What is rye neck

For others, it may be a gradual build-up of stress that causes the muscles in the neck to become tense. Finding the exact cause may be tricky as it can also be caused by an underlying issue. Other causes include degeneration in the discs and facet joints of the spine that gradually become stiff and painful.

As the spaces between the discs become thinner, pressure on the discs and facet joints increase which could lead to muscle and joint irritation and muscle spasms. It may also be due to upper respiratory infections that cause muscle contractures.

This condition can be congenital present at birth or acquired. It can also be the result of damage to the neck muscles or blood supply. Wry neck sometimes goes away without treatment. Chronic wry neck can cause debilitating pain and difficulty performing daily tasks. Fortunately, medications and therapies can relieve pain and stiffness.

Surgery can also sometimes correct the condition. This is especially true for children. Wry neck can be inherited. It can also develop in the womb. It can also be due to damage to the muscles or blood supply to the neck. Anyone can develop wry neck after a muscle or nervous system injury. However, most of the time, the cause of wry neck is unknown.

This is referred to as idiopathic torticollis. Fixed torticollis is also called acute torticollis or permanent torticollis. This is the most common type of fixed torticollis. It results from scarring or tight muscles on one side of the neck. This is a rare, congenital form of wry neck. Children born with this condition may have difficulty with hearing and vision.

This rare disorder is sometimes referred to as spasmodic torticollis. It causes neck muscles to contract in spasms. If you have cervical dystonia, your head twists or turns painfully to one side. It may also tilt forward or backward. Cervical dystonia can happen to anyone. It also affects more women than men.

Symptoms of wry neck can begin slowly. They may also worsen over time. The most common symptoms include:. The spinal disc is a load absorbing structure which sits between the vertebrae of the neck. The disc can sometimes bulge under stress or tear, like a small sprain, and the resulting swelling can irritate the nearby tissue and nerves. Movement is not actually blocked as in facet acute wry neck but because there are is a lot of nerve endings around the spine a small injury can feel extremely painful.

I find that a wry neck usually occurs either upon waking in the morning or from a sudden, quick movement involving the neck. As with most musculoskeletal problems, the most important part of managing a wry neck is to get a clear diagnosis so the appropriate rehab can start straight away.

Establishing a correct diagnosis directs the care plan for your pain. From there, a plan will be put in place to take the pain away, get the neck moving, and aim to prevent it from happening again! Facet-related wry neck will generally recover faster than discogenic wry neck.

Whereas a general timeframe for recovery from facet wry neck can be a few days to weeks, discogenic wry neck will involve a longer recovery time, generally around 6 weeks.

Prevention of wry neck developing or reoccurring generally involves looking at the possible contributing factors as mentioned above. Identifying the contributing factors and problems is the easy part, making changes and finding solutions can sometimes be tricky. Your physiotherapist will be able to help you identify and then implement the necessary changes.