A strain is a tear of a muscle or tendon. Your neck is surrounded by small muscles running close to the vertebrae, and large muscles that make up the visible muscles of the neck.

Neck strains most commonly occur when the head and neck are forcibly moved, such as in a whiplash injury, improper mechanics during exercise and house hold chores or from contact in sports.

You literally have a pain in the neck. When these muscles go into spasm you feel hard, tight muscles in your neck that are very tender to the touch. You have pain when you move your head to either side or when you try to move your head up and down. The spasming muscle will also cause headaches that can radiate into the jaw, behind the ear or above the eyes, this is different then a sinus headache. Your Orthopedist or Physical Therapist can examine you to determine if it is more then just a spasm or strain. X-rays can rule out the possibility of a fracture and specific tests can be performed to rule out the possibility of disc involvement that can be impinging on a nerve.

Right after the injury you should place an ice pack on the area for 15 to 20 minutes every 2 to 4 hours. Do not use heat; this will cause increased swelling in the already injured area prolonging the recovery time. Anti-inflammatory meds may be prescribed to assist in reducing the swelling and collars may be worn if the injury is severe. If you still have pain and decreased movement after 7 to 10 days then heat may be applied to reduce the spasm of the muscle because the initial swelling of the strain should be resolved. If this continues to worsen or not change at all physical therapy is prescribed. Physical therapy will address the injury with specific procedures to promote healing, hands on treatments are performed to release the spasm within the muscles and joint mobilization to increase your range of motion.

The obvious goal in rehabilitation is to return you to your activities ASAP. How ever if you return too quickly you can worsen the injury and have permanent damage. In general, the longer you have symptoms before you start treatment, the longer it will take to get better.

If you participate in sports, it is important to rehabilitate your neck and shoulders before going back to competition. You must have full range of motion in your neck. This means that you must be able to:

If any of these actions cause burning in your neck or shoulders or pain or spasm in your neck or shoulder muscles, you are not yet able to return.