Wryneck, also known as "losing the pillow," "losing the neck," or "stiff neck," refers to a condition where poor sleeping posture leads to excessive strain on the neck muscles for an extended period, or the neck is affected by cold, causing muscle spasms, rigidity, stiffness, and pain in the neck, with limited neck movement as the main symptoms. Clinically, patients may wake up in the morning with a sudden feeling of pain and discomfort in the neck, limited movement, inability to freely turn the head, the head tilted to the affected side, and the chin tilted to the healthy side, with pain worsening when the affected muscles are stretched. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, wryneck falls under the category of "muscle injury." It is believed that wryneck is often caused by improper sleeping posture, which obstructs the flow of qi and blood in the neck, leading to muscle tension, or by trauma to the neck or exposure to cold and damp evils, causing blockage of the meridians in the neck.
Qi Stagnation and Blood Stasis Type: Often caused by improper sleeping posture or trauma, there is neck pain, mostly dull or stabbing, and the head cannot move freely; the tongue coating is white, and the pulse is tight or unsmooth.
Cold-Dampness Obstruction Type: Often caused by exposure to cold and damp evils, there is stiffness in the neck, aversion to wind and cold, worsening of symptoms with cold, and pain relief with warmth; the tongue is pale, with a thin white coating, and the pulse is tight.
It is recommended to perform moxibustion once a day, targeting 2 to 3 acupoints each time, with each acupoint being treated for 30 to 40 minutes. Rotate the points treated, with a 10-day period constituting one course of treatment, and then rest for 2 to 3 days before continuing with the next course. (If time permits and there is a need, more acupoints can be treated with moxibustion. The specific duration should be adjusted according to one's own physical needs.)
1. When sleeping, the height of the pillow should be moderate, generally the height of the pillow should be based on the height of your right fist. The pillow should be placed behind the neck, and the body should be lying straight, without tilting the head. The shoulders should not be exposed to prevent catching a cold or wind. 2. External application method: Pueraria lobata, Cinnamomum cassia, Saposhnikovia divaricata, and Corydalis each 10 grams, wrapped in gauze, boiled in boiling water for 5 minutes, remove the gauze and filter out the medicinal water, place the gauze on the neck, and apply hot compress. Twice a day, 20 minutes each time, 10 days for one course of treatment. You can also directly apply AiYiSheng moxibustion patches to help alleviate the condition.