What are Some Causes of Neck Pain

NECK PAIN:

The complex interlocking structure of your neck consists of bones, nerves, joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons. The main function of your neck is to hold up your head (about 5 kg) is no mean task. And, when you consider the movement of the head – up and down, side to side, ( may be simultaneously too ) you may think that the job of your neck ends there.

No, it has to form a conduit for the spinal cord, the blood vessels to and from the head need to be carried, accommodate the passage for air and food  and other allied functions too are to the lot of the neck. Give a thought to this complex feat of engineering and may be to the design genius. With so much for the neck to do, it is little wonder that our neck at times delivers pain and discomfort, sometimes with a high degree of perpetuality too.

Let us look at the structure of the neck. It consists of seven interlocking vertebrae. These are called the cervical vertebrae and numbered C1 through C7. The closest one to your head is known as C1 and also called the Atlas, and this is followed by C2 which is known as the axis. The facet joints connect each vertebra and in between the vertebra there intervertebral discs. These discs mostly made up of cartilage act as rubbery cushions similar to shock absorbers.

What causes neck pain?

Following are some of the most common causes of neck pain:

· Whiplash. -  Generally, whiplash occurs from car accidents, particularly when a person’s car is hit from behind while it is slowing down, or stationary. During the impact, the person’s head is initially thrown backwards and when the body stops moving, the head thrusts forward. Your neck muscles run the risk of straining and the ligaments in your neck can stretch or tear. Neck pain may result after several days but can be accompanied by dizziness, muscle spasm, headaches, shoulder pain and nerve pain.

· Muscle strain. – Neck muscle strain can be triggered by regular overuse of your neck muscles, and a poor neck position during your daily activity could contribute to this situation. Due to these causes when the neck muscle is strained, it can lead to chronic neck pain and stiffness. The pain can get worse with movement and be associated with headaches, muscle spasms and restrict neck movements.

· Degenerative disc disease. – The soft gelatinous centre of the shock-absorbing discs in our spines dry out as we grow older. This leads to a situation where the discs become narrowed and the distance between the vertebrae decreases

· Herniated disc. – The soft gelatinous centre may bulge outwards when the tough outside layer of one of the cervical discs tears. This occurrence is medically known as herniated disc. Once you have a herniated disc, pain in the neck, and pain, numbness/weakness in the arms can follow because of the pressure on nerve roots as they leave the spinal cord.

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