Nothing is worse than when you wake up with a crick in your neck.
Every time you turn your head…..ZING! BAM!
From your eyeball to your neck to your shoulder blade.
I know. I have had this freaking pain numerous times. And it is all-encompassing. I deal with people’s pain all day, but when I wake up with one of these neck things……it is really hard to be a good clinician. Because my head is about to explode!
Someone out there reading this knows what I am talking about.
But what if I told you it wasn’t originating from your neck? What if it was coming from your rib?
Your rib, you ask? Ribs are near your chest around your stomach region, right?
Take a look at the picture to the right. The ribs go all the way to the bottom of your neck. The first rib attaches to T1. That is the first thoracic vertebrae. That is below C7. Your 7th cervical vertebrae. Cervical means your neck.
If you look at the picture and countdown to the 3rd rib. The 1st through the 3rd ribs
can be like that an annoying piece of food that gets stuck in your tooth and you can’t get out. Usually, the pain is on one side of the upper and middle shoulder blade, at least initially, then it can encroach to the other side if allowed to fester.
Ribs attach to our thoracic spine where they make a joint. Although the movement is small, there is still mobility. And necks and backs are not the only areas in our body that can get cricks in them. Any joint in the body can get a crick! And the joint between the ribs and thoracic spine house these very sensitive nerve structures that are highly irritable. Therefore, they can cause ALOT of pain.
There are muscles that run from the 1st-3rd rib that attach to your neck. Hence, why you can have a sharp pain radiating from your upper back to your neck. It is like a hectic ping-pong game of nerves angrily firing back and forth between both sites.
Prior to giving any advice on how to get relief, be careful if you have osteoporosis due to compromise to the rib region. If you have any new traumatic injury within the past year, please consult your physician. Always consult with your physician when in doubt.
Especially since referral pain for the heart can be located along the left mid-thoracic region, as well as the left side of the chest and along the left arm. The heart is a viscera organ and visceral pain is diffuse and non-specific pain. If you are having restrictive pain along your left chest/ribcage region, you need to seek immediate medical attention.
Factors that predispose you to a “rib crick” is sleeping on the same side every night, being a stomach sleeper with your arm raised over your head, working a job that requires repetitive forward or overhead motion (such as hammering, putting lightbulbs in, lifting or moving boxes).
For this blog post, I am putting the explanatory information about why the pain is there and the factors involved in getting this sort of pain.
I have attached the YouTube Video from Part 2, so you can get immediate satisfaction now.
But please….click here for “Ribs: A Pain in Your Neck Part 2” for a detailed description of the exercises described in the video.
Please subscribe to Pain and Simple Blog on YouTube.
@painandsimpleblog on Instagram.
Share your stories/pictures of overcoming pain and experiencing life to the fullest on Instagram, just #Painnihilator
Meet with me digitally on myPFM!
Let me answer your questions about your PAIN from anywhere in the world!
In this 15 minute Q&A, I will provide you resources to get an action plan set in place to get you feeling better.
Here is the link.
Interested in Continuing Education for Pelvic Pain Diagnoses?
Check out my education company’s website, Alcove Education, for upcoming pelvic floor courses and exciting online education courses coming soon!
Do you want me to discuss a specific topic on this blog? Please email me at questions@painandsimple.blog.