Self Care Articles

Is this your symptom?

• Pain or stiffness in the back, side or front of the neck
• Minor muscle strain from overuse and neck injury are included

Symptoms

• Neck pain due to strained muscles cause these symptoms:
  • The head is often cocked to one side
  • Can't bend the head backward or put the chin to each shoulder. Often, can still bend the neck forward (touch the chin to the chest).
  • The neck muscles are often sore to the touch

Causes of Neck Pain

• Strained Neck Muscles. New neck pain is often due to stretched neck muscles (muscle overuse). The most common cause is working with the head flexed down (bent forward). This happens with texting, looking at smartphones and mobile devices. Reading while lying in bed or working on a computer for hours can trigger neck pain. The neck likes to keep the head in a neutral position. This is because the head is heavy. Other triggers are sleeping in an odd position or fixing something on the ceiling (neck bent backward).
• Swollen Lymph Node. This can be from an infected lymph node. That can irritate and cause spasms of the neck muscle it lies against.
• Whiplash Injury is caused by sudden movement of the head and neck. The head snaps back and forth. Neck muscles, nerves and ligaments are stretched. Can occur with a rear-end car collision. Can also be from a sports injury. Needs to be checked by a doctor.
• Arthritis of the Spine. The neck and spine can have wear-and-tear changes. This causes the neck to get stiff and painful; it limits movement. Arthritis can also lead to nerves being pinched as the channels they pass through become narrow. This may cause pain that goes into the shoulder or down the arm. It can also cause dizziness when the head is turned or the neck is bent down.
• Major Neck Injury (serious). The neck protects the spinal cord. A fracture or other injury of the neck can damage the spinal cord. All neck injuries need to be kept still (immobilized) on a spine board with a neck brace until they are checked and cleared.
• Meningitis (very serious) is a bacterial infection of the membrane that covers the spinal cord and brain. The main symptoms are a stiff neck, headache, confusion and fever. A stiff neck means you can't touch the chin to the chest. If not treated early, meningitis can cause brain damage.
• Cardiac Pain (serious). Pain from heart (cardiac) problems can spread to the neck, shoulder or jaw. Other symptoms are heavy feeling in the chest, shortness of breath and/or sweating. If you have pain in your neck or jaw and the cause is not clear, it could be a heart problem. Seek help right away.
• Cervical Radiculopathy (serious). This happens when the main nerves going down the arm are pinched at the neck. It can feel like severe arm pain or loss of feeling and weakness.
• Other Serious Causes of Neck Pain:
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Bone disorders
  • Cancer
  • Serious injuries

Pain Scale

• Mild: you feel some pain, but it doesn't keep you from any normal activities. Work, activities and sleep are not changed.
• Moderate: the pain keeps you from doing some normal activities. It may wake you up from sleep.
• Severe: the pain is very bad. It keeps you from doing all normal activities.