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Many people experience neck pain or stiffness occasionally. In many cases, it’s due to poor posture or overuse. Sometimes, neck pain is caused by injury from a fall, contact sports, or whiplash.

Most of the time, neck pain isn’t a serious condition and can be relieved within a few days.

But in some cases, neck pain can indicate serious injury or illness and require a doctor’s care.

If you have neck pain that continues for more than a week, is severe, or is accompanied by other symptoms, seek medical attention immediately.

What Causes Neck Pain?

Poor posture
Repetitive motion
Bad sleep habits
Gritting your teeth
Carrying a heavy shoulder bag or purse
Pinched nerves
Sports injuries
Car accidents involving whiplash
Arthritis
Infection
Tumors

How Do You Treat It?

With treatment, your neck will stop hurting in a few days in most cases.

medicines like acetaminophen, aspirin, or ibuprofen.
Put an ice pack on your neck for the first 2 to 3 days to help lower swelling. After that, use moist heat, like a hot shower or a heating pad to help it heal.
There are also exercises you can do at home (or in front of your computer at work) to gently stretch your neck muscles.

You can also visit a chiropractor or get a neck massage for short-term relief.

When to See Your Doctor?

Call the doctor’s office if your neck pain is severe, doesn’t respond to treatment, gets worse over time, or includes numbness, weakness, or tingling and pain in the arms and legs

The doctor has many tools to figure out what’s wrong. They could order X-rays, an MRI, CT scan, EMG (electromyography), or blood tests.

References

1.https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.medicinenet.com/neck_pain/article.htm%23:~:text%3DExamples%2520of%2520common%2520conditions%2520causing,pinched%2520nerve%2520(cervical%2520radiculopathy).&ved=2ahUKEwim56H_ufjpAhXyILcAHcoNBssQFjANegQIChAx&usg=AOvVaw3dkko-VBPaHGG3JKTENxP8&cshid=1591833712306

2.https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/neck-pain/symptoms-causes/syc-20375581&ved=2ahUKEwim56H_ufjpAhXyILcAHcoNBssQFjAeegQIBBAB&usg=AOvVaw1rc76QCSHv0jLOuS33wvqD&cshid=1591833712306

Images

1.https://innovativeptsolutions.com/back-neck-pain-different-types-pain-mean/

2.https://www.verywellhealth.com/neck-pain-4014211

3.https://chiro.org/Medicare/ABSTRACTS/Chiropractic_Treatment_of_Older_Adults_with_Neck.shtml