Neck Pain
Neck Pain
Signs and symptoms
Neck pain takes many forms. Signs and symptoms of neck pain may include:
* Pain in your neck that may feel sharp or dull
* Stiffness in your neck
* Difficulty going about your daily tasks because of pain or stiffness in your neck
* Shoulder pain in addition to neck pain, in some cases
* Back pain in addition to neck pain, in some cases
Causes
* Muscle strains. Overuse, such as too much time spent hunched over a steering wheel, often triggers muscle strains. Neck muscles, particularly those in the back of your neck, become fatigued and eventually strained. When you overuse your neck muscles repeatedly, chronic pain can develop. Even such minor things as reading in bed or gritting your teeth can strain neck muscles.
* Worn joints. Like the other joints in your body, your neck joints experience wear and tear with age, which can cause osteoarthritis in your neck. Neck (cervical) osteoarthritis can cause pain and stiffness in your neck.
* Disk disorders. As you age, the cushioning disks between your vertebrae become dry and stiff, narrowing the spaces in your spinal column where the nerves come out. The disks in your neck also can herniate. This means the inner gelatinous cartilage material of a disk protrudes through the disk’s tougher cartilage covering. Neck pain may occur or nearby nerves can be irritated. Other tissues and bony growths (spurs) also can press on your nerves as they exit your spinal cord, causing pain.
* Injuries. Rear-end collisions often result in whiplash injuries, which occur when the head is jerked forward and back, stretching the soft tissues of the neck beyond their limits.
Like situation in low back pain, acute, early stage of pain onset or injury will be easy to cure or improve, in chronic or with long history, may need more long time to improve the pain. Now, more common cause is the stress, people work on computer with too long time.