Neck Pain – Do Not Take Neck Pain Lightly

Thursday, September 4th, 2008 at 2:02 pm

While we’ve all heard of situations and people that are a pain in the neck, most of us have also experienced literal neck pain.

Though neck pain may not get as much press as back pain, it’s certainly something that can hinder your life and make activities more difficult to manage.

The Layout Of The Neck

Also known as the cervical spine, the neck area of the body is something that is overlooked until there is a focused amount of pain.

The neck technically starts at the base of the skull where the spine connects to the head bones. This column of vertebrae extends down for seven vertebrae until they hit the upper shoulder region.

While this doesn’t seem like a large area, it’s quite important to the body.

Not only does the neck support the head and face, but also it works to allow the neck to move from side to side, backwards and forwards – much in the same way that the lower back moves. This presents a lot of potential movements as well as potential for injury.

The front of the neck is where the throat is as well as the voice box and windpipe – all very important structures. The neck works to stabilize these structures with the hard spinal column in the back, but also a mesh of muscles and ligaments that connect the neck to the body and allow for ease of movement.

These muscles connect to the upper back and help to engage both sections at the same time, as when you are turning around to see what’s behind you when you are backing our of your driveway.

However, with all of these muscles comes a great potential for neck strain. Since these muscles aren’t always active, they aren’t generally as well-developed as other muscles in your body. This makes them easier to injure and to pull when you move too suddenly.

You might feel symptoms like:

• Pain
• Achiness
• Stiffness
• Soreness
• Problems with movement
• Jaw pain
• Headaches

Many times too, people hold stress and tension in their necks as they sit at their computers or at their work stations. This can cause troubles with the way the neck responds to movement, increasing the chances of injury and pain.

The neck is a very important part of the body as it helps to connect the brain to the spinal column in order to send messages throughout the body. If this connection is severed, the spinal cord can also be severed, causing lifelong paralysis.

Any pain that is in this area should be taken seriously.

When Neck Pain Isn’t Neck Pain

Just as with back pain, neck pain can also be a sign of something more serious than just a strained muscle.

• Meningitis
If you have a high fever, confusion, and neck pain, you might want to go to your doctor or to the nearest emergency room for evaluation.

• Blood clots
Sometimes neck pain is indicative of blood clots in the vessels. If you have been sitting for long periods of time or have a genetic predisposition to clots, you will want to be tested by your doctor.

• Heart attack
Neck pain is sometimes a symptom of an impending heart attack, especially when it radiates from the jaw line on the left side. If you have chest pain, excessive sweating, or a rapid heart beat, you will want to head to your local ER immediately.

• Arterial dissection
Your neck pain may also be telling you that your heart needs immediate surgical attention. If you have a history of heart disease or you are suffering from the worst neck pain of your life, you will want to head to the nearest emergency room.

• Whiplash
When you’ve been in a car accident, this is a typical injury that causes neck pain.

• Paralysis
If you’ve been in an accident and you can’t feel your legs after the injury, DO NOT MOVE. Have someone near you get help and try not to move your neck at all until help arrives.

The good news is that while your neck is more exposed than other parts of your body, it’s difficult to hurt your spinal column, so your chances of serious injury are low.

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