Neck pain is a common health issue that people of any age may face at any time. Sometimes it may not be a serious problem and can be healed easily. But it may affect your mood and can be disturbing for day to day activities. That’s why knowing the causes is very necessary so that you can avoid the bothersome health problem of neck pain and neck stiffness.
5 most common causes of neck pain
Neck pain can be caused by our unhealthy lifestyle, carelessness, medical condition or injury. Among various reasons of neck pain, 5 most common reasons are mentioned below.
- Neck muscle strain and stress
Neck muscle tension is perhaps the most common cause of neck problem. This problem is mainly caused by overuse of neck muscles. Among other reason, improper neck positioning or poor posture, sitting before a computer for long hours at a stretch, jerking neck during exercising, sleeping on the neck for a long time is most common. These activities leave a bad impact on the neck and as a result, one experiences pain in neck areas.
- Improper sleeping position
The inappropriate sleeping position is another reason for the neck problem. If your mattress and pillows are too hard or unsupportive, it may result in neck stiffness. If mattress and pillow cannot provide enough support for the spinal cord, your head and back will inflict pressure on your neck, consequently, the next morning you will wake up with neck difficulty.
- Neck injury
Neck pain may also be the result of an injury. As the neck is to support the head and back both, it’s particularly prone to get injured in car accidents and sports. Here the muscles and ligaments of the neck are pushed outside of the regular range which can cause serious injury to veins, bones or muscles.
When anyone faces any of this injurious incident it may cause a lot of pain and rigidity in the neck.
Sudden neck jerking widely known as Whiplash also leads to neck pain. Apart from the sudden movement of the neck, this whiplash may also be the result of a road accident which leads to severe neck pain in the long run.
- Joint damage
Like any other joints of your body, neck joints may also get damaged, either for oldness or caused by any disease. Osteoarthritis may result in bone deterioration. This damaged bone may affect joint movement and consequently, neck pain arises again and again.
- Diseases
Neck pain may also be the result of some health issue. Serious health hazards like cancer, rheumatoid arthritis or meningitis, and simple fever or a headache- both can lead to neck pain. So, first make sure if it is due to normal medical condition or anything serious. If the disease is serious, seek medical treatment.
However, apart from the above-stated reasons too many reasons are there that are responsible for mild to severe neck pain. If you take extra caution and set your lifestyle avoiding these reasons, you may keep this annoying neck pain away to a great extent.
