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Three causes of right side neck stiffness

Without your neck, your head wouldn’t be able to move as much as it does. In fact, you would have to turn your whole body to look in a specific direction. The neck is also a complex structure, and it can be affected by many issues. One issue that commonly affects the neck is stiffness, and there are three issues that can cause stiffness in the right side of the neck.

Poor sleeping posture

Poor sleeping posture is one of the most common things that leads to right side neck stiffness, and many factors can put your neck in a stiffness-causing position while you sleep. For instance, your pillow could be too soft or too hard. This is a problem because it takes the neck out of alignment with the rest of your spine, and this can lead to stiffness and pain in the neck muscles. The firmness of your mattress can also be a factor in waking up with a stiff neck. Even moving around in your sleep can put your head in a bad position and lead to neck stiffness.

Car accident injury

Another common issue that can cause right side neck stiffness is a car accident injury. Motor vehicle accidents generate extreme forces, and this is true even when both cars are driving relatively slowly. These forces are transmitted to your body in the crash. When this happens, it can lead to conditions like whiplash, and this condition can strain the muscles in the neck and injure other neck structures. The effects of a car accident injury often take several days to appear — you could go to bed feeling fine and wake up with stiffness or pain in your neck.

Torticollis

Also called wry neck, torticollis can lead to stiffness in the right side of the neck. This condition is characterized by stiffness so extreme that it pulls your head to one side. It can also make it harder to move the head and neck, and torticollis can lead to pain as well as stiffness.

In many cases, torticollis develops suddenly, and it’s often the result of a sports injury or car accident injury to the muscles on one side of the neck. Most cases of torticollis tend to get better within a few days. However, it can also be a symptom of a more serious health issue, such as an infection.

Armor Physical Therapy can help treat stiffness in the right side of the neck

Armor Physical Therapy is proud to serve the residents of southwest Michigan from five clinics, and we offer physical therapy for many neck injuries and issues. To help figure out what is causing your symptoms, we offer free screenings. We’ll then use the information gathered in the screening to build you a personalized treatment plan, and your plan can include therapy techniques such as: