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Causes Of A Stiff Neck Hi, I'm Dr. Ben from Mornington Peninsula Chiropractic Centre. Today, I wanted to talk to you about a common condition that we see in the practice and that's stiff necks. Now, there's lots of different causes of stiff neck, but there's probably three common causes that we sometimes see in practice, and there's one cause that I want you to be very, very aware of. Muscle Spasm So one of the first common causes, of course, is muscle spasm. Now as you know, the neck and its position and the movement of the neck is controlled through the muscles. And so, sometimes, we can injure those muscles and those muscles go into spasm. Sometimes it's the muscles on the front of the neck or the muscles at the back of the neck. There's a big muscle that helps stabilize your neck called the levator scap, and that muscle, when it goes into spasm, will restrict movement in your neck. And we often see people, of course, that have got this stiff neck and they end up sort of turning their body like this, and if you've ever had a stiff neck, you know what I'm talking about. And of course, the stiff neck often comes with pain. The pain can be localized, which is in the neck, or sometimes the pain can travel up to the head and cause headaches or down in between your shoulder blades or even out into the shoulder, as referred pain. So stiff neck, quite disabling for some, or for some, it's just an annoyance. But if it's caused by muscle spasm, one of the best treatments is, of course, massage. Whether that's my therapy or whether traditional massage to help relieve some of the spasm in the muscles. And of course, as a chiropractor, one of the things we do when we look at correcting spinal function is by adjusting that spine, we often also relieve that muscle spasm. Joint Dysfunction So number one reason that we get stiff necks is muscle spasm. Number two is, of course, joint dysfunction, those special little gliding joints that help your neck glide into the different directions and positions that we move in. Sometimes, we can end up with joint dysfunction or what we call subluxation. It's where our joint stops moving properly. As a chiropractor, we're trying to find those abnormal joint movements and restore movement very gently back into those specific vertebrae and remove that neck stiffness. And that can often happen very, very quickly. And just in a few treatments, you can restore normal neck function and movement. Meningitis And of course, the third cause of stiffness in the neck is meningitis. This is often associated with a stiff neck, and people often get quite worried about getting a stiff neck because they're concerned about getting meningitis. Although it's not all that common, it's something that we need to be aware of. Meningitis is an inflammation or irritation of the sheath, the bag that surrounds your spinal cord, and sometimes this can be bacterial or even a viral infection of the meninges, and that will cause some stiffness in your spine and of course into your neck. Get a proper examination done Now, if you've ever got a stiff neck and you've certainly got a fever associated with it, it's very important that you get a proper examination to make sure that it isn't meningitis. And if you're seeing a qualified and experienced chiropractor, that will be one of the first things that they'll check in with you if you present with stiffness in the neck. So, three main causes, abnormal muscle function or muscle spasm. Secondly, joint dysfunction or what we call subluxation, abnormal joint movement. And thirdly, an inflammation or infection associated with the meninges or sheath that surround your spinal cord. So if you've got a stiff neck, I strongly encourage you get it checked properly and professionally. I'm Dr. Ben from Mornington Peninsula Chiropractic Centre and remember, look after that spine.