Muscle locking behing ear

[Loopyleesa]

It's an ongoing problem I've had for a few years, but only normally 3/5 times a year! The pain is unbearable, there is nothing I can do to realise it, sometimes it's so sore I can't even touch it!

However this year it's been happening far more often, so I went to my doctors and explained, he gave me 14 strong muscle relaxants and said to write down when it locks and what causes it!
In the last 5 weeks it's happened once a week, with many different reasons why it happens, ranging from wind blowing on my ear, to me flicking my hair back.

It's happened again Sunday morning, taken MR and it's got worse, phoned doctors this morning and he is on holiday til next Wednesday and I've ran out of pills, not that they are really helping anyway.

I know it's a bit odd (sums me up really) but has this happened to anyone else, or anyone got any ideas what I can do, to relive the pain please?

[Driller]

Do you mean your sternocleidomastoid?

[Loopyleesa]

Yes, just googled it, and had a very interesting read.

At least I know what the muscle is called now, thanks

[968]

Loopyleesa said:

It's an ongoing problem I've had for a few years, but only normally 3/5 times a year! The pain is unbearable, there is nothing I can do to realise it, sometimes it's so sore I can't even touch it!

However this year it's been happening far more often, so I went to my doctors and explained, he gave me 14 strong muscle relaxants and said to write down when it locks and what causes it!
In the last 5 weeks it's happened once a week, with many different reasons why it happens, ranging from wind blowing on my ear, to me flicking my hair back.

It's happened again Sunday morning, taken MR and it's got worse, phoned doctors this morning and he is on holiday til next Wednesday and I've ran out of pills, not that they are really helping anyway.

I know it's a bit odd (sums me up really) but has this happened to anyone else, or anyone got any ideas what I can do, to relive the pain please?

Are you sure it's a muscle locking and not just pain? Some of what you describe sounds like trigeminal neuralgia. That can be treated with some rather different sorts of medicines, like gabapentin or carbamazepine.

[Loopyleesa]

I can only describe it as locking as it goes very hard!

Sometimes I can massage it to ease it but lately it's too sore to even do that!

I've followed the advice of heat then cold, which helps but doesn't stop it completly.

[Driller]

If it hurts to turn your head more in one direction than another then I'd say it's almost certainly the scm.

Have a think about your sleeping position ie angle of neck and maybe get an orthopaedic pillow (Ikea do them), they help a lot.