For past 4-6 weeks I’ve had a recurring pain in my right trap and neck muscles. I believe the pain is originating in my upper trap muscle, but the pain extends next to my spine from about the mid scapula area all the way up to the base of my skull. If I massage the trap muscle right in the area where the trap meets the neck and then down about 4 inches from there as well, it will reduce the pain all the way up through the neck and down the trap.
The pain will present itself when I wake up in the morning. I’ll spend all day trying to massage it out, and will really work itself out in the evening during my gym session. But when I wake up in the morning, after sleeping all night, it’s back and the process repeats.
I believe the issue is that I high bar squat, with the bar across the top of my scapula, and I think where the bar lays across the trap muscle is where the pain really originates from.
So my questions are - is there a different head position to sleep with so that the muscles are not so tense/strained when I sleep? Is there something that can be done, other than trying a new bar position, to help? Any physical therapy type of exercise or stretching?
How have you been feeling over the past few days since your OP? How familiar are you with our stance on pain and the treatment thereof?
To answer your questions: No, I don’t typically give sleeping recommendations for the scenario you are describing. I don’t think trying a new bar position is necessary based on what you are reporting. No exercise recommendations at this time.
Has this issue happened before? If so, what did you do previously to address it?
As of this morning it feels okay (minimal aggrevation). Tonight is a squat session though, so I’ll report in the morning how the neck is feeling as it usually presents itself worse the day following heavy squats