Neck pain is one of the most common conditions that we see at our clinic. About 70% of the population will experience neck pain at some point in their lives. Today we’ll cover common conditions that cause neck pain:
- Degenerative joint disease (arthritis)
- Herniated disc (slipped disc)
- Postural strain (muscle strain)
Degenerative Joint Disease and Neck Pain
The first common condition that causes neck pain is degenerative joint disease (or degenerative disc disease), also known as arthritis. If you’re over 40 or 50 years old, you probably have some sort of arthritis going on inside your body. This could be in your:
- Spine
- Lower back
- Neck
- Knees
- Hips
In this article, we’re going to focus on the neck. What happens with arthritis or degenerative joint disease is that the spaces between your discs in your neck move closer together. Either your discs collapse down and/or your joints on the backside become compressed. You may have experienced that sandpaper-like sensation when you turn your head side to side or tip your head side to side. That may be arthritis that’s occurring in your neck.
As mentioned, the problem happens when the spaces between your joints get too small. That itself can create pain, and it can also create compression of the nerves as they exit the spine. Some symptoms of this include numbness, tingling in your arm, weakness, and pain.
Herniated Disc and Neck Pain
Another condition that we see here in the clinic is a herniated disc. Some people often call it a slipped disc. It’s not truly slipped, but what happens is that disc material pushes backwards into the nerves. When that disc material pushes on the nerve, it creates pain, weakness, and possibly numbness and tingling sensations.
Postural Strain and Neck Pain
Finally, postural strain or a muscle strain of the neck muscles can cause neck pain. This often happens to people who are on their phones a lot. With electronics in the world today, we’re looking down at our phones a lot, or maybe we’re sitting with poor posture at the desk. That can create stress and strain on the neck, upper shoulder musculature, and possibly into the base of the skull. This can also lead to headaches in addition to neck and shoulder pain.
Ergonomic Tips to Relieve Neck Pain
When you’re sitting at your desk, follow these ergonomic tips to help prevent and relieve neck pain:
- Bring your computer screen (if you have one) up to eye level so you don’t have to constantly look down.
- Keep your head and shoulders in nice alignment.
- Keep your elbows, hips and knees at a 90-degree angle.
Following these steps will help to get you in the correct posture.
See a Physical Therapist for Neck Pain
If you’re still having pain, we offer free physical therapy screenings here at Rebound. We can give you a screening to help you understand the cause of your neck pain and how to handle it.
Call us at 785-271-5533 today to get started with your free physical therapy screening.
Tags: Physical Therapy, Physical Therapist, Physical Therapy Services, Neck Pain Relief, Neck Pain
