Stiff or Logged Neck
What is a Stiff or Logged Neck?
A stiff or logged neck is a condition that causes stiffness, immobility and pain to the neck that may originate from any of the structures in the neck. These include muscles and nerves as well as spinal vertebrae and the cushioning discs in between. Neck pain may also come from regions near the neck, like the shoulder, jaw, head, and upper arms.
What causes a Stiff or Logged Neck?
A common cause of a stiff or logged neck is muscle strain or tension. Usually, everyday activities are to blame. Such activities include bending over a desk for hours, having poor posture while watching TV or reading, placing your computer monitor too high or too low, sleeping in an uncomfortable position, or twisting and turning the neck in a jarring manner while exercising. Traumatic accidents or falls can cause severe neck injuries like vertebral fractures, whiplash, blood vessel injury, and even paralysis.
What are the symptoms of a Stiff or Logged Neck?
When your neck is logged, you may have difficulty moving it, especially to one side. If neck pain involves nerves (for example, significant muscle spasm pinching on a nerve or a slipped disc pressing on a nerve), you may feel numbness, tingling, or weakness in your arm, hand, or elsewhere.
What treatments are there for a Stiff or Logged Neck?
Things you can do yourself
For minor neck stiffness you can:
- Use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen (always seek the advice of a medical professional)
- Cold therapy: Put a cold pack (typically an ice pack applied for 20 minutes) directly on the injury
- Thermotherapy: Apply heat (typically in the form of heated pads, warms packs or lamps) to the areas of the body causing pain. NB. Often Cold therapy and Thermotherapy area alternated, with the cold application happening first
- Perform slow range-of-motion exercises — up-and-down, side-to-side, and from ear-to-ear — to gently stretch the neck muscles
- Gently massage the sore or painful areas
- Try sleeping on a firm mattress without a pillow or with a special neck pillow.
Rehabilitation treatments
- Physiotherapy