hurt a neck muscle

[hanned]

Have any of you ever hurt your sternocleidomastoid?(I think thats the name) The neck muscle on the side connected to your jaw and going under your collar bone! It is agrivating me so bad because it is messing up my workouts! My friend is a physical therapist and just gave me a stretch and told me to go lighter in weight (grrrrr) But I just am not sure if it is ever going to go away!!! Seems to be at a point where it is tolerable but not getting much better! I just want to be able to do a workout without having it hurt or being afraid of making it worse!

Thanks,

 

[PBR]

every time you strain and go under any tension, that muscle is flexed.....lay-off, use anti-inflamitory's and let it calm down and heal...I know that sucks but you will feel better later on. Are you hydrated and minerals balanced????

 

[hanned]

yah I knew the take it easy was going to be the main thing! Sucks!!! But thanks for the words always feels better when you hear it from a few different people!

Heather

"I'm not better than you I just try harder and want it more"

 

[THeMaCHinE]

Don't use anti-inflammatories unless the pain is too much to bear. Inflammation is necessary for the healing process. I wouldn't lay off long, if at all, just work around the injury.

I've sprained a muscle in the back of my neck before. Several things worked for me (but I don't know if they will work for you because your muscle strain is in a different place): lifting the head (chin down to chest) while lifting, and using the squat pad (round foam bar wrap) as a support under my neck. You may have to experiment a little, but find a way to take the pressure off (keep the muscle semi-relaxed) during the lift. Hope this helps.

 

[hanned]

I am going lighter in weight and focusing on negatives to spice up the workout so I don't feel like I am wimping out! I am just stretching it when I can and today was better than yesterday, considering I got through a great workout without any major adjustments to my schedule! Thanks for the help I really really apreciate it! Sometimes the people who don't lift and give you advice don't understand why you won't just take a break and let it heal! Well if I don't have to I don't want to

Thanks Again

 

[staw]

Machine: How long did it take for your neck to heal? My bf sprained something in the back of his neck also. He seemed to be healing when we got into a car accident (t-boned). Injury is infinitely worse now. Though he does well at times in the gym, there are days when lifting simply is not in the cards. Frustration is starting to set in badly.

Besides those 2 mentioned above, do you have any other suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

[THeMaCHinE]

Yeah, go in for a deep-tissue massage or two (or three) in the region. Limit anti-inflammatories to absolute necessity. Don't aggrivate the injury by attempting to lift through it. And like I said above, either lift the head on any movement in which you are on your back on a bench/leg press or use a support under the neck (rolled up towel/sweatshirt/squat bar pad).

If none of this works, he may find chiropractic care helpful too. I had to have chiropractic on my neck after I was t-boned (but they hit me at 35 mph).

It takes awhile to go away, but with patience and pampering to the body, it will heal.

 

[staw]

Similar accident story. Driver blew a stop sign, t-boned us, and was going about 30-35. We are both going to the Chiropractor.

My bf is a bit stubborn. Keeping him out of the gym is difficult. Leads to serious frustration and grumpy behavior. His weights are down because he is unable to strain that much. He's been using a rolled up towel to support the neck and doesn't take anti-inflamatories. Had a massage the other day, though it did more harm than good I think.

Guess it will just take some time. Thanks for the input, really appreciated!