We are finally starting to enjoy the beautiful fall weather in our Kalamazoo and Portage areas. The days are nice and warm and the nights are getting cooler, which means perfect sleeping weather. Who doesn’t love to have the windows open and the ceiling fan on at night?
It’s all great until you wake up with that crick in your neck, or even worse, you have torticollis. Wow that’s a big word! You know how it is – you have that “Frankenstein’s monster neck” where you can’t move your neck in the morning. So what the heck is going on there?
For starters this is probably an ongoing condition that has finally manifested as torticollis. Typically, when I get to sit down with a patient and look at their x-rays, we find a chronic condition that is causing that neck pain. This is finally the straw that broke the camels back.
The cool evening air causes a muscle spasm that causes a pulling on the cervical spine. The pulling pinches the nerves and causes pain. This is exaggerated by the cool evening air with a window open and a fan. This extra cold can cause the muscles to spasm and subluxate your neck.
Pain is a warning sign in your body. It is not something to be ignored! If you have a “crick” in your neck when you wake up it is because your vertebra are misaligned and causing a pinch on the nerves.
Not only do chiropractors decrease pain, we also increase your range of motion and normal function. The best way to look at this is to see your body as a machine. Would you run your lawnmower or car with no oil or gas? Obviously, no. So why do you not maintain you spine with the same preventative care? Just as your teeth need regular maintenance so does your spine.
Neck pain and torticollis
If you feel or look like this it is time to call me!