Neck pain or cervical spine pain is a common musculoskeletal condition. Over 60% of the population will suffer neck pain at some point in their life. It seems that modern lifestyles are causing an increase in both intensity, frequency and severity of episode of neck pain. This seems to be linked to increase sedentary work and leisure time with the growth in the use of computers, increased stress and the faster pace of modern life. This can all lead to an accumulation of muscular tension in the neck (cervical spine) and upper back (thoracic or dorsal spine). Most people are familiar with the sudden tension experienced in the neck when in a threatening situation. This can lead headaches, dizziness, symptoms in the arms like pins and needles. The added unnecessary muscular tension carried by the body needs energy often leading to fatigue.
The function of the neck is to carry and support the head and allow plenty of movement to orientate the sense organs. The head weighs about 4-5kg (or about 8% of the body weight), a considerable mass, so the neck must combine strength with flexibility. The upper most vertebra of the neck (the atlas or C1) articulates with the base of the skull (the occiput) which in turn connects to the second vertebra (the axis or C2). There is a complex balance of muscles (sub occipital muscles) around this region to steady the head and fine tune it's movements. This section of the neck (with the third vertebra) is responsible for most of the movement in the neck. The suboccipital muscles, if overly tight, can produce neck pain and headache sometimes with radiations over the top of the head to behind the eye (retro orbital headache or Arnold's neuralgia).
Neck pain may also be be caused by arthritis, especially osteoarthritis. These degenerative or 'wear and tear' changes occur in older people or those who may have suffered road traffic injury or whiplash. This degeneration causes a thinning of the cartilage between the facet joints, loss of normal intervertebral disc height and the growth of small protrusions of bone (osteophytes) around the joints - collectively known as spondylosis or spondylotic change. This spondylotic change can occur in the neck - cervical spondylosis or in the low back leading to lumbar spine spondylosis. Spondylosis can lead to the sufferer hearing 'grinding' or 'crunching' when they move their head (crepitations), pain and stiffness. The osteophytes can push into the nerve roots exiting the cervical spine causing nerve root pain which causes pins and needles, numbness and a linear pain into the arm (upper extremity). The intervertebral discs may undergo damage leading to bulges (protrusions) or herniations or a full blown prolapsed intervertebral disc (mistakenly known as a 'slipped disc'). This can again cause irritation to the nerve roots leading to neurological symptoms (pins and needles, numbness or weakness) in the arms.
Thankfully most cases