The neck works hard to support the head. Leaning over a computer or hunching over your work desk only makes its job more difficult.
Poor posture certainly contributes to neck pain. But your neck’s structure makes it possible as well. All the interconnected structures that give your neck its remarkable range of motion are subject to injury and tearing following arthritis damage or “whiplash” injuries.
Neck pain accompanied by headache and fever can be a sign of meningitis, an infection of the membranes surrounding your brain. If your neck is so stiff that you cannot touch your chin to your chest, you should seek immediate medical care.
Causes
1. Muscle strain. Overuse, such as hunching over the steering wheel for many hours, most often causes muscle strain. Neck muscles, especially those in the back of your neck, become fatigued and tense. When you overuse your neck muscles repeatedly, it can develop into chronic pain. Even simple things like reading in bed or clenching your teeth can strain neck muscles.
2. Arthritis. Like all other joints in your body, your neck’s joints tend to deteriorate with age.
3. Disc disorders. As you age, the cushioning discs between your vertebrae dry out, narrowing the spaces in your spine where the nerves exit. The discs in your neck can also rupture. This means the gel-like material inside the disc protrudes through the hard disc covering. Nearby nerves can be pinched. Other tissues and bone growth can also put pressure on your nerves as they leave your spinal cord, causing pain.
4. Injuries. Violent collisions often result in whiplash injuries, which occur when the head is jerked forward and backward, pulling the soft tissues of the neck beyond their capacity.
Symptoms
Your neck contains bones and joints, muscle tendons and ligaments, muscles and nerves, any of which can be the source of pain. Neck pain can also come from areas near your neck, such as your jaw, head, and shoulders. Conversely, problems in your neck can involve other parts of your body, such as your upper back, shoulders, or arms.
If your nerves are involved in your neck pain, you may also feel numbness, tingling, or weakness in your arms or legs.
Examination and Diagnosis
Your doctor usually will be able to diagnose the cause of your neck pain and recommend treatment by asking about the type, location, and onset of your pain.
In less obvious cases, your doctor may use imaging technology such as X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging, or CT scans. These tests may reveal pressure on a nerve root, narrowing of the nerve root exit, and spinal cord and disc problems.
Electromyography, a test that evaluates electrical activity in the nerve and muscle, may help determine if there is nerve damage.
When to seek medical advice
Muscle irritation is usually easy to diagnose. It usually comes after overactivity, overuse, or prolonged positions that put excessive stress on your neck muscles. This pain usually improves on its own within a few days to two weeks. If the pain does not subside within a week or two, see your doctor.
Also see your doctor if the following signs and symptoms occur in association with neck pain:
Severe pain from injury. After trauma to the neck or head, such as whiplash or a blow to the head, see your doctor immediately. Severe pain from bone may indicate a fracture or ligament injury.
Sharp pain. Pain that radiates to your shoulder, penetrates the shoulder blade, or goes down your arm, or numbness or tingling in your fingers may indicate nerve irritation. Pain from nerve irritation can last from three to six months or longer. Because serious problems can occur after continued nerve irritation, see your doctor.
Loss of strength. Weakness in an arm or leg, walking with a stiff leg, or dragging your feet indicates a need for immediate evaluation.
Change in bowel or bladder habits. Any significant change, especially a sudden onset of incontinence, can indicate a nerve problem.
Treatment
At Alimran Medical Center, we may recommend any of the following treatments:
Chiropractic
Steroid injection
- Trigger point injections
- Epidural steroid injections
- Transforaminal injections
Surgery
Surgery is rarely needed for neck pain. It is used to relieve pressure on a nerve root or spinal cord compression.