I woke up a few days ago with a very stiff, somewhat painful neck. I m a 68 year old male and do have a history of SBE (not that it matters). The neck is particularly stiff (painful) when I rotate up and down and much less so rotating left to right, although, when I do rotate left to right, I can hear light cracking, which I would interpret as a stiff neck related to a strain. Because of my history of SBE, I m a little concerned. I seem to have perhaps a very low grade fever, but have not taken my temperature. Any reason to be concerned?