Causes of Neck Pain

The neck is the most flexible part of your spine. However, because it is not well protected by muscles, it's also easy to injure.

• A bad night's rest. How you sleep at night can affect your neck during the day. A soft mattress, pillows that force your neck into awkward angles, and uncomfortable sleeping positions may be to blame if you wake up with a sore neck. But the tossing and turning of a bad night's rest may be less to blame than waking suddenly from a sound sleep. A sudden jerk of the neck upon awakening can leave neck muscles tight and sore.

• Body mechanics. Poor sitting and standing posture -- slumped shoulders, a "drooping" head, slouching or rounding of the lower back -- can cause neck pain. However, bad body mechanics are more than poor posture. Repeated tasks, such as holding the phone with your shoulder or always carrying a heavy briefcase or shoulder bag on the same side of your body, can cause muscle stiffness or imbalance. Workstations can also force you into poor positions.

• Stress. The neck and upper-back muscles are often among the first to become tense when you are under emotional stress. Whenever these muscles remain tight for a long time, they may ache, become sore, and even cause headaches.

• Neck sprains and strains. The term whiplash is often used to refer to neck sprains and strains that result when the neck is forced suddenly forward, backward, or both -- such as from a rear-end collision. Contact sports, a fall, or a sudden twist can cause similar injuries. Pain from neck sprains and strains may spread into the shoulders, upper back and arms, and sometimes as far as the legs. Pain may remain for 6 weeks or longer but generally improves with normal activity. In some cases, physical therapy or special exercises may help.

• Degenerative joint disease (DJD). Between each bone (vertebra) of the spine is a cartilage disk filled with a gelatin-like substance that provides cushioning. As we age, these disks become thinner, losing some of their capacity to absorb shock. The joints of the neck may also become inflamed as a result of arthritis or bone spurs, or a disk may herniate (push outward) from its normal space and place pressure on the nerves. DJD usually occurs in people over age 40. It often causes painful muscle spasms in the neck and upper back, a dull aching in one arm, or numbness and tingling in the arm or fingers. A direct blow can also make disks bulge or break, causing problems similar to those of disk degeneration. Any persistent pain, numbness, or tingling should be evaluated by a doctor.