An injury to the neck when the joint is carried through a range of motion greater than normal, but without dilocation or fracture; an injury resulting from tensile force
Symptoms:
Pain in the neck
Decreased range of motion in the neck
Tightness in the neck
The muscles may feel hard or knotted
Pain when rocking your head from side to side or backward and forward
Tenderness with palpation to neck muscles
Headaches at the base of the skull that radiate towards the forehead
Causes:
Direct blow
Motor vehicle accident
Too much time in an awkward position (hunched over a steering wheel while driving, hunched forward to view a computer monitor, or cradling a phone in the crook of the neck)
Sleeping in a position that strains the neck
Carrying a heavy something heavy on one side of the body
Any form of trauma that impacts the neck, such as from whiplash in a car accident, or from a fall in which one lands on the top of the head
