Sharp pulsating neck pain while squatting

[diegoca15]

Hi guys/girls!

I hope everybody is having a great week so far. Me, not so much.

24/M/150lbs here,

I started doing the SL 5x5 program in hopes of finding real strength. I've been lifting for about 2 years now, and everything's okay ("looks-wise") except I'm super weak. I can bench 61kg with luck on a good day. Plus I have the worst chicken legs.

I started from scratch, I wanted to do things right this time around. I started with empty bars increasing 5lbs every workout etc. I felt people staring at me benching and squatting with no weights but I didn't care. I was determined.

I started the gradual weight increases and felt so happy about it. At one point it seemed really heavy but the next day I increased the 5lbs and I did all the reps. Feels good! The sense of acomplishment was the best.

Everything went smoothly until this monday. When I had to squat 50kg. That weight is a joke I know but whatever. In my fourth set I was really tired (bad weekend) and felt some pain in my neck, whatevs I just want to finish cause bench is next. Did my 5th set and in about the 3rd rep I felt the pain again, this time it was almost unbearable, I racked the weight and felt dizzy but the pain was so so sharp my eyes were just wide open. I cooled it off and started benching about 10 mins after that, it did not come back but I sure could still feel the pressure in my neck. Took and advil went to work and that was it.
Rested Tuesday, today I went to the gym, no chances of that happening to me again! Today I was due 35lb plates on each side! New goal reached. Stretched neck, again and again, arms, everything. Started warming up with an empty bar, extremely concious about my form, breathing, etc. Added some weight to keep warming up all good.

The time was here, took all the weight off and threw those shiny 35lb plates on each side, finally! Put the bar as far from my neck as I could almost on my shoulder blades. One rep, two reps, there it is, FULL FORCE this time with no warning. It was so bad I had to re-rack the weight, catch my breath and go home, defeated.

What could it be? It happened to me like a year ago but I was a stupid kid doing squats on a smith machine and with the bar directly on my neck. I had it coming. But why now? I've tried to be cautious in every aspect. I'm so frustrated, I felt so good this past couple of weeks, watching myself grow stronger.

Can it be that it wasn't because I had bad form today but that I still was injured from moday? How long should I rest?

I took a muscle relaxant today and it didn't help at all!

Thanks so much guys.

[sebatu]

Go see a doctor?

[TheShadowMan]

Take some time off, and get checked out by a doctor. You want to be in this lifting game for a long time, so be cautious and thorough. If you think something is really wrong, get some closure on it - and don't be too good for any kind of testing such as x-rays or mri's. All part of the healing process.

[mikschu]

Sounds like you're using a low bar squat, and craning your neck to look up at the ceiling? You should see a doctor and not lift in the mean time. Oh, and you're not "due" anything, you have to put the work in and even then if you're not ready, you have to be mature and patient, back off, re-evaluate everything and start again. Part of the work you put in is taking time to learn perfect form and technique, work on mobility. Take videos of yourself and post them up on here and accept every bit of criticism that comes your way.

[diegoca15]

Take some time off, and get checked out by a doctor. You want to be in this lifting game for a long time, so be cautious and thorough. If you think something is really wrong, get some closure on it - and don't be too good for any kind of testing such as x-rays or mri's. All part of the healing process.

I'll take the rest of this week off. Bummer. Thank you, you are right, I have to look at the bigger picture.

Sounds like you're using a low bar squat, and craning your neck to look up at the ceiling? You should see a doctor and not lift in the mean time. Oh, and you're not "due" anything, you have to put the work in and even then if you're not ready, you have to be mature and patient, back off, re-evaluate everything and start again. Part of the work you put in is taking time to learn perfect form and technique, work on mobility. Take videos of yourself and post them up on here and accept every bit of criticism that comes your way.

I've been putting off uploading a video of my form, I'll do it next week. I noticed you deduced the pain is from low bar squats. I was indeed trying to do that, I tought that would NOT give me neck pains since its further away from the neck, I'm I wrong to think that?

Anyways, thanks. I'll take everything you guys said into account.

[Succeeded]

You probably move your neck too forward when your squatting and your pinching a nerve, or you have tight neck muscles and should take a break.

[diegoca15]

You probably move your neck too forward when your squatting and your pinching a nerve, or you have tight neck muscles and should take a break.

Too forward as in "giggity" forward? Never thought of that. Or do you mean looking upwards?

[flatlander86]

Where in your neck was the pain? A couple years ago what you're describing happened to me. I was squatting and got a sharp, throbbing pain at the top of my neck/base of the skull. I cooled it for the rest of the workout, but when I came back a couple days later for my next workout, it happened again as soon as I tried to put up a significant amount of weight. I did a lot of searching the internet for similar cases, and ended up finding out it was from exerting too hard while not breathing properly. The rapid increase in blood pressure can cause a blood vessel to burst at the top of the neck/base of the skull. It's called an "exertion headache" if you want to look it up and see if that sounds like what you're experiencing. If so, you have to give the blood vessels time to heal, which means no heavy exertion for a while, and only returning to heavy lifting very gradually. To this day, whenever I'm squatting/deadlifting/benching anything heavy, I'll take my headphones out so that I can listen to my breathing, because all it takes is one bad rep to cause the problem all over again.

[diegoca15]

Where in your neck was the pain? A couple years ago what you're describing happened to me. I was squatting and got a sharp, throbbing pain at the top of my neck/base of the skull. I cooled it for the rest of the workout, but when I came back a couple days later for my next workout, it happened again as soon as I tried to put up a significant amount of weight. I did a lot of searching the internet for similar cases, and ended up finding out it was from exerting too hard while not breathing properly. The rapid increase in blood pressure can cause a blood vessel to burst at the top of the neck/base of the skull. It's called an "exertion headache" if you want to look it up and see if that sounds like what you're experiencing. If so, you have to give the blood vessels time to heal, which means no heavy exertion for a while, and only returning to heavy lifting very gradually. To this day, whenever I'm squatting/deadlifting/benching anything heavy, I'll take my headphones out so that I can listen to my breathing, because all it takes is one bad rep to cause the problem all over again.

Sounds about right, it is right in the top of my neck and base of the skull. Practically where they meet. I also have a slight feeling the pain comes from inside my head, and feels like a headache in a way.

You know, I'm pretty sure it was wrong breathing on monday, and yesterday it just was a "relapse" cause I was sure to be breathing right. I think the headphones have a lot to do with it, I removed them after I got the pain but it was too late.

How long should I rest?

Thank you very much for your reply.

[flatlander86]

It's really hard to say, it all depends on how severe your specific case is. Best advice I can give is to take some time (like a week) away from the gym completely, and after that go very light on the compound lifts and make it a very gradual return (several weeks to a month) to the weight you've been using. Pay very close attention to that spot at the back of your head during every rep. If you feel pressure start to build up, or any pain whatsoever, back off on the intensity. As long as you're making it through your workouts without problems, add a little intensity during the next workout.

Another random thought, if you use a pre-workout, you might want to discontinue that while you're healing. They raise your blood pressure, which can put you at an increased risk for relapse. I still use them periodically, but I'm extra careful when I'm squatting on a pre-WO.

I hope you heal up soon, I know how frustrating it is not to be able to push yourself.