3 Signs Your Neck Pain Isn't Just a Stiff Muscle

Imagine this, you wake up and quickly come to realize that you can't turn your neck to the left. There is pain, tightness and confusion on where all of this came from. This is one of many common scenarios that we at Gallatin Valley Chiropractic encounter on a daily basis that brings patients in. One of the first questions we then get is "is this just a tight muscle or is my neck out?" Here are three signs that your neck may have a misalignment or joint dysfunction causing the stiffness and not just a tight muscle.

1. The pain doesn't subside from rest or stretching

   • Overused or irritated muscles generally recover after a day or two of rest and periodic stretching, on some occasions providing immediate relief following a short stretching session. If stretching and rest provide temporary relief or don't influence the pain, it could mean you are treating some of the symptoms of having joint dysfunction but aren't getting to the root cause. 

2. There is more abrupt pain with movement towards the side of pain 

   • This isn't always 100% specific as a means of diagnosing joint dysfunction vs. muscle stiffness, but it is often very consistent. An example of this would be pain on the right side of the posterior neck, that is made worse with right rotation or right lateral flexion. This would indicate possible joint dysfunction on the right side of the posterior neck. The counter of this would be if there was pain on the right posterior neck, that was made worse with leaning or rotating away from the pain.

3. Associated signs or symptoms

   • There are additional signs and symptoms that will be present if there is a joint dysfunction present. These can include
     • Headaches
     • Vertigo
     • Nerve pain
     • Weakness
     • Sharp/ Abrupt pain

If you have been dealing with persistent pain, that has not been responding to stretching and rest, it may be time to come see us! We will perform a thorough exam to make certain we getting to the root cause of why you are in pain. Whether it is a stiff muscle, or if it is a joint misalignment/dysfunction, we have a number of different ways for you to find relief, such as chiropractic care, dry needling, Active Release Technique, or Softwave Therapy.