5 Common Causes of Neck Pain

Neck pain can be acute (short term) or chronic (recurring or persisting for months and even years), but when you're in pain, relief is the first thing on your mind. In addition to finding relief, it is important to determine the cause and try to avoid the activity that  brought the pain on in the first place.

Here are five common causes of neck pain:

1. Poor Posture: Leaning over a desk all day or slouching in your office chair? You're bound to develop neck pain eventually, if you haven't already. Do this quick test: In an upright or seated position, round your shoulders and back (poor posture). Does it impact your neck as well? Exactly!

2. Monitor Madness: Staring at the computer screen for hours at a time? That's not good for your health (or sanity), but from a neck pain perspective, it's madness, particularly if the screen height forces you to crane your neck up (too high) or extend it down (too low).

3. Sleep Issues: Ideally, we spend a third of our day sleeping, so your sleep habits – for better or worse – can have a dramatic effect on your health. With regard to neck pain, anytime you sleep in an uncomfortable position, particularly one that stresses your neck musculature (think about side-sleeping while grabbing your pillow tightly, sleeping on your stomach with your arms out in front of you, or even sleeping on your back, but with a pillow that doesn't adequately support your neck), you risk developing neck pain.

4. Technology Overload: We may spend a third of our day sleeping, but we increasingly spend the other 16 hours typing, texting, tapping and otherwise interacting with our smartphones, tablets, etc. Bottom line...this is bad for your neck. One doctor has even coined the phrase, "text neck," to describe the neck pain that can result from this constant technology interaction.

5. The Wrong Movement: Twisting, turning, stretching and stressing your neck is an easy way to cause neck pain. While the muscles in the neck are strong, they can be strained, sprained and even torn, just like any other muscle.

It's important to note that beyond these common causes, various other health issues can also contribute to or directly cause neck pain, including fibromyalgia, cervical arthritis or spondylosis (essentially spinal arthritis), spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal), infection of the spine, and even cancer. The good news is that a doctor of chiropractic can help identify which of these or the above causes is to blame.

When neck pain strikes, most people turn to pain-relieving medication. But that's not a permanent solution, and it doesn't address the cause of the pain at all, which could be something relatively minor – or more serious. Chiropractors are well-suited to help determine and treat the cause of neck pain.  What's more, research suggests chiropractic spinal manipulation is actually more effective than over-the-counter and prescription medication for relieving both acute and sub-acute neck pain.

Suffering from neck pain? Call Patrick Chiropractic in Raleigh at 919-790-2288. Dr. Dale Patrick can help relieve the pain and determine the cause so you can take the necessary steps to make sure it doesn't return.