Literally.

Two weeks ago I woke up in the morning with that crick in your neck that
prevents you from turning your head side to side without a radiating pain. Generally, as most have experienced, a few days rest and its back to business as usual. In my case, my ‘few days rest’ turned into almost two weeks of commercial diving.

While commercial diving, the typical dress includes a diver’s helmet. This 30-35 pound beast on your head does little to help with a stiff neck. In the water, the weight is negligible, but getting dressed and mucking around in waist deep water is a real pain in the neck.

Muscles of the neck. Anterior view. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So, my crick worsened over the week. Its my own fault, so be it. My days underwater were somewhat a relief given the weightlessness over my entire body, but man oh man – getting in and out, and especially climbing on and off the boat were not good at all. At two points, I head a distinct crackle in my neck while exiting the water.

Then sure enough, with 2 days left on the project – it all went away, almost with the snap of my fingers. I believe this to be from my neck muscles strengthening up over the course of time during the project, and then overtaking the crick.

Over the year’s I’ve noticed a change in my overall posture, and change in my neck and shoulder’s shape. Call it an occupational hazard – diving is a pain in the neck.  : )