What is neck pain?
Neck pain is pain that occurs anywhere from the bottom of your head to the top of your shoulders. It may spread to the upper back or arms and may cause limited neck and head movement. The causes of neck pain range from mild to life threatening.
Common neck pain is from muscle strain or tension. Usually, everyday activities are responsible.
- Bending over a desk for hours
- Paving poor posture while watching TV or reading
- Placing your computer monitor too high or too low
- Sleeping in an uncomfortable position
- Twisting and turning the neck in a jarring manner while exercising.
- Traumatic accidents or falls can cause severe neck injuries like vertebral fractures, whiplash, blood vessel destruction, and even paralysis
- Other causes include a herniated disc, fibromyalgia (pain syndrome throughout the body), and arthritis.
What can be done to prevent neck pain?.
- Learn stretching exercises for your neck and upper body.
- Stretch every day, especially before and after exercise.
- If you tend to get neck pain from exercise, apply ice to your neck after physical activity.
- Use good posture, especially if you sit at a desk all day. Keep your back supported. Adjust your computer monitor to eye level. This prevents you from continually looking up or down. If you work at a computer, stretch your neck every hour or so.
- Use a headset when on the telephone, especially if answering or using the phone is a main part of your job.
- When reading or typing from documents at your desk, place them in a holder at eye level.
- Evaluate your sleeping conditions. Make sure your pillow is properly and comfortably supporting your head and neck. You may need a special neck pillow. Make sure your mattress is firm enough.
- Use seat belts and bike helmets to prevent injuries.
If neck pain is worse at the end of the day, evaluate your posture and body mechanics.
- Avoid slouching or a head-forward posture. Sit straight in your chair with your lower back supported, feet flat on the floor, and shoulders relaxed.
- Avoid sitting for long periods without getting up or changing positions.
- Take short breaks several times an hour to stretch your neck muscles.
- If you work at a computer, adjust the monitor so the top of the screen is at eye level.
- Use a document holder that puts your work at the same level as the screen.
Neck Exercises
You can learn some basic neck muscle stretching exercises in the below link
http://www.des.umd.edu/os/erg/neck.html
When to Seek Medical Care
If your symptoms do not go away as expected or if new symptoms appear, you should seek medical attention without delay.
Call your doctor if you experience the following symptoms:
- Severe, unremitting neck pain
- Neck pain unaffected by changes in position or pain that is not controlled with appropriate medication
- Severe night neck pain
- Severe, persistent neck muscle spasms
- Inability to perform daily work or activities that you could do prior your illness
In addition, symptoms suggesting possible injury to the vital structures contained in the neck should prompt early contact with your doctor. These may include the following:
- Weakness
- Numbness
- Tingling or loss of function particularly in the upper extremities
- Difficulty breathing
- Dizziness, headache, or nausea and vomiting
- Ringing in the ears or decreased hearing
You must seek immediate medical attention for any symptom suggesting a problem affecting the nervous system, airway, or spinal cord.
Examples of spinal cord injury
- Bowel or bladder retention or incontinence, that is, inability to control the bowels or bladder
- Inability to urinate
- Leg weakness or any new inability to walk Ataxia (loss of balance)
Vertigo - Dizziness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
- Any other acute symptoms suggesting a nerve problem
Evaluation by an orthopedist or neurosurgeon may be required to check for a condition requiring urgent surgical treatment.
