Acute torticollis, or wry neck are medical terms used to describe a sudden stiff neck. Most of us have experienced this at some stage in our lives. Usually the person wakes up with a stiff neck and neck pain, although occasionally the neck may become stuck following a sudden movement.

More often than not, a stiff neck is caused by muscular imbalance in the neck. Causes of muscular imbalance include poor sitting posture, repetitive unaccustomed neck movements (such as in golf, tennis, weight-lifting) and unusual sleep positions that we may adopt.

Osteopathic treatment can help alleviate the symptoms of a stiff neck through a series of gentle stretches and soft tissue massage to relax the muscles in spasm.