’s daily activities, environment, behavior, or a seemingly innocent accident from when you were young that you didn’t bother more about since there was no evident harm done—at least not on the surface.
A crick is usually a result of years of spine injury that has been slowly getting worse over time without the person’s knowledge. As the human body works its magic—shifting muscles, tendons, and ligaments to compensate for the anomaly—it will seem as if everything is fine. However, if the misalignment is completely ignored or left uncorrected longer, it will cause more damage that the body will not be able to cover for anymore.
To learn more about the connection between head and neck injuries and neck pain, request our by clicking the image below.
Fixes to a Crick in the Neck
There are many ways to remedy the crick condition; one of the most common is doing nothing and letting your muscles work themselves out. However, this technique takes a good amount of agonizing time until the problem is solved.
Some people take over-the-counter medicines, like Ibuprofen, to relieve the unwanted sensation. Others brave the pain by putting direct pressure and forcing the sore and stiff neck area to return to its normal motion range. All these methods may ease the stiffness, but they are not really safe to force upon the injury.
Most of the time, these quick fixes are dangerous double-edged swords. Despite helping with the retrieval of one’s normal neck mobility, these techniques also aggravate and cause more damage to the skewed vertebrae, which is not good in the long run.
The best fix for long-term relief from neck cricks is Upper Cervical Chiropractic. Although normally difficult to assess because of its subjective and multidimensional characteristics, any type of neck pain is not impossible to eliminate for good through the art and science of Upper Cervical Chiropractic.
How Can Chiropractic Get Rid of a Crick in the Neck?
Chiropractic is a medical practice based on the principle that the body can heal itself without drugs or surgery. Upper cervical chiropractors, in particular, do the necessary adjustments on the uppermost neck area by hand.
The technique’s gentle per-millimeter adjustments, combined with precise metrics through x-ray and scan imaging, allow for a specific, scientific, and effective way of realigning and normalizing the body’s spinal and neural functions. As a result, it relieves various disorders and promotes the body's natural healing process on the damaged spine, muscles, and nerves—which helps in alleviating neck cricks.
See a Trusted Neck Pain Chiropractor in Morgantown
Finding a good chiropractor for neck pain would make a big difference in fixing neck cricks completely and effectively. And if you are in the West Virginia area, our neck pain chiropractor in Morgantown may help you.
Dr. Amy or Dr. Lucas can adjust your neck bones using the Upper Cervical Chiropractic Technique. This safe and gentle approach renders effective results if you suffer from neck cricks. Mountain State Wellness promises to give the best quality care for all our patients.
So next time you are experiencing pain in your cervical spine or need a neck pain chiropractor in Morgantown, whether for an adjustment or just a consult, do visit our practice at 965 Hartman Run Rd. Suite 1101 Morgantown, WV 26505. We are open every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. You can also set an appointment through this page.
To schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Lucas Watterson or Dr. Amy Watterson call our Morgantown office at 304-244-1817 You can also click the button below.
if you are outside of the local area you can find an Upper Cervical Doctor near you at www.uppercervicalawareness.com.
