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Neck pain is extremely common: one in three people will experience neck pain at least once over the course of a year. However, there’s a myriad of things that can cause you to have that pain-in-the-neck feeling.
At Genesis Pain & Regenerative Medicine, we want you to understand the symptoms and causes of neck pain so you can narrow down what might be causing yours — and then have it treated properly.
Symptoms of neck pain
People experience a wide range of symptoms when their neck is hurting. Most of this depends on what’s causing it to begin with.
But these are some of the most commonly reported symptoms:
- Muscle tightness
- Persistant achiness
- Burning pain
- Pain in the neck accompanied with a headache
- Radiating pain and numbness
What can cause neck pain?
There can be many things that cause neck pain to occur, but these are a few common categories:
Injury
Your neck is very vulnerable to injury, so if you experience a traumatic injury where your neck is forced out of its normal range of motion, it can cause severe pain and soreness. Neck injuries are most likely to occur during a fall or car accident or while playing a sport.
Aging
As you age, wear-and-tear can start to take their toll on your spine. This increases the risk of a herniated disk or pinched nerve, both of which can cause neck pain. As you get older you’re also more likely to develop conditions like arthritis or osteoporosis. Arthritis can cause joint swelling, and osteoporosis can cause tiny bone fractures in your spine.
Muscle strain
Different factors can lead to the feeling of tension and stiffness in your neck which is brought on by muscle strain. This can happen from having poor posture, sitting at a desk for long periods of time, or just by sleeping in an awkward position. When you feel stressed, you can also put a lot of strain and tension on your neck, even without realizing it.
In very rare cases, neck pain could be caused by meningitis, a heart attack, or by a cyst or tumor.
Treating your neck pain
Because there are so many factors that can contribute to neck pain, it’s important to have it checked out in order to find the root cause. Without finding the root cause, you could end up following a treatment plan that won’t get you the relief you need.
Typically, treatment plans relieve your neck pain within a few days. However, if it continues for more than a week and becomes more severe, seek immediate medical attention, as this could point to a serious health issue.
If you’d like to learn more about our treatment procedure for neck pain, call our office located in Colleyville, Texas at 817-482-0188 or use our online booking tool to schedule an appointment today.