[silver_pilate]

Here's a guess, and a likely answer. I just finished up my orthopaedics classes in my masters work, and we spent a good deal of time talking about such things.

It could well be an upper cervical hypomobility (limited motion).

Do you have a history of headaches? Perhaps starting at the base of the skull and spreading up? Maybe chronic upper traps problems/soreness (although less often seen) If so, this may be a flair-up of a chronic problem.

If not, then it may just be the position you slept in causing a limit, like getting a crick in your neck.

You'd be surprised at how many people suffer with some sort of chronic neck/headache problems simply caused by lack of motion. I have myself and I know of at least two others who have.

As for the numbness. Is it true numbess where you can't feel anything at all? Is it a feeling of numbness where you can still feel touch? Or is it tingling (parasthesias...like when your foot falls asleep)?

The nerves exiting your spine refer pain/sensation to various areas of your skin called dermatomes. The area you describe is referred to from the cervical nerves 2 and 3. It is possible for hypomobilities to cause referred numbness and or tingling in the dermatomes.

Try this: Fully sidebend your head so that you're trying to touch your ear to your shoulder moving only your neck and head (don't shrug the shoulder). Next, hold this side-bent position and try to rotate in the opposite direction. (i.e., if you bend your head left, try and rotate to the right while keeping the head bent over). You should have about 20-30 degress of motion, give or take. If your stuck (as I am most of the time) and can't rotate or can rotate on a little bit, you've got an upper cervical hypomobility, likely of the uncovertebral joint and/or possibly the zygopophoseal joint.

Don't go to a chiropracter. They're all quacks . Of course, I may be biassed because of our longstanding dispute with chiros. A good chiro could help you, but if all he does is pop your neck (a proven DANGEROUS technique in the cervical spine which we (physical therapists) don't use), he's most likely not helping you. If you want and explanation, I can write one up as for why this is, but I'll leave that to you. I think a good physical therapist with training in manual therapy could help you the best. If I was in your area, I would do an eval and treat you if that above turned out to be the problem.

Anyway, just a suggestion. A bit easier and more likely than shingles or something exotic. Remember Ocham's razor. The simplist answer is usually the best answer.

--nathan, SPT