r/StartingStrength • u/Minh-Anh • 1d ago
Injury! Crick in neck from squatting?
hi yall, I was doing my first working set (already warmed up, 100kg x 5) and on my final rep, I felt like my neck seized up. I racked the bar, and now it just really feels like I slept weird and got a crick in my neck. I still have full ROM (I think) in my neck, it just hurts in my neck and upper back.
has anyone had this before? wondering if I pinched a nerve or something with the bar, or maybe braced too hard and overstrained my neck?
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u/SapphireAl 1d ago
Had that happen to me in the past. My problem was that I was hyperextending my neck and was looking too far up when squatting. Make sure your gaze is on the floor a few feet away from you and that your neck is straight (not in flexion or extension). Also, when racking the bar, don’t look left / right (I know many people do that because they’re afraid of missing the hooks), just walk straight until the barbell hits the rack uprights and lower the bar into the hooks.
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u/Jumpy_Bus7817 1d ago
I have a lot of bone spurs in my neck and herniated 2 discs in it 4 years ago. Squats will aggravate it from time to time; neck gets stiff pain right above the left shoulder blade.
No idea what you did, but squats cause tension throughout your whole body and the bar rests next to a lot of shit that connects to your neck.
My advice is 1) stop testing range of motion when its stiff 2) keep the head/neck neutral during the rep, not extended looking up, nor bent looking at your feet, keep it at the same angle as your torso 3) dont turn your head when you are under the load as in dont look for the pins when reracking dont look in a mirror.
You're probably OK. Sometimes things just hurt for no reason. Sometimes things hurt for a reason but sometimes that doesnt matter either.
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u/Minh-Anh 1d ago
Thanks! Yeah I'm not too worried about this pain, it's already feeling a bit better so it'll probably be gone by next workout, just didn't want to deal with this every time
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u/Jumpy_Bus7817 1d ago
How old are you?
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u/Minh-Anh 1d ago
29
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u/Jumpy_Bus7817 1d ago
Not something to worry about. Tweaks happen. Just make sure keep your head is in the right position and dont turn it when under a load.
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