Ouch! My neck! Pull-ups = misery?

[eminva]

Ok, so yesterday I decided to really push myself on the assisted pull-ups, so I did two extra sets (5 instead of 3) and upped my weight on the last set. All good, right? I felt good, I warmed up and cooled down, stretched, etc.

Well, I woke up the middle of the night with horrible neck pain on my left side. Like, from my shoulder to my ear felt like one giant stabbing cramp. I dragged myself into a warm shower at 3am, applied ice, popped ibuprofin. 6 hours later I'm still in bed-it's a little better but still really hurts!

Has anyone had this? Do you think I just overworked it and it cramped up??? Do you think heat/ice and stretching will help? I've never pulled a muscle or anything like that so I don't know what different muscle pains feel like.

I'm going to go to my doctor this afternoon but sometimes I doubt how much regular MDs know about specific problems like this. I bet they'll tell me to rest it, and that's it. Easy to do for a elementary school teacher, right?

I figured some fellow lifters might have experience. Yowch!!

[freebirdmac]

I've always believed that if you pulled or strained a muscle you are most likely going to know it when you did it. Not hours later. I'd guess you just worked that muscle pretty good, kept it reasonably stretched prior to bed, then either slept in such a way, or by not moving or stretching much at all during sleep to cause it to tighten up/cramp up or just be plain sore. Motrin is good for pain and any swelling. As for ice or heat, it depends. If there is swelling then ice, if it's just soreness and tension, then heat. You can alternate and figure out which, if any, give you relief.

I have found that Ben-Gay pain patches (not the rub or the heat patches) really helps to take the edge off my tendonitis pain. You can find them at Walgreens. The other brands of pain patches, like Tiger Balm, did not seem to work as well. It's just menthol so it won't interfere with any oral pain meds.

Sorry you're hurting. I hope you find relief very soon.

[HappySnowBunny]

A few years ago I had something similar in my lower back and it turned out to be a deep muscle spasm. Took a few days of pain killers and muscle relaxers and I was ok. Before I dragged myself to the dr I was in agony and no position would lessen the pain. Once I got medication for it relief came quickly, and the spasm released pretty fast.

Hope it's nothing serious.

[freebirdmac]

She hasn't updated yet, so maybe she's in peaceful la-la land. Catching up on some pain killer induced rest.

[Sambakitten]

Sounds like a cramp to me. A friend of mine at the gym suggested dissolving a lot of salt in a little water that's really hot and drinking it down. It's gross, but he said it would stop the cramp almost immediately. And to help keep future cramps at bay, be sure you're taking your multivitamn.

[LinzersMH]

Sounds like a cramp to me. A friend of mine at the gym suggested dissolving a lot of salt in a little water that's really hot and drinking it down. It's gross, but he said it would stop the cramp almost immediately. And to help keep future cramps at bay, be sure you're taking your multivitamn.

Just drinking tons of water before and after workout helps with my cramps. Hot water or a heating pad helps loosen the muscles and they are nice when your heater in your house is broken during the winter. :-P

[eminva]

Hey, thanks ladies. It was a bad cramp indeed. 3 days of muscle relaxants and vicodin and I'm much better. It hurt like the devil, though! I'm getting back into lifting, but I'm definitely feeling tentative about stuff involving neck tensing. I might wait on the pull-ups for a while!

[freebirdmac]

I haven't experienced what you did (thank God!) but I have noticed more neck tension since I started lifting. I think about stretching my legs, and upper body as best I can, but never my neck. I started doing neck rolls and gentle stretching a week ago. Even after leg day as squats tax my neck. This thread is a good reminder not to neglect that area.

[AmyInProgress]

similar to that, when I've reached onto the floor of the passenger side of my car or into the back seat with my seatbelt on..horrendous pain, but atleast that cramp passes quickly!