A Pain In The Neck!
No, I’m not talking about the person from the office or that person two doors down on your street! Mechanical neck pain can include anything from not being able to get comfortable in bed at night, the inability to work comfortably at a desk or being unable to check your blind spot when driving. The incidence of mechanical neck pain is reported at around 25%. This means that every year a quarter of us will experience neck pain! This prevalence is even higher in office and computer workers.
Mechanical neck pain is the most common form of musculoskeletal pain at the neck. It can also be called non-specific or simple neck pain. Now if you are one of the 25% currently experiencing neck discomfort – I am sure that you don’t feel it is particularly simple. But what this means is that the cause of the pain can be unclear but there are no complicated symptoms such as referred pain or pins and needles. The great news is that this condition responds really well to treatment, especially physiotherapy, but we cover that in our next blog.
What causes neck pain?
There can be many causes of neck pain – thats why a compressive assessment is essential. It is also important to note that it can be the combination of a number of factors. However as a rough guide, here are the top five causes:
1. I really don’t like playing the ‘posture card’ but unfortunately posture is the top reason1 for neck pain. Forward head posture (where your head drifts in front of your shoulders and trunk) can add strain to the joints, muscles and ligaments of the neck and has been memorably labelled as ‘tech-neck‘ (we’ve written about this in another blog). Desk or computer dominant jobs can encourage this posture – which backs up the prevalence figures above.
2. Muscle tension and strain can cause pain and discomfort2 in the neck. In a similar way to poor posture – regular, repeated and sustained movements of the neck can cause tension in the muscles and strain to the joints.
3. Age-related wear and tear can be another common reason. Wear and tear can also be called spondylosis. We cover spondylosis in a separate blog but generally it involves degenerative changes in the spine, often in older adults, which can affect the joints and discs. We call wear and tear of the neck, cervical spondylosis.
4. Stress and anxiety can also contribute to neck pain. Mental health challenges, stress and anxiety have been identified as risk factors for mechanical neck pain3. The mechanism of this is not well understood but psychological factors can increase muscle tension and can also affect the body’s response to physical pain.
5. Whilst referred symptoms or radiculopathy is a separate category, this can be another common reason for neck pain. There are a couple of mechanisms for this. Firstly the cervical spine has defined referral zones known as Cloward signs, for example, an injured disc can refer pain between the shoulder blades. Secondly a ‘trapped’ nerve in the neck can produce odd sensations like pins and needles in the arm or hand. The location of these symptoms can tell us the source of the problem. The upper neck can also refer symptoms upwards towards the head with dizziness and some headaches being a form of referred pain from the neck.
It’s important to note that mechanical neck pain is often multifactorial4. This means that you may be experiencing more than one of these causes at the same time. Don’t panic Mr Mainwaring! (does that show my age?!) you can get better – we do it all the time! The starting point for the effective treatment for cervical pain is a comprehensive assessment and diagnosis.
Do continue to our next blog to find out more about the best treatment for neck pain and how our expert team can help. Should you already be decided that you would like some help for your neck pain, you can book online here or call our friendly reception team on 0114 267 8181 who will be happy to help.
