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Causes of Neck Pain
You may discover that you injured yourself somehow and did not realize it until you place it under a stressful movement, or you may know right away. But it's the neck pain that alerts you to a problem. Some common causes of neck pain: AgingAs you age ligaments thicken and the discs between your vertebrae dry out. These changes may lead to spinal disorders that create additional pressure on your spinal nerves, creating symptoms such as pain, numbing, or weakness. Degenerative disc disease is an example of an age-related spinal disorder. Over time, your discs can lose their normal structure and function. That is just wear and tear, but it can result in a bulging disc or a herniated disc and thus pain. Bulging discs or herniated discs can push on a nerve, causing pain that travels to another part of your body. Daily LifeOur bodies take a beating every day. Tensions of stress and emotions cause our muscles to constrict and this results in pain and stiffness. Additionally, our spinal column supports most of our body weight and that is where that pain and stiffness can occur on a daily basis. PosturePoor posture in the form of standing for long periods, especially on hard flooring or sitting incorrectly can cause spinal pain. If you work at a desk, looking at a computer for hours without breaks and with poor posture, you will probably experience neck pain. Many normal healthy activities can cause muscle sprains and strains, which can lead to neck pain. Injuries and AccidentsYou can fracture a spinal bone in a fall or other type of accident. If you have osteoporosis, a condition that weakens your bones, you're much more prone to fracturing a bone. You can have an activity related injury where the pain becomes immediate. ObesityBeing overweight puts additional pressure and stress on the spine and can exacerbate other conditions such as osteoporosis (weak bones), osteoarthritis (joint pain), rheumatoid arthritis (an autoimmune disease), degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, and spondylolisthesis. Neck Pain Travels Remember, a spine condition can affect the nerves in your spinal column and thus pain can travel to another part of your body. This pain that travels from the affected area to another part of your body is called radiculopathy. Cervical radiculopathy, mainly affects your arms and lumbar radiculopathy, which affects your legs. So you might experience hand and arm pain instead of or in addition to your neck pain. Your doctor can run many tests to determine the root cause of your pain. |
