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Wry Neck
Wry neck, or acute torticollis, is the sudden onset of severe neck pain with the head held to one side and movement sharply blocked. People typically wake with it having been completely fine the night before. It is alarming and genuinely painful, but it is not dangerous, and it settles quickly with the right treatment — often substantially within a few days.
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Does this sound like you?
Most people have several of these, not all of them.
- Waking with sharp one-sided neck pain, the head held tilted or turned away
- Movement sharply blocked one way, relatively free the other
- Strong muscle spasm you can feel as a hard band
- Pain referring into the shoulder blade or upper back
- Distress and alarm out of proportion to how serious it actually is
Why it happens
- Sleeping in an awkward position, by far the most common trigger
- A sudden unguarded movement, such as turning quickly to look behind
- A facet joint catching, with the surrounding muscles then locking it down
- Cold draughts on a neck already tired or tense
- In children, occasionally a response to a throat or ear infection
What we would do about it
Roughly in this order — each step waits for the one before it.
- Gentle joint mobilisation to free the segment, within what the neck will tolerate
- Soft tissue release and dry needling for the protective spasm
- Heat and positions of ease to use at home between sessions
- Rotation restored gradually as the guarding settles
- Pillow height and sleep position advice, to reduce the chance of it recurring
- Most cases improve markedly within three to five days of starting treatment
See a doctor first if
- Your pain followed a significant injury
- It is getting worse rather than settling
- It comes with numbness, weakness or unexplained weight loss
This page is general information, not a diagnosis. Symptoms overlap between conditions, so the right treatment depends on an assessment.
Locked neck? We keep appointments open for these
Wry neck responds much faster to early treatment than to waiting it out. Call us or book online and we will get you in as soon as we can. Ask a question first, or call us on 0403 907 587.
New patient? Choose Initial Consultation. Your assessment is free, and treatment is $49 when you book your second session, otherwise $98. Offer terms
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Read more about wry neck
Related reading: the underlying tension it often flares from and stiffness in the neck joints.
General information only, not advice about your own problem — nothing here replaces an assessment. Source: Acute Neck Pain on Physiopedia.
