# How can I get rid of a nasty neck kink? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 19, 2006, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312 "2006-08-19T03:40:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/1 "2006-08-19T03:40:34Z")
I’m SUPER stressed out right now, and I slept funny and I have a big honkin’ neck kink - my mobility is down to about 10% and it hurts like a mo fo. So far, I’ve taken some Robax Platnum, and a couple of tylenols with codene. My friend massaged it. Nuthin. I have a 12 or 14 hour day tomorrow - can anyone suggest a quick dirty way to improve the situation? This is day #2. ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/2 "2006-08-19T03:59:16Z")
Ow, I’m sorry. I use [Warm Whiskers](http://www.warmwhiskers.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WW&Product_Code=OK) . You microwave the cat (!) and it wraps around your sore neck. I know it won’t help you right now, but it’s worth having on hand. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/3 "2006-08-19T15:10:45Z")
Ok, this is going to sound weird, but bear with me here. Read the whole thing before you try it, or you’ll mess it up by looking back at the monitor. Slowly turn your head to the right only as far as it’ll comfortably go. Don’t move into the pain area. Notice where you’re looking. Now, slowly, to the left, again, only as far as doesn’t hurt. Again, note how far you can go by what you can see. Back to center. (This is the weird part). Tuck your tongue into your right cheek. Roll your eyes all the way to the right, and then slowly turn your head to the right as far as it’ll comfortably go. It probably went further than before. Relax your tongue, move your eyes to the left, and slowly return to center. Now tuck your tongue in your left cheek, roll your eyes to the left, and then slowly turn your head to the left as are as it’ll comfortably go. Relax your tongue, move your eyes to the right, and slowly return to center. Repeat 3 or 4 times. This should get you an extra 30 degrees or so of rotation, often much more. It will even work on people without a wonky neck (it’s one of my favorite Stoopid Party Tricks), but with a spasm in the neck, it’s often enough to convince the muscle to let go. But I’ll also tell you that my kid, my best friend and I all woke up on the same morning with a horrid stiff achy neck. This was last week sometime. There’s “stiff neck” virus going around. It only lasted about 2 days for all of us, so you should be better tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/4 "2006-08-19T17:09:21Z")
Another vote for heat. I couldn’t believe how much a heating pad helped when I screwed up my neck and shoulder by sleeping in a funny position. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/5 "2006-08-19T17:31:26Z")
> [@wonderlust](#): > > Ow, I’m sorry. I use [Warm Whiskers](http://www.warmwhiskers.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WW&Product_Code=OK) . You microwave the cat (!) and it wraps around your sore neck. I know it won’t help you right now, but it’s worth having on hand. But what you _can_ do now is make a rice sock. Fill a sock with uncooked rice and secure the end. Microwave until warm and put the sock on the sore spot. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/6 "2006-08-19T17:33:51Z")
You could always cut your head off. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/7 "2006-08-19T18:17:20Z")
Since I learned how to crack my neck, I have felt much better and never get those neck cricks. Still get neck pain, though, and have to crack at least a couple of times a day. IANA chiropractor, but I copy what he did. I turn my head to the left, then put my left hand on the right side of my chin. Then I put my right hand across the top of my head and hold the left side of my head. Then I simultaneously pull down with my right hand and push to the left with my left hand. CRACKO! Repeat on the other side. Feels great. Another thing my chiropractor taught me was to put myself in traction. You can either hang your head over the edge of your bed so your neck stretches out, or get someone to gently pull on your neck when you’re laying down. Takes the pressure off the compressed verterbrae and helps me feel better. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/8 "2006-08-19T18:20:50Z")
This is getting too close to Medical advice. :eek: So- see/call your MD. There could be an “advice nurse” who could give suggestions over the phone. This one one of the things a Chiropractor may be very helpful for. YMMV. I’d stay away from the Tylenol with Codiene. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/9 "2006-08-19T18:23:21Z")
Hey, what you do in your private life is your business. (Nasty neck KINK? Get it? I slay me.) How about some preventative medicine once this pain is gone? I work as a secretary/accounting clerk, so my neck and shoulders are always tight. I try to stretch my neck and shoulders every night before going to sleep, and it has made a huge difference for me. My routine - turn your head to the right as far as you can, hold it, turn left, hold it, repeat three times. Next is head up, then down, repeat that three times. Then roll your head around to the right three time, then to the left three times. I could probably do this once during the day, too, for even better results. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/10 "2006-08-19T18:41:51Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Hey, what you do in your private life is your business. > > (Nasty neck KINK? Get it? I slay me.) After that joke, somebody needs to. ---
