Interestingly, neck pain can have more than one cause, or concurrent causes. Some of the more frequent causes of neck pain can be:

• Muscle strain/overuse. Muscle strain in the cervical region is very common. Muscle strain can happen from excising or, on the other end of the spectrum, it can happen when you spend too much time sitting hunched over a computer. Even sleeping “wrong” can strain your muscles and leave you with neck pains.
• Muscle spasms. Having a muscle spasm can cause immediate neck pain that lingers, to a lesser degree, even after the spasm is over.
• Whiplash happens when the head is quickly forced forward and/or backward. It’s often associated with car accidents but can also happen with sporting injuries. The movement typically is unnatural and goes beyond normal movement which can put great stress on the muscles and ligaments in the neck which in turn cause considerable pain.
• While whiplash is one injury that can cause neck pain, there are many others that also cause neck aches and pains.
• Herniated discs. Cervical disc herniation happens when the discs between the vertebrae are compressed, which can apply pressure on the nerves and cause pain. This often happens with aging but injuries, spinal stenosis, and some diseases can cause herniation. One possible treatment method for this concern is epidural steroid injections.
• Cervical spondylosis and osteoarthritis are conditions that are typically associated with aging. Years of use and natural dehydration of your discs cause these cushions between bones and joints to weaken and be less effective. This is a very common cause of pain and when it occurs in the cervical spine, it causes neck pain.
• Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis, but there are other forms that can also create issues in the neck region and result in pain symptoms.
• Degenerative disc disease. Degenerative disc disease wears away at the protective padding between vertebrae and can cause considerable neck pain.
• Other diseases. Meningitis or cancer are two very serious diseases that can cause you to experience neck pain. Most neck pain is not a result of illness or disease, but if you have chronic pains then a proper diagnosis is critical.
• Poor posture. Just sitting and standing “incorrectly” puts strain and stress on your spine in ways it wasn’t meant to handle. This can lead to pains in your neck, headaches, shoulder and low back pain. Having poor posture can also lead to neck pain with vertebral subluxation, which can be treated in our offices at Downtown Pain Physicians.
• Stress and anxiety. Many people express stress by clenching their jaw, holding their shoulders up and tight, or straining muscles repetitively. Often, this reaction to stress is subconscious until they start to feel neck pains creeping in.
• It doesn’t seem like neck pain could be related to extra weight, but it can. When you have extra abdominal weight, your body shifts from the natural curve of the spine to one that supports the weight, which causes your neck to jut forward to compensate. This unnatural neck positioning can put stress on the vertebrae and discs in your spine and the surrounding muscles.