What Causes Neck Pain? Here are 5 Common Causes
Anywhere from 20-70% of individuals will suffer from neck pain at some point in their lives. What causes neck pain? Here are some of the more common causes.
Sleeping Position Can Cause Chronic Neck Pain
It may sound strange to talk about your posture while you’re sleeping but it can be important. You spend nearly a third of your life sleeping. So, if your spine is in an unnatural position for this time, you may feel the effects throughout the day.
Take a look at your pillow and sleeping position. Whether you like to sleep on your back, side or stomach, make sure you’re sleeping in the best sleeping position for neck or back pain.
Neck Pain Caused by Text Neck Syndrome (FHP)
Text neck syndrome, tech neck syndrome, forward head posture, FHP…whatever you choose to call it, this is a real thing. Lately we spend so much time looking down at our device or phone that it’s causing us pain.
Bending our head down to look at our device for a long period of time is putting stress on our spine and the soft tissues around the spine. This can lead to pain in the neck, shoulders or even down the arm.
Remember your posture and take frequent breaks if you find yourself staring at a screen too long.
Repetitive Use Injuries
Similar to text neck syndrome, if you are spending a lot of time doing a task that involves poor posture or awkward posture, you could end up hurting. Repetitive use injuries, also known as repetitive motion injuries or repetitive strain injuries, are injuries that result from being in the same position or doing the same motion over and over again.
Text neck is one type of repetitive use injury. But spending a lot of time hunched over books, studying, can be another. Think about your daily habits. Do you regular activities put your neck in an awkward position? This could be contributing to your neck pain.
Disc Degeneration
When the discs between our vertebrae break down and become brittle, they don’t provide as much cushion to the joints of the spine. As a result, sudden movements or jarring can cause pain. Degenerative disc disease (DDD) can happen as a result of the normal aging process and can lead to chronic neck pain.
Arthritis and Neck Pain
If you have arthritis you know it can be a pain, literally. Most people think of arthritis in their knees or hands, but arthritis can affect your spine too. Arthritis in general just means joint pain. So, when you have arthritis in the upper portion of your spine, you experience chronic neck pain.
These are common causes of chronic neck pain. Some are more avoidable than others. If you experience chronic neck pain pay attention to your posture and sleeping position. They can have a huge impact on your level of pain. If you believe you’re experiencing neck pain as a result of arthritis or a condition such as DDD it may be time to consult a doctor to review your symptoms. He or she can help diagnose your condition and work with you to develop a treatment plan. If you’re in the Saratoga, Glens Falls or Adirondack area give Saratoga Spine a call. Our doctors would be happy to meet with you.
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