Neck pain is any time your neck hurts. It’s a common problem with lots of causes.
Your neck has a tough job. It holds up the same weight as a bowling ball all day long. The bones at the top of your spine, along with your muscles and ligaments, support your head, which weighs about 11 pounds.
Neck pain usually goes away within a few days or weeks, but pain that persists for months could signal an underlying medical cause that needs to be addressed. In some cases, early intervention may be necessary for the best results.
What Are the Symptoms of Neck Pain?
If your neck hurts, you may notice other symptoms including:
Pain that gets worse when you hold your head a certain way while working on a computer, driving, or doing other tasks
Muscle tightness or spasms
Trouble moving your neck or head
Headache
What Causes Neck Pain?
Many things can cause your neck to hurt:
Poor posture
Repetitive motion
Bad sleep habits
Gritting your teeth
Carrying a heavy shoulder bag or purse
Pinched nerves
Sports injuries or other injuries
Car accidents involving whiplash
Arthritis
Infection
Tumors
A fractured or collapsed vertebra, which can be related to osteoporosis
A slipped (herniated) disk
Fibromyalgia
Narrowed spaces within your spine (spinal stenosis)
Onset of Neck Pain Symptoms
Neck pain typically develops in one of the following ways:
Slowly over time. Neck pain might start out as mild or only occur toward the end of a work day, but then it might recur and get worse with time.
Immediately following an injury. For instance, neck pain could start right after a bike accident or having slept awkwardly on the neck.
Delayed reaction after an injury. Neck sprain symptoms, such as after a car accident, might begin hours or a few days after the injury occurred. Some neck injuries can get worse over time.
Suddenly without any prior signs. Sometimes neck pain can start in the middle of a normal day for no apparent reason.
Neck pain symptoms might be constant, go away quickly, come and go regularly, or return intermittently. Certain activities or movements, such as sneezing or coughing, could make the pain worse.
When Neck Pain Needs Medical Attention
While neck pain usually goes away on its own, sometimes an underlying cause must be treated in order to alleviate the symptoms.
Sometimes neck pain is caused by a serious underlying medical condition, such as a spinal cord compression, cancer, meningitis, or any number of infections. Neck pain requires immediate medical attention if it is accompanied by any of the following:
- Radiating pain into both arms or legs (myelopathic pain)
- Numbness, tingling, or weakness in arms or legs
- Problems with balance or coordination
- Loss of bowel or bladder control
- Unintended weight loss
- Fever or chills
- Severe headache with stiff neck
When severe neck pain results from major trauma, such as a car accident or falling from a ladder, it must be treated as a medical emergency. To reduce the risk for paralysis, the patient should be immobilized by a medical professional and then transported to emergency care.
Neck Pain Treatment
A thorough medical history is the first step in diagnosing the specific cause of neck pain. In addition to learning about the person’s health history, the doctor asks questions about:
Current symptoms. When did the pain start? Does it come and go? Is the pain in one spot, or does it radiate into the shoulders, arms, or fingers? Are there any other symptoms in addition to neck pain?
Occupation. What type of work does the person do? Is the day spent performing manual labor or sitting in front of a computer? What is the commute like?
Lifestyle. Does the person tend to be more active or sedentary? For instance, do hobbies include more moving around, such as gardening or swimming, or more sitting, such as watching TV or reading?
Many other topics may be reviewed, such as posture, sleep habits, and recent or old injuries.
Most neck pain can be treated with nonsurgical methods, such physiotherapy, dry needling, self-care at home and/or with guidance from a physiotherapist and gp.
TREATMENT PLAN
Here at Don Kelly Physiotherapy and Acupuncture clinic we have treated this very common condition very successfully in both our Limerick and Charleville clinics.
Phyio exercises and acupressure: This can be an ancient type of treatment that is comparable to acupuncture, but does not use needles. It applies pressure to particular pressure points which encourages blood circulation, relieves muscle tension, and triggers our body natural healing :
I have treated my patients with a 100% success rate. Armed with experience in the last 20 years of providing my physiotherapy services in Limerick and Charleville.
If you experience chronic pain, injuries, or advice for knee surgery and replacement please don’t hesitate to reach out. I have treated thousands of my patients with successful results over the last 20 years of my physio services.
BEFORE YOU SAY YES TO KNEE SURGERY REPLACEMENT– give me a ring for an assessment.
My treatment plan is the result of my experience and knowledge in treating chronic pains and injuries over the last 20 years. This is the holistic plan to guarantee pain relief, prevent recurring pains, and faster recovery.
