So I went down to the office of my colleague who also teaches aerobics and knows a thing or two about kinesiology - just to be sure that I hadn't likely torn a muscle or thrown a vertebra out of whack or something that I'd need real, actual medical treatment for. Turns out, based on my description of the symptoms and results, that I had a charley horse, just in my neck instead of the more usual leg. And she said, breezily, "Oh, it take three to four days for it to clear up." Crud. The heatpackmaxipad thing helped yesterday afternoon while it was on, but now it hurts again. And I have to turn my whole body if I want to see behind me - turning my head causes too much pain.

And the medical site I looked it up on says ice is really better now. (And that I should have stopped scrubbing my bathroom and done stretching exercises immediately. Yeah, like it helps to know that now.) But ice? Ugh. That just seems to me like it would make it feel worse.

I have weak muscles in my neck any way. I think I tore a muscle when I was a child - it was the last day of swimming lessons, and even though it was midsummer in northeastern Ohio, still, midsummer in northeastern Ohio had its share of windy and borderline cold days. Which that day was. I was getting ready to go down the water slide and one of the other kids called my name. I turned to see who it was and my neck just locked up. The only other thing I remember about that was later, lying on the sofa, with a hot pad on my neck and watching "Barnaby" (there used to be a local kids' show on channel 43 called "Barnaby" - an older guy who introduced the cartoons. Kind of like the Krusty the Clown show without the unintentional injuries and cynicism, or kind of like Soupy Sales for those who are older [or, like me, have seen him in re-runs]). I would have been about six, or maybe even younger, because I don't remember my brother as being on the scene. Ever since then my neck has been easily injured which is why I think maybe I tore the muscle, nobody knew about it (and besides, getting me to the doctor in those days? If I wasn't bleeding, infected, or unconscious, it was nearly impossible) and I keep reinjuring it.

I suppose a massage would help it some but (a) I'm cheap that way and (b) the one massage therapy place here in town, I've been warned has sort of a creepy person giving massages. (One of the few times I wish I was married/ had a Significant Other - then I could ask him to rub my neck for me. It's one of those places you just can't reach yourself.)

Since it's muscular and apparently self-limiting (the charley horse at least), I'm not sure going to a chiropractor (something I've never done) would necessarily help. And honestly, I don't want someone "adjusting" my neck when it's this sore.

It's not bad-bad-painful, it's more annoyance-painful. But for me, annoyance-painful long enough just makes me want to cry. Especially since I will be spending many, many hours on campus today, and teaching a tough class alone, and having a meeting this evening where everyone else has nowhere they have to be the next morning, so they don't particularly care how late they get home. (Seriously, ya'll - I think I'm going to trot out The Injury tonight as a way of getting sympathy and hopefully in the service of getting the meeting done faster. Not attending the meeting is not really an option, as I am the president for this year.)