Neck & Head
Stiff Neck / “Crick in the Neck”
Also called: Wry neck, woke up and can't turn my head
You went to bed fine and woke up unable to turn your head one direction — or it seized while you checked a blind spot. A 'crick' is usually a facet joint locking up with fierce muscle guarding around it, often after an awkward sleeping position, a draft, or a stressful week of clenched shoulders. Alarming to feel, almost always harmless, and one of the most satisfying things to treat.
Common signs
- Sudden one-sided neck stiffness — turning toward the painful side is the hardest
- Sharp catch with specific movements; fine when perfectly still
- Muscle tightness like a rope from neck into the shoulder blade
- Often noticed on waking or after a sudden turn
Seek help now if
- Fever with a stiff neck, headache, or light sensitivity — that combination is a medical emergency (rule out meningitis), not a crick
- A crick after real trauma (car crash, fall, sports hit) — get examined for injury
- Numbness, weakness, or tingling into the arm
- In a child: a new head tilt with fever or after infection — same-week medical evaluation
Any of these: call 911 or get to an emergency room first. Everything else can wait.
What to do first
- Keep it moving gently — small, frequent, comfortable turns in the pain-free range; total stillness feeds the lock
- Heat (shower, warm pack) for 10–15 minutes to soften the guarding, then move again
- Get adjusted — a locked facet with muscle guarding is precisely what chiropractic care addresses, usually within a visit or two
If it's become chronic
- A crick should be gone in days to a week; recurring cricks are a message — usually about sleep setup, workstation posture, or a stiff segment that keeps re-locking
- Fix the pillow (one that keeps your nose in line with your breastbone, side or back sleeping) and the desk (screen at eye height)
- Recurrent episodes respond to ongoing spinal care plus deep-neck strengthening — treat the pattern, not just the episode
Natural healing options we use
- Chiropractic adjustment of the locked segment
- Manual therapy for the guarded muscles
- Gentle range-of-motion progressions and heat
- Attended e-stim to calm the spasm; magnesium support
About imaging
Not needed for a typical crick; reserved for trauma, red flags, or episodes that refuse to resolve.
Daily self-care
- Move it gently every hour — motion is the medicine
- Heat before movement sessions
- Audit the pillow tonight, not next month
How we can help
More in Neck & Head
WhiplashCervical Sprain/StrainCervical Disc HerniationCervical RadiculopathyCervical Facet SyndromeCervical Degenerative Disc Disease & SpondylosisCervical Spinal StenosisCervicogenic Headache
Please read: this page is education, not a diagnosis. A proper examination is how a condition gets confirmed and a plan gets built. See our medical disclaimer.