A muscle spasm refers to the sudden, painful, involuntary contraction or tensing of a muscle of the body. When the muscle spasm occurs in any muscle in or around the neck, it is called a neck muscle spasm.

Neck spasms, like all muscle spasms, can come and go at any time without any symptoms or foretelling. The pain usually lasts for a while after the spasm. Maybe a few minutes, hours, or days, depending upon the severity of the spasm and the body condition.

The pain ranges from stiffness to achy/ sharp pain and may cause dizziness or headaches. Usually, the pain and the muscle spasm leave with time. But, when there’s a serious underlying cause, they linger until the cause is treated. The pain can be pretty easy to handle but annoying if it is consistent but sometimes the muscle spasm at the neck can occur so close to the spinal nerves, putting pressure on it, leading to a super painful experience.

Most identified causes for neck muscle spasm includes:

• Repeated or prolonged movements of the neck
• Sudden changes in the position of the neck
• Too much weight on the shoulder strain neck and shoulder muscles
• Carrying heavy things, especially with just one arm.
• Sitting at computers and desks for prolonged periods of time
• Strain or sprains of the muscles in the neck causing it to tighten as a protective mechanism and cause neck muscle spasms.
• Overexertion or fatigue of body and muscles
• Herniated disks lead to inflammation and pain of nearby muscles, leading to spasms.
• Arthritis, degenerative diseases, diabetes
• Bone spurs
• Spinal stenosis
• Spondylitis
• Neuropathy
• Dehydration
• Poor posture
• Injury

It is normal to turn to OTC pain meds, muscle relaxants, injections, using heat or ice, and lots of rest. But when the cause of the spasms aren’t surface level and there’s a deeper cause that leads to recurrence is when you need to get properly treated by a medical professional. You don’t need to start with surgery as surgeries are too extreme, invasive, not suitable for all, require lots of recovery time, and are quite expensive.

On the other hand, massage therapy is a great way to get rid of neck muscle spasms.

Massage therapy has a lot of benefits like:

• Getting the muscles to relax
• The blood circulation to increase
• Decrease feelings of fatigue
• Reduce neck stiffness
• Increase body immunity
• Increase range of motion and flexibility
• Pressure on the tender points helps release tension and restores mobility
• Different types of massage for different causes
• Provides longer time of relief compared to pain meds, relaxants, injections, etc. but not as efficient as surgeries
• It is non-invasive, not as expensive as surgeries
• No side effects and suitable for people of all ages and most health conditions, do consult with your physician if you are suitable for massage.
• Cures most of the causes and is efficient in pain management and raising resistance to neck muscle spasms for more chronic health conditions.
• It is highly relaxing and rejuvenating while healing

Massage therapy benefits mentally and physically to all patients, so book an appointment with your nearest massage therapist and get rid of that muscle spasm.

Happy healing!