Pulled a Muscle in Your Neck: How Long Will It Take to Heal
By Dr. Chantal Joseph, Chiropractor
Waking up with a stiff or sore neck or suddenly feeling a sharp pain when turning your head can be frustrating and even a little worrying. It’s easy to think it’s just a pulled muscle, but how long it takes to feel better can depend on a few different things. And more importantly, you might want to ask: is it actually just a pulled muscle?
Maybe you slept in an awkward position, or maybe this has been building up slowly from stress, posture, or the way you move during the day. While a muscle strain is common, sometimes the pain is also linked to joint stiffness, a sensitive nerve, or a bit of everything combined.
For example, if the joints in the neck or upper back are restricted or a nerve is irritated, the muscles around it can tighten up to protect the area or vice versa. That can lead to strain and discomfort that sticks around longer than expected. That’s why a thorough assessment is important to figure out not just what’s hurting, but why it’s happening in the first place.
So… How Long Will It Take to Heal?
Assuming it is simply a pulled muscle, you might expect things to settle down fairly quickly. Many people can expect some level of improvement within a few days to a week, especially with the right balance of movement and treatment.
Full recovery might take a bit longer, possibly three to six weeks, depending on the extent of the strain and the root cause.
If the problem involves something more, like nerve irritation or joint restriction, the timeline can be longer, and the treatment approach will likely need to be more tailored. These cases might require a bit more focus on de loading the area, restoring joint motion, and reducing compensation patterns.
Rather than focusing too much on timelines, it’s often more helpful to think in terms of phases- settling the pain, restoring movement, then building strength and resilience.
What Could Be Contributing?
Neck pain usually doesn’t just come out of nowhere. Your daily habits, past injuries, and how much (or how little) you move can all play a role.
If you’ve experienced this before and thought, “It’s no big deal, I’ve had it before,” but this time the pain isn’t going away as quickly, it might be because your nervous system has become more sensitive. As a result, even minor issues can feel more painful or take longer to improve.
Some people find themselves stuck in a cycle where pain appears, they rest until it eases, but since nothing changes long-term, the pain eventually returns. If this pattern sounds familiar, it could be worth digging a little deeper, as it can also affect how long healing takes.
How you move, rest, and recover between flare-ups matters. You don’t need perfect posture or an intense workout routine. It’s more about helping your body adapt and get stronger over time. That could mean doing some strength work, improving the way you move, or just being more aware of when and where tension builds up.
If flare-ups are followed by long stretches of doing very little to address the root cause, the neck can stay reactive and that can make each episode feel worse than the last.
What Does Recovery Look Like?
If it’s mainly a muscle strain, the first step is usually helping your body feel safe moving again. When pain hits, it’s natural to feel stiff or hesitant to move your neck but avoiding movement can actually slow things down.
That’s why recovery often starts with gentle, safe motion. This helps reduce tension, improve range of motion, and show your nervous system that movement is okay. As things settle, you can gradually rebuild strength, control, and confidence.
This is also a good time to address anything that may have contributed to the problem in the first place whether it’s stress, posture, or habits at work or home.
Final Thoughts
So, how long will it take for a pulled neck muscle to heal? It depends not just on the muscle, but on your habits, your history, and what else might be going on underneath the surface.
If the pain isn’t going away as quickly as you expected, it might be time to look a bit deeper. Instead of just waiting it out, focusing on why it happened and what your body might need moving forward could help you not only recover faster, but reduce the chances of it coming back.
