Causes of Neck Pain – Preventive Lifestyle
People often complain of neck pain. This condition is common with people in their thirties or forties. In most cases, neck pains are stand-alone conditions and are not linked to other serious illnesses. Neck pain can occur from bad posture, ranging from leaning over a surface to hunching over a workbench. In some cases, Osteoarthritis is a common problem that causes neck pain. There is no simple method to identify the primary cause of anyone’s neck pain, but you can identify the general causes.
On very rare occasions, neck pain can signal a more complex health issue. Unless accompanied by symptoms like strength loss or numbness, you shouldn’t panic. Having an idea of what causes neck pain can be helpful to prevent it from reoccurring. This is because about half of people who have experienced it once will re-experience it.
Causes of neck pain
Since the neck is flexible and supports the head’s weight, it can be subjected to different conditions and, at times, injuries. These factors may result in pain, which prevents easy motion in the neck. Some of these causes include;
Muscle strains
Muscle strain causes neck pain. When an individual takes a lot of time on a specific activity, you can strain the muscle. These may include spending hours with a phone clinched between the ear and the shoulder. Moreover, muscle strain can occur when an individual engages in minor activities such as teeth-gritting, reading or lying-in bed in an awkward position, and more.
Compression of the nerves
If the herniated disk in the neck’s vertebrae presses on the nerves branching out from the spinal cord, this may result in neck pain.
Disease
In severe cases, different diseases can be responsible for neck pain. These include cancer. In some scenarios, an individual may suffer from neck pain if they have meningitis or rheumatoid arthritis.
Worn Joints
The body is made of different joints, and the neck is inclusive. As people age, joints in the neck tend to wear down. When this happens, the cushions (cartilage) deterioration between the bones (vertebrae) sets in. Bone spurs form, which causes difficulty in joint motion, which results in neck pain.
Lifestyle as a cause of neck pain
A few lifestyles can be responsible for neck pain.
- Inadequate sleeping time
- Poor sleeping quality
- Stressful engagements or activities
- Inadequate exercise or physical activities
Prevention of neck pain
Poor posture combined with ageing has been heavily connected to neck pain. A great way of preventing neck pain is by keeping the head centred above the spine. Adopting a few changes in daily activities can be helpful. Some of which are;
- Ensure you have a good posture
- Seat to table adjustment
- Quitting smoking
- Establishing a good sleep posture
- Breaking long activities into shorter tasks
- Seize clinching a phone between the ear and shoulder for more than a few seconds
- Getting proper rest regularly
Seeking relief for neck pain
Neck pain causes discomfort. Most times, it should heal of its own over a few hours or days. However, if it persists, there is a need to see a physiotherapist. They are skilled in providing support for various pain. In some cases, an indivisible with neck pain may only be subjected to hands-on treatment. This may be manual therapy. -IMS can help neck pain by relieving muscle tension on the cervical and shoulder muscles that attach to the neck.
Our physiotherapists at Reach can advise you on a few tips to prevent a reoccurrence of neck pain in the future, including exercise and pain relief. It is important to see a physiotherapist when pain persists because not all neck pains occur due to poor sleep posture. Persistent or reoccurring neck pain can be traceable to certain diseases.
References
* Contact Reach Physiotherapy for a list of references used for this blog content.
