Causes of neck pain – Many people experience neck pain due to various reasons. It can be unbearable, hampering you from enjoying your favorite hobbies and spending time with your family. Chronic neck pain can even affect your productivity at work. Identifying the precise culprit behind the pain in your neck is essential for getting rid of it.
Keep on reading to discover the six most common causes of neck pain, and why they may affect you.
1. Poor posture or sleeping position
The neck is one of the many things that can be affected by how you stand, sit, and sleep. It’s especially dangerous to crane your neck forward while texting, browsing the web, or even reading a magazine.
Don’t consider avoiding or even cutting back on these activities. Instead, be conscious of neck-craning and attempt to prevent it in the future. When it comes to sleeping, there are a variety of options. Sleeping on your back is one such option. Sleeping on your side might irritate your neck by compressing your spine.
It’s also possible that you’re using too many or too few pillows, causing your neck to rest in an uncomfortable position. Think about purchasing a memory foam pillow to support your neck without forcing it into an awkward position.
2. Stress
It appears as the scientists learn something new about how stress affects the human body daily. According to the latest research, it can cause your neck muscles to become taut, making it easier to strain them. If you’re the sort that is always anxious and overloaded, you’re at increased risk for stress-related ailments.
To deal with this, the best approach is to relax. When you feel too stressed or exhausted, take a break. If frequent stress is an issue for you, and it’s causing substantial disruption in your life, consider seeing a counselor. They can teach you how to better control your symptoms and can even send you to a psychiatrist if you require medication.
3. Lifting too much weight
Your spine bends and strains when you lift something that’s too heavy, particularly when you bear the weight unevenly, which can lead to damage and discomfort. In terms of treatment, the only thing you can consider is distributing the weight evenly to your spine and legs and avoiding lifting heavy objects.
4. Brachial plexus injury
The brachial plexus is a network of nerves that runs from your neck to the arms and hands. A brachial plexus injury can occur for a variety of reasons, but the most prevalent are motor vehicle accidents and sports injuries.
Something like breaking your arm is quite similar to having a brachial plexus injury. You may be unable to move it because it hurts or feels numb. However, brachial plexus injuries will usually heal on their own in several months or less. If they don’t, you should see a doctor. That’s because one or more of your nerves may need to be surgically repaired.
5. Whiplash
Whiplash shares some of the same culprits as a Brachial Plexus injury, together with some of the same symptoms. However, it can also cause headaches, lower back discomfort, disorientation, tinnitus, and a variety of other symptoms. Whiplash treatment options are typically straightforward. Painkillers, cold compresses, physical therapy, and home-based or outpatient procedures are among them. Symptoms usually go away within a month.
6. Pinched nerve
A pinched nerve in the neck feels similar to a brachial plexus injury and can result from the same things. However, having excess weight is one of the major culprits behind a pinched nerve. This condition usually goes away within a few days. It can also be relieved to some extent by home remedies like cold compresses.