3 Common Causes Of Chronic Neck Pain

Neck pain is one of the worst pains to suffer from as it impacts your daily life on a number of levels. For starters, pain in the neck will travel up to your head, often causing tension headaches. You struggle to concentrate and you find it hard to keep your head upright as well. All you want to do is lie down and rest. 

Treating your neck pain begins with finding the cause of it. There are many reasons you might have chronic neck pain, but here are three of the most common: 

Whiplash

Technically, a traumatic injury is what has caused neck pain, and whiplash is a type of injury. If you speak to some injury lawyers, they will tell you that whiplash is typically caused by auto accidents. This is when your head gets whipped back at speed, injuring your neck. You can also get whiplash if you go bungee jumping or do anything else that puts excessive force on your neck. 

When this injury happens, you tend to cause damage to the muscles, discs and tendons in your neck. The good news is that you can treat this with physiotherapy and rest. It should clear within two to three months. 

Arthritis

Arthritis is when the joints in your neck become inflamed, making them extremely sore. Your neck will constantly feel really sore, but it can be very painful in certain situations. If the weather changes, the pressure in the atmosphere can cause your arthritis to flare up and be even worse. Also, doing things that put an increased demand on your neck muscles will make the pain worse.

Arthritis in your neck can also be treated with physiotherapy and general pain-relief medication. In fact, it is possible to strengthen your neck to the point where the pain goes away. Of course, be sure to see a doctor to get a proper diagnosis. 

Poor posture

Arguably the most common cause of neck pain, particularly in young adults. Hours and hours of sitting at desks or looking down at phones has caused us to develop poor posture. Your head starts drifting too far forward, meaning your neck has to deal with extra strain trying to keep it up. As a result, the muscles in your neck get really tight and you are always in a lot of pain. 

Poor shoulder posture can also cause neck pain. If your shoulders round forward you tend to get really tight trapezius muscles, which connect to your neck and can cause tightness and a lot of discomforts. 

The simple solution to this is to fix your neck posture – and the video above showcases how to do just that. 

Remember, the first step in curing your chronic neck pain is identifying the cause. Which one of these three things do you think is responsible for your pain? In most cases, one of the three things will be the cause for you. If not, you should see a specialist to get a more thorough diagnosis as your neck pain might be more serious.