Neck Pain – Causes, Symptoms,
Neck pain usually occurs at the base of the neck and often gets better on its own or with simple measures within a few days.
People experience neck pain for various reasons that may not necessarily be due to an underlying health issue.
Given today’s lifestyle, neck pain is more common in adults, affecting nearly one-third of the adult population in the world.
Symptoms
Pain in your neck is common, but it becomes a problem when it interferes with one’s daily activities.
The pain may range from a dull ache to sharp shooting pain that moves down the arms and hands.
The most common symptoms of neck pain are:
- Ache or stiffness in the middle, sides, or back of the neck.
- Difficulty moving your head even while sleeping.
- Clicking noises in the neck.
- Feel dizzy while moving your head sideways or looking up.
- Pain that radiates along the shoulders and arms from the neck.
- Numbness, tingling, or weakness in the arm.
- Pain in the neck when lifting your arms to the side.
Causes of Neck Pain
Many people experience neck and shoulder issues because of poor posture. Also, because of the flexibility of the neck, it is more vulnerable to injury and strain. It is also more common in women than men. Some of the most common causes of neck sprain are:
- ‘Wear and tear’ from ageing or occupation or posture ‘termed Degeneration or Arthritis or Cervical Spondylosis’
- Injuries or fractures from falls or accidents
- Lifting heavy objects awkwardly causes strain on the neck muscles
- A sprain or strain in the neck muscles, ligaments, or tendons
- Cervical herniated disc.
- Rheumatoid arthritis.
- Nerve compression from a prolapsed disc in the neck region or Arthritis
In rare cases, neck pain also may be due to
- Cancers and tumours.
- Congenital abnormalities.
- Heart attack(often accompanied along with other symptoms such as pain in the left shoulder/jaw).
Diagnosing Neck pain
Diagnosing your strain usually begins with a careful history regarding the symptoms and the nature and intensity of pain, followed by a physical examination.
Your doctor may check the flexibility and movement of your neck.
They will also enquire about your regular activities and medical history to check for any previous injury in the neck or spine.
If further clarity is required, your doctor may ask for some tests, including blood tests, X-rays, and scans such as CT/MRI.
In rare cases, they may also ask for electromyography, nerve conduction studies.
Treatment for Neck Pain
The treatment for neck pain depends upon the symptoms and causes.Most neck and shoulder ache does resolve with self-care and improved posture along with medication.
However, chronic neck sprain is treated with some of the following methods:
Medication
Many over-the-counter pain relievers are available to reduce pain or inflammation. Your doctor may suggest non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) that include both pills and creams or ointments to relieve pain. However, these medications may only be effective temporarily as quick-fix. Often the pain does return or the patient has regular flare-ups especially in Arthritis or Disc herniations
Therapeutic Injections
Your doctor may administer therapeutic injections such as soft tissue injections or facet joint injections. To treat more severe pain or pain radiating down to the fingers, your doctor may give you selective nerve root blocks or even cervical epidural steroids. More advanced procedures are also available if these don’t work. Epidural steroid injections are particularly beneficial for people suffering from a slipped disc in the neck.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture for discomfort neck is considered safe and effective for treating chronic neck and shoulder ache. However, you may need repeated sessions to improve the mobility of the neck and reduce pain.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy includes a series of active and passive treatments to strengthen, relax and relieve neck pain. It is a good alternative to surgery and other medications to treat neck and shoulder ache.
Surgery
Surgery is often the last course when all other treatments have been tried and failed. However, your doctor may suggest it for treating spinal cord or nerve-related issues or when all the other methods have failed. Often with other measures, surgery can be avoided
Some Common Questions That People Ask Dealing With Neck Pain
Most cervical pain goes away within a few days- however, if it lasts for more than a month and does not respond to physical treatment or pain relief medication, it’s time for a check-up.
Most importantly, if your pain worsens or shoots down to your arms even with light movement or pressure, then it is better to get examined thoroughly.
The aching neck is uncomfortable, but you must seek immediate care if your neck sprain is accompanied by other symptoms as high fever, chills, numbness or tingling in arms or face, chest ache, difficulty in swallowing, or a sudden weight loss. If you get night pain this can also be a sign of something serious and it is always better to get checked.
Sleeping in a bad position, such as sleeping on your stomach or not providing enough support to your neck during the night, can cause sting in your neck when you wake up.
The wrong pillow can also strain your neck muscles and can cause a possible early degeneration of the neck. You can prevent this by improving your sleeping posture and using the right pillows.
It’s always a good idea to get a pillow assessment from an Osteopath and Chiropractor. This is because they can check the alignment of your cervical spine and advise you if the pillow is the correct one in terms of making the pain in the back of your neck better or worse when you sleep.
For a detailed assessment of your Neck Pain
Book in at MyMSK clinic by clicking on and filling out the My MSK Clinic contact form here
Contact us
We’d love to hear from you!
Just reach out and contact us via any of
these channels:
Call us on
Email us on
Call us on
