Neck pain affects 10% to 20% of all adults. It is more common in women and It is more likely to develop as you get older. If left untreated, neck pain can disrupt your daily activities and can cause lower quality of life.
Symptoms
Signs of Neck Pain
Continuous or intermittent stabbing or burning pain at the back of the neck.
Pain traveling from the back of the head to the top.
Shooting pain, numbness, and tingling sensation traveling down from the neck to the arms and fingers.
Inability to move neck to the right and left and side to side more than a certain restricted range.
Causes
What causes Neck Pain
Overusing your neck muscles during repetitive or strenuous activities can lead to stiffness and pain.
Trauma and other injuries can cause damage to your spinal cord’s muscles, ligaments, discs, vertebral joints, and nerve roots, resulting in neck pain. Whiplash is a common injury that causes neck pain in car accidents.
Poor alignment can contribute to neck pain. Neck pain is commonly caused by straining your neck to view a computer screen for extended periods of time.
Natural wear and tear can cause parts of your cervical spine to deteriorate or degenerate as you age, causing pain. Neck pain can be caused by degenerative conditions such as osteoarthritis (wearing down of joint cartilage) and spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spaces in your spine).
Neck pain is a symptom of many health conditions, including meningitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer.