Pulled muscle? Yes, no?

Sounds like you went into a bit of a spasm, which means the muscle was irritable and tight from the activities leading up to the moment when it caused you pain. The muscle pain you described sounds like the "Levator Scapula" muscle, the referral pain gave me that thought. Check out the anatomy if you're curious. Here's a few suggestions:

Wrap ice in a towel and place it along the side of your neck for about 5-10 minutes, or whatever you can stand. Then, use heat
for 20 minutes and finish up with the cold for a few more mins(3-5). The Cold will decrease your pain and decrease the swelling in the area, the heat will bring in fresh blood and soothe the muscle. Ending with the cold application will ensure that the heat application didn't leave the tissues too congested. If there is any inflammation (little tears in a muscle cause this reaction, same with ligament/ joints i.e. when you sprain your ankle), you want to avoid using heat alone b/c the excess blood being drawn into the area can cause further damage. I find that using both temperatures helps to flush the injured site and therefore help with healing time. You can use this hydrotherapy 2-4 times a day for as many days as you'd like.


Do slow, careful ranges of motion with your neck (look side to side, down and up) but again, move very very slowly and do so in a pain-free way. You want to keep movement happening to prevent any other muscles from getting tight/tense in a compensatory holding pattern.

If you can, do a gentle stretch:

1) Sit on a chair that you can hold the bottom of. You'll want to start by stretching the unaffected side (your left) so you can see what a good, comfortable stretch feels like. Never move quickly, you might re-injure yourself or cause a spasm

2) Lean your body away from the arm that is holding the bottom of your chair, until your arm feels tight and anchored down.

3) Carefully turn your head toward the opposite shoulder, so the your chin is lined up just in front of your armpit (about 45 degress... sorry for getting nerdy!)

4) Slowly lower your chin towards that armpit. To enhance this stretch, take your free hand (so in this case, your right hand) and apply a light pressure to your head in the same direction of the stretch (so towards your armpit even more)

With stretching, you want to hold it for at least 30 seconds, this allows the muscle fibres to receive the signal to relax.
Again, don't put yourself in a painful position.
Listen to your body, if it doesn't feel good, then stop.

Muscle strains can take a while to heal - from days to weeks... it all depends on your health and metabolism.

Hope this helps a little!

xo