So I was lifting weights on Tuesday night, and after my workout was over I decided to pump out a few more reps on dumbell curls with each arm to finish it off. Now, I had just increased my weight that night (to 35 pound dumbells), and usually when I do standing dumbell curls I have one dumbell in each arm, which provides a counterweight when I lift one side up for the rep. I must not have been thinking, because I picked up just one dumbell in my left hand, but nothing in my right, and started to lift. Big mistake. My body must have tried to pull back to the right as I lifted it, and I immediately felt something in my neck. After that I couldn't turn my head to the right.
I'm obviously hoping that it's just a strained muscle, but I'm starting to get worried that it might be either a pinched nerve or, worse yet, a herniated disc (thanks for telling me that, mom!
). Like I said, it happened Tuesday night and still hurts. Granted, I haven't been putting ice or heat on it at all after the first night because I haven't been home much, but I figured sleep alone would fix it (I'm generally a fast healer from strains/bruises etc.). My range of motion has definitely improved since Tuesday, which is encouraging (assuming my shoulders are 180 degrees, I can turn my head about 160-170 degrees in each direction now, but still with discomfort), but the rate of recovery is slower than I'd like, which scares me. The other frightening thing is that during the week when I sat certain ways I'd feel light pressure
inside my head, like at the back of my eyes. Now, whatever muscle I pulled definitely extended up into the base of my skull, so I'm hoping it was just peripheral pain/pressure, but who knows...
And now the other side of my neck is hurting, and I can't turn to the left all the way; I think I might have just been overcompensating all week (and even subconsciously during sleep so as not to turn to my right, which was the original injury), so I might have strained some other neck muscles. Anyone ever have a bad muscle strain in their neck before who can reassure me that it just takes some time to go away and isn't something much worse?
I'm pissed off, too, because I had my first scrimmage for the basketball league I signed up for tomorrow night, and now I'm not sure if I'll be able to play. Woe is me. :'( Just venting, really, and looking for some reassurance after my mom started in with her paranoia.
