Neck Pain

Neck pain is a common discomfort and can be caused by many of your daily activities. You can strain your neck muscles over time by placing your neck in awkward positions.

Neck pain is usually a result of the following:

  • Sleeping in a position where a pillow is too high or a mattress is too firm
  • Carrying a heavy load on only one side of your body
  • Driving hunched over your steering wheel during a long commute
  • Talking on the phone hands-free by holding the phone between your ear and your shoulder
  • Huddling over your keyboard and computer monitor day in and day out at work
  • Enduring a trauma such as hitting your head during a fall or receiving whiplash from a car accident

Symptoms usually include:

  • Neck muscle tenderness
  • Stiffness in the neck
  • Difficulty moving, rotating or turning
  • Neck muscle spasms

By looking at the anatomy of your neck, you are able to see how your neck is vulnerable to injury. Your neck is a makeup of bones, nerves, muscles, ligaments and tendons. The cervical spine supports the head, provides mobility and houses the spinal cord. The spinal cord is responsible for working with the brain to control all aspects of the body. It is important to keep this area of the body functioning properly and therefore, pain should not be ignored.

Neck pain can later lead to shoulder pain if the pain is ignored. Click here to learn more information about shoulder pain.

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