Occasionally, I Twitch My Neck Muscles When I M Under

Posted on Sat, 4 Apr 2020

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 4 Apr 2020 Answered on

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Question : Occasionally, I twitch my neck muscles when I'm under stress. It feels voluntary like I could stop but I often feel better doing it. Over the past few weeks, I've noticed that when I do this, I occasionally get slight discomfort on the right side near the Adam's apple and sometimes on the right side and up towards the jawbone. I've always had neck and shoulder issues from injuries but never felt discomfort in the front of the neck. I have started doing new (light) weightlifting exercises too though. Does this sound just like overuse and muscle strain? It's more on the right side even though I twitch both sides. About a year ago I had a neck ultrasound that showed nothing malignant. Does this sound like it could be an early sign of thyroid or neck cancer? I don't feel a growth.

Answered by Dr. Naveen (5 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Spasm of Sternocleidomastoid muscle

Detailed Answer:
Hi

Thanks for posting the query

I have understood your problem and I am of the opinion that you seem to be having intermittent spasm of the sternocleidomastoid muscle.

As the name says the attachment of the muscle is over the mastoid bone (just behind the ear) on the top and the clavicle bone in the lower part. Due to the intermittent spasm of the muscle, there would be constant nagging sensation over the attachment.The pulling of the muscles causes pain around the areas of attachment. This is the reason why you feel pain below the thyroid gland and also along the jaw bone and behind the ear.

Do not worry! This is not something serious.You would require a good muscle relaxant and an anti-inflammatory medicine such as Ibuprofen or diclofenac. Physiotherapy of the neck muscles can help you in getting over this problem.

Hope this answers your query; I will be available for the follow up queries.

Regards
Dr. Naveen Kumar N
ENT and Head & Neck Surgeon

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T