**Author:** ![gabriela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@gabriela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gabriela)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/11 "2006-08-19T20:29:28Z")
I am so sorry for your wonky neck. I hate waking up with one of those. The neck isn’t usually stiff by itself in isolation. it’s usually stiff along with a whole system of muscles that hang onto the scalp. (medical english/normal english) These include the frontalis, temporalis, and occipitalis muscles, affecting eachother by their mutual attachments to the galea. / These include the muscles of your forehead that you can feel just above your eyebrows, the muscles on the sides of your head above and slightly behind your ears, and the muscles at the back of your head where your neck goes into your scalp. All these muscles hang onto your scalp, which can slide around like a helmet that’s loose on your head (galea = helmet, Latin). If you move your scalp around with gentle massaging fingers you can often feel which of these muscles is achiest. Working on your forehead and the muscles above your ears with your own fingers, with heat, and with vibration often loosens up the whole system enough to start the neck muscles relaxing. If you have been stressed a lot and “bearing the weight of the world on your shoulders” then another part of the system that is frequently tensed up is your [trapezius](http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/kids/science/Biology%20Cells/Muscle/Kids%20Muscles/Shoulder/trap.gif). The origin of the trapezius, which is the spot on the model where the arrows are pointing, needs massage for the whole thing to let go when it’s overtensed. If you haven’t got a friend willing to dig around in your back with strong fingers to find it, you can massage the darn thing yourself by finding a door frame with an edge that’s not too sharp, backing up to place the vertical hollow between your shoulderblade and spine against the doorframe, and doing whatever you need to do (standing on tippytoes, raising your body, bending your knees) to rub the tight spot, as if you were a horse scratching itself against a fence post. I sometimes have fun with new coworkers by telling them I know a secret spot where they are carrying tension that will hurt and then cause relief. I rub the trapezius origin. They all to a woman (okay, the occasional man) fall forward across their desks exclaiming about the extraordinary secret spot and how did I know that about them. If I were a con man (woman) I could make a bundle with that… Good luck on your headache. Oh, I also find a constant background level of anti-inflammatory helps the damn thing go away more effectively with massage than heat or massage alone. Assuming you’ve got a normal body without bad kidneys, a loading dose after breakfast (never take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on an empty stomach) followed by a low dose every few hours throughout the day does it for me. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/12 "2006-08-20T02:23:27Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > I’m SUPER stressed out right now, and I slept funny and I have a big honkin’ neck kink - my mobility is down to about 10% and it hurts like a mo fo. > > So far, I’ve taken some Robax Platnum, and a couple of tylenols with codene. My friend massaged it. > > Nuthin. > > I have a 12 or 14 hour day tomorrow - can anyone suggest a quick dirty way to improve the situation? This is day #2. Sorry… I know the cure, but I can’t deliver. ☹ I’m an _awesome_ masuesse, especially for stuff like this. I would literally work over your shoulders, neck, skull, cranium, face, arms, sinuses, fingers… I’ve gotten my wife out of so many stress headaches and tension knots with a good hour or two of massaging that it’s beyond counting. It’s not just your neck, it’s _your entire upper body_, especially your back, your shoulders, and your jawline from about the back of the teeth up behind your ears to the base of your skull. The pain in your neck tightens everything up, and those areas need be rubbed as well. It will take a while, an hour or two, but it can be done. Unfortunately, even if you were right next door, I have an exclusive clientele of one. There’s no way in hell she’s sharing _that_ with anybody else! ☹ 😉 Maybe I ought to sell instructional video tapes… :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![i\_am\_flash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/87869e/32.png) [@i\_am\_flash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/i_am_flash)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/13 "2006-08-20T15:50:01Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Maybe I ought to sell instructional video tapes… :dubious: I’d buy one. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/14 "2006-08-20T16:05:22Z")
Those Robax (muscle relaxants) are great, but if you take them during the day you’re relaxing your whole musculature and still working the sore spot. Wait until just before bed, and run a hot bath for yourself; make sure you’re sleepy and then take two of whatever-they-are. Sleep on your back if you can. The goal here is to be in a relaxed position for the duration of the medication so that the kinked muscles (and all the ones that are attached) can relax all together. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2006, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/15 "2006-08-21T02:25:28Z")
Well, it’s been 4 days and it still hasn’t gotten any better despite using heat, the tongue/eye thingy, and having my traps massaged. I think **Ginger’s** option is the best. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2006, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/16 "2006-08-21T02:27:21Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > Well, it’s been 4 days and it still hasn’t gotten any better despite using heat, the tongue/eye thingy, and having my traps massaged. > > I think **Ginger’s** option is the best. I’m very smart, you know. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/17 "2006-08-21T02:51:21Z")
> [@GingerOfTheNorth](#): > > I’m very smart, you know. I’ve always said that about you. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2006, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/18 "2006-08-21T03:10:42Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > I’ve always said that about you. That’s because you’re very smart too. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2006, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/19 "2006-08-21T03:17:32Z")
Well, now I think I have mennengitis 'cus the other side of my neck is hurting too. sheeee-it. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2006, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312/20 "2006-08-21T13:02:53Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > Well, now I think I have mennengitis 'cus the other side of my neck is hurting too. > > sheeee-it. Time for a doctor visit, dear. 4 days is enough. You’ve got somethin’ up. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-rid-of-a-nasty-neck-kink/369312.md?page=2)