Neck Pain Symptoms and Causes

Neck Pain Symptoms

Pain and stiffness:

·         You may feel pain in the middle or on either side of your neck, but it may also extend to the shoulder or to the upper chest.

·         You may have pain or weakness in your arms.

·         You may have tension headaches, where the pain can travel to the back of your head and sometimes into your ear or behind your eye.

·         It may be painful to move your neck and your muscles may feel tight, especially if you’ve been sitting or sleeping in one position for a long time.

·         You may notice that your neck won’t turn as far as it normally does, for example when you try to look over your shoulder while reversing the car.

Numbness or tingling:

A nerve can become pinched when the muscles, bones or tissues surrounding it apply too much pressure. As a result, you may feel numbness, pins and needles or a tingling sensation that can be felt down your arm, sometimes right down to your fingers.

Clicking and grating noises :

You may hear or feel clicking or grating as you move your head. This is called crepitus, and it can be caused by air bubbles popping, or tissues and bones moving over each other, in the joint. Other joints often do this too, but noises from your neck usually seem louder because they’re happening closer to your ears. You may also find they’re more noticeable at night. While this is a common symptom and can sound alarming, it’s not serious.

Dizziness and blackouts :

If you feel dizzy when looking up or turning your head, this may be due to pinching of the arteries that run alongside the spine, otherwise known as vertebral arteries. This can sometimes happen as a result of changes in the vertebrae. Pinching of these vertebral arteries can occasionally cause blackouts as the blood flow is temporarily reduced. However, blackouts can have other causes so it’s important to seek medical advice if this is happening to you.

Muscle spasms :

Muscle spasms are the sudden stiffening of a muscle or groups of muscles in your body. Often there is no known cause and they can be very unpleasant. When it occurs in the neck it usually causes pain and stiffness down one side, which can make it difficult to turn your head.

It usually only lasts a few hours or days, although rarely it may continue for several weeks. You can try to ease the pain at home with gentle stretches, over-the-counter painkillers as well as heat or ice packs. People with muscle spasms report that applying heat is particularly soothing.

Other symptoms

If you have long-lasting neck pain and stiffness, particularly if your sleep is disturbed, then you may feel very tired and, not surprisingly, you may start to feel rather down or low in mood. Talking about your pain with friends, family or your doctor may help.

Causes :

Neck pain is very common and most of us will have it at some point in our lives. Usually, neck pain is the result of holding your neck in the same position for too long. However, other things can also cause or contribute to neck pain, such as:

·         worry or stress

·         sleeping awkwardly

·         an accident, which can cause whiplash

·         a sprain or a strain

·         a flare-up of cervical spondylosis; which can happen as the discs and joints in the spine age.

For more  details contact Dr. Rahul Damle , who is Best orthopaedic surgeon in Pune