Neck muscle tension and jerking

[Barca]

I've been doing really well for several years and then "BOOM", my old symptoms revisit me unannounced out of the blue. I was at work Friday night and my co-worker was talking to me. All of a sudden, my neck tightened and the jerking began. Of course, I tried to duck, hide, and cover up the situation. I don't want people to see this. It looks dumb (in my opinion.) Then I spent the rest of the shift questioning myself and attempting to deal with the presence of worry that had been very under control for years. I'm honest with myself. I don't get where and why I'm going through this again. I know I'll have to do some serious work to pull out of this. The embarrassment and avoidance will have to be dealt with. I have to talk to myself constantly to think rationally. I was just going along with life and now I'm back to the effort. So exhausting. Does anyone else have a problem with neck jerking? I've had this since I was 15 and I'll be 48 soon. Barb

 

[triceps]

One thing that might help is to let your friends and co-workers that you interact with that at times, for some unknown reason, you'll go thru muscle spasms that start in your neck. The less you try to hide it, the chance is better that it might not start or will relax faster once it starts. It's probably only embarrassing to you and others won't think much of it if they're already aware.

 

[Miha87]

I had a neck MRI because of all my neck pain, which spread to my arm and leg etc... well turned out to be just muscle spasms due to anxiety. I thought it definitely was nerve damage or a herniated disc. Been doing physiotherapy for 4 months along with some exercise but without reducing anxiety or won't be fully relieved. So yes it can really be that bad. Not to mention the vicious circle that if you're anxious because of the pain it will increase and you'll be stuck in a vicious endless circle.

 

[EvaGisele]

I agree with triceps, I could help you to tell coworkers about spasms. I had neck tension before and took a neck massager pillow to work and kept it on my neck for a while. No one passed negative judgment. Actually, it was a good conversation starter about other people’s health issues.

 

[He Man]

Barca, hi..
Have you ever had the tension in your neck muscles treated with trigger point injections or dry needling (?)
They obviously don't treat the underlying anxiety, but may help relieve the muscle tightness & recurring spasms (?)