Crick in neck? Do THESE 3 things for permanent relief.

Instead of a pain in the butt, maybe a better expression is a crick in the neck. Because if you feel that unrelenting and chronic tension in the side of your neck, you know all too well how annoying that feeling is. 

It might feel like you need to stretch your neck every few minutes just to feel normal. Why do I know so much about this?

It is because I experienced the same sensations as you. I’ve had a crick in my neck for years and these days, it feels much better. 

The way I got the tension in my neck to calm down is through a combination of 3 things  – education, reducing tension and building better movement.  

In this article, I’ll break down how you can integrate these 3 interventions too so your neck starts feeling more comfortable ASAP. 

Why do I have a Crick in my Neck? 

The first step in addressing any movement issue in the body is to understand it. Bodily tension is relatively complex, and people feel tight and stiff for many reasons. 

Despite this complexity however, you can safely make some general assumptions. The first is that tension in the body, especially in your neck, is a result of physical and psychological factors. 

This is important. Too many people believe that any unwanted physical sensations in the body, whether in the neck or anywhere else, is due to physical issues only.  

Common culprits include poor posture, tight shoulders, a weak back or “imbalance.” And these physical factors are certainly part of the equation - but only about 50% of the equation and for some, even less than that. 

When you feel chronic tension in your neck, you are doing yourself a disservice if you don’t also examine what is going on with your emotions and psychology.  Is there a lot of stress, anxiety, pressure or some other repressed emotion in your body?

When your body is experiencing constant psychological stressors, it breathes differently than if it was more calm and relaxed. You breathe more from your neck than your chest and belly. 

This causes the muscles in your neck to hurt and feel tense. Physical intervention will help but if you don’t address the underlying cause, any exercise or stretch you do will just be a band-aid solution at best. 

Crick in Neck Stretches 

Whether the tension you experience in your neck is from physical factors or psychological, understanding how to reduce tension in that area will do wonders for you. 

The key principle to understand here is that you are using stretches to calm down the nervous system, not to get more flexible. Try the side neck stretch below to bring this concept home. 

Don’t worry about how much range of motion you get when you perform this stretch. Simply get into a range where you feel a nice stretch and breathe in with your chest and out through your belly. 

The value comes from the calm breathing in a stretched position. This teaches your nervous system that this range of motion is safe and that all of these muscles can relax. 

For many people, problems in the neck actually stem from the spine. The two structures are attached and it is common for the spine, especially the thoracic spine, to stiffen up and cause problems up stream in the neck. 

For this reason, I recommend you experiment with the mid-spine opener, aka the side-lying windmill. This is as much a stretch as it is a movement. So not only are you stretching your upper back but you’re also improving your spinal rotation. 

How to get rid of Crick in Neck for the Long-term 

If you want to build a body that experiences less tension in the neck, you will ultimately have to build up better movement mechanics in your upper body. 

Let’s use a burning building as an analogy to the crick in neck remedy I’m suggesting. 

Step 1 is education. This is like understanding what caused the building to burn. If you don’t investigate what caused the fire, how will you know the next building you build won’t burn down too?

Step 2 is reducing tension. This is like pouring water on the fire. It will eventually put the fire out but then you’re stuck with a burnt building that hasn’t been fixed or rebuilt. Whatever caused the fire can start up again since the problem has not been addressed. 

Step 3 is building better movement. This is the rebuild. You now understand what caused the building to burn, you put the fire out and now you build up a stronger building that does not have the same risk for burning. 

When you build better function in your shoulders and back, you build a more resilient body that can withstand more stress and tension. Ideally, this is combined with psychological interventions too where you build a more resilient mind as well. 

One of my favorite exercises for the spine that you can do just about everyday is the dynamic cobra. 

This exercise places your spine in extension and flexion so you can identify which movement is more challenging for you. You can then program more exercises in your routine that target your weaker movement pattern. 

A common compensation in the cobra is placing too much emphasis on the low back. If you feel the low back more than any other part of the spine, experiment with how far your hands are from your hips and really exaggerate getting a sensation higher up the back. 

For the shoulders, I recommend you try the crab. This exercise will help teach your nervous system how to turn off the neck muscles and get more work out of your shoulders. 

The most important cue in the beginning is to bring your shoulders down and back. If you emphasize this cue, your neck muscles will naturally relax so that your shoulders can contract as much as possible. 

Closing Thoughts 

There are many ways you can integrate these 3 interventions. You can work with a coach that understands movement and mindset really well. 

You can work on a program that helps you move better. You can go to yoga or pilates classes with a good instructor. 

In my personal experience, I always make the most improvement when I find what works best for me. We all come to a certain exercise or program with a history of what we know about movement. 

For this reason, what works for neighbor Bob and for me, might not work for you. So keep that in mind as you experiment with the suggestions in this article.