neck...super sore the past 2 days
 

I woke up yesterday and could barely turn to the right side. my neck never felt great...always asking the kids to rub my neck..but wow..this was bad. I went for a massage and it helped a little. But again today, super sore....it goes down my neck toward the middle of my back.

So...tried to figure what have I done differently in the past few days?

I have been knitting a little more...possibly neck position.
watching a little more tv...again neck position??

or

is it that I've been trying to be a little more active, quick drive here or there...stopped at the grocery store early in the week, etc.???

BUT ..the weird thing is that my unsteadiness isn't as bad as it was in the past few weeks...STRANGE

Does anyone do any regular stretching work for their necks?

Even before my concussion, I had a pinched nerve in my neck which caused symptoms similar to those you describe. If you had a whiplash injury to your neck at the same time as you hit your head, it could also cause problems.

I have been going to a physiatrist at a back and neck clinic and doing stretching and strengthening exercises for my neck and low back (again, a pre-existing condition that was seriously aggravated after my concussion).

My stretching routine is fairly simple. I try to do it daily in the shower so the muscles are a little warm. I hold each stretch for 5 seconds and repeat the whole sequence 5 times.

1) chin to chest
2) eyes to sky
3) ear to shoulder (both sides)
4) turn head (both sides)
5) chin tuck (http://www2.nau.edu/~mtl8/images/the.../Chin_tuck.jpg)

If you have a pinched nerve, the chin tuck is especially important.

If the pain persists, you may also want to see a physiatrist or physical therapist. They can give you exercises to both relieve pain and strengthen the area so the problem doesn't recur.

We talk about neck stretches and posture helps on the thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) forum here, and there are lots of videos for stretching & posture & neck related therapies on you tube /Google videos etc.
our TOS forum useful sticky thread -
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread84.html

thank you --- I'm trying them out.

I think some of my neck problems was from too much knitting at once. I have to do short spurts...not all at once...10 mins at a time.