Neck problems and heat

I know I am not the only one here with a jacked neck. It's never been right since the mountain bike crash and there are good reasons for that. Last night it was hurting a bit more than usual so I applied heat to it via a "seed corn pillow" that I heat up in the microwave and went to sleep with it under my neck in bed. This morning I woke up and I had more pain and stiffness than ever. So stiff that I was afraid it would impact my driving (from not being able to look at the side-view mirrors), and I took a half-day off work and did the exercises my PT gave me a couple years back. It was fine, well as fine as it ever gets, by noon. I also made an appointment with my Osteopath so he can check out my neck/shoulder just to be safe.

I may have slept on it wrong, or it may have been delayed reaction of my neck to something we did in group Tuesday. Or both. Is it possible that sleeping on a heat source isn't good?

Do you usually sleep on the same pillow without heating it? If not, I'd be more inclined to blame the pillow than its temperature ...

Anyway, hope you feel better soon.

Sleeping on a heated seed pillow is not likely to cause a problem from the heat side of things, but certainly could from a positioning side of things.

Not an expert at all on this subject, but my chiropractor tells me to NOT use heat as it can make the inflammation worse. She says ice! Ice! Ice!

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Do you usually sleep on the same pillow without heating it? If not, I'd be more inclined to blame the pillow than its temperature ...

Anyway, hope you feel better soon.

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I don't normally sleep with the heated "pillow". I do sleep on a cervical pillow and I generally switch it around a bit. I probably had the cervical pillow in the wrong position because of the little seed-corn pillow

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Originally Posted by Wahine

Sleeping on a heated seed pillow is not likely to cause a problem from the heat side of things, but certainly could from a positioning side of things.

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This is what I am thinking Wahine...and next time I will bow out of the weighted barbell squat jumps :) I don't know that it is related, but I have to wonder since it happened within 48 hours. My usual neck mobility has returned, though it still hurts a bit more than normal. I also wonder if this terribly cold weather, and the duration thereof, is part of it. Oh well, I will survive :)

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Originally Posted by AppleTree

Not an expert at all on this subject, but my chiropractor tells me to NOT use heat as it can make the inflammation worse. She says ice! Ice! Ice!

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It is true that heat can aggravate inflammation but there are a lot of conditions that are not inflammatory based that can benefit from the use of heat. Ice is the safest choice if you're not sure if inflammation is involved. But ice is also not terribly effective for some conditions, where as heat can be. So it's not a black and white issue.

I've also seen some research that indicates icing is less helpful than has been thought. All I know is icing doesn't help my neck. Heat sure makes it feel better :) When I was still in PT he would often apply heat afterwards. I figure it is better than whiskey :)

Yes, there is some current research that calls into question the idea that we should be trying to limit the inflammatory respone by applying heat, that it may adversely affect the quality of new tissue that is laid down to heal whatever damage was sustained.

If heat is aggravating a problem, it will feel worse when it is applied. If it feels good when applied, you're home free.

Frankly I think part of my neck problem is too many hours in front of the computer - especially at work. I think it aggravates the multiple issues I have with both neck and shoulder. I try to use proper positioning as much as I can, but if I could come up with another way to make a living that would be more active and still pay the bills I would. I love my job, but it isn't good for my neck...

Thanks for the information Wahine, that has been my assumption since this all started.

Thankfully my neck is much better today - back to what passes for normal. I ordinarily head to the gym for a lifting session on Saturdays, but I think today I will just do some mobility and light body weight at home as I've my usual "Funday" crazy group workout tomorrow and give my neck one more day to recover from whatever happened. It is kind of funny, I dreamed that I knew exactly how to sleep to avoid neck pain, and even woke up thinking about it. Pity I can't remember the details :)

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Originally Posted by Catrin

I've also seen some research that indicates icing is less helpful than has been thought. All I know is icing doesn't help my neck. Heat sure makes it feel better :) When I was still in PT he would often apply heat afterwards. I figure it is better than whiskey :)

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I got to a point after my neck surgery where ice made things worse - froze up muscles and made it more difficult to recover.

I wouldn't discount the weighted barbell squat jumps as a possible source. Are they PT approved?

Glad you're feeling back to normal! I find that rest, rest, and more rest is usually the best solution.

I stopped PT long ago, it wasn't helping and I spent a fortune. I now see an Osteopath who has been far more helpful. Nothing against PT, I just couldn't find anyone who was successful in helping me. I HAVE noticed that the more lifting I do, the better my neck gets though, of course, it can only improve so far. I think that is due to the lifting strenghtening the supporting structure. I also don't/can't do overhead lifting because of my shoulder and with the neck as it is, overhead lifting isn't possible. Back squats don't normally both me as long as I make certain the bar is where it should be (traps) rather than neck...but yeah, jumping squats probably shouldn't be in my toolbox.

You sound like me. Doing bad stuff in the gym & suffering afterwards.

But I echo Wahine about the shape of the pillow. I have one of those pillows and when it is positioned correctly, it's a wonderful thing with heat. Do you have nerve involvement with your neck?

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Originally Posted by Dogmama

You sound like me. Doing bad stuff in the gym & suffering afterwards.

But I echo Wahine about the shape of the pillow. I have one of those pillows and when it is positioned correctly, it's a wonderful thing with heat. Do you have nerve involvement with your neck?

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I don't typically suffer afterwards, which is a blessing. I do have nerve involvement with my neck though the symptoms are far less than at one time. My little "seed corn" pillow isn't very large, just a small square. I think I need to apply it before I go to bed, not when. I typically will use it while seated at the couch with a towel wrapped around it.

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Originally Posted by Dogmama

You sound like me. Doing bad stuff in the gym & suffering afterwards.

But I echo Wahine about the shape of the pillow. I have one of those pillows and when it is positioned correctly, it's a wonderful thing with heat. Do you have nerve involvement with your neck?

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Dogmama, ARE there cervical pillows that are "heatible"? That sounds awesome!!! My neck issues are many...I do not go overhead at all outside of lighter weight medball slams, and typically I don't do those. Between my neck and shoulder I can't do any overhead work with proper form, which means I don't do it.

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Originally Posted by Dogmama

You sound like me. Doing bad stuff in the gym & suffering afterwards.

But I echo Wahine about the shape of the pillow. I have one of those pillows and when it is positioned correctly, it's a wonderful thing with heat. Do you have nerve involvement with your neck?

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Microwavable cervical pills? That sounds awesome and I will check it out!!! My neck issues are many...I do not go overhead at all outside of lighter weight medball slams, and typically I don't do those. Between my neck and shoulder I can't do any overhead work with proper form, which means I don't do it. Anything below shoulder height is fine, including back squats. Just no more jumping weighted BB squats :o Front squats ARE a problem, but that is from my shoulder, not my neck. My shoulder prevents my hands from getting into the proper position which also means I can't hinge properly at the hips which means...my coach generally makes me stop and move to KB goblet squats instead.