🧠 Fitness Friday: The Neck Pain That Wasn’t What It Seemed

 

For over a year, I lived with a strange, persistent pain in my neck. It wasn’t sharp or electric—nothing that screamed “pinched nerve.” Instead, it felt like something was being pulled taut every time I turned my head from left to right. A rope under tension. A muscle that refused to let go.

My doctor called it a pinched nerve. I wasn’t so sure. The pain didn’t radiate. There was no numbness. Just a stubborn, movement-triggered discomfort that greeted me every morning and lingered through the day. I tried everything: stretching exercises, sleeping in various positions though sleeping on my back on an incline without a pillow is my preferred mode, Hinge Health recommended exercises, recommendations of friends, paying close attention to gym and routine living activities that might be putting a strain on my neck, making sure I got up frequently during my long hours on the computer and used a cushion (my choice: CushZone) to support my back from long hours of stress (though I have no back pain, likely because of that support), and even a risky chiropractic neck crack (which I wouldn’t recommend). Nothing helped.

Until last night.

I used a memory foam travel pillow—yes, the kind you squish into a little bag, take with your carry-on, and forget about until your next flight. I placed it around my neck while sleeping on my inclined Sleep Number bed (a setup I use for GERD and Barrett’s). And this morning? No pain. No stiffness. No tautness. Just freedom of movement I hadn’t felt in over a year. It turns out the issue wasn't nerve compression; it was chronic muscle tension, likely due to subtle overnight strain from that required inclined bed because:

• Without proper neck support, the cervical spine can flatten or strain.
• The head may drift downward on an incline, causing subtle muscle guarding.
• If arms are overhead or tucked awkwardly, shoulder tension can feed into the neck.

That is what my research finally revealed. (Not easy to diagnose online!!) Without proper support, my neck muscles had been bracing themselves all night, trying to hold position on an incline. The travel pillow cradled my cervical spine just enough to let those muscles relax.

🛠️ What This Experience Taught Me

• Diagnosis matters—but so does knowing your body. A pinched nerve sounds plausible, but the symptoms didn’t match. Trust your instincts.
• Pain that worsens in the morning and improves with movement often points to muscular or fascial tension—not nerve impingement.
• Moist heat (like a shower) and gentle calisthenics help, but passive support during sleep can be the game-changer.
• A travel pillow isn’t just for airports. If you sleep on an incline or struggle with neck tension, it might be your simplest fix.

I’m sharing this not just because I’m grateful, but because someone else might be living with the same kind of pain—misdiagnosed, misunderstood, and quietly enduring. Sometimes, the solution isn’t invasive or expensive. Sometimes, it’s memory foam and a little bit of insight.

To see more fitness posts, click HERE.

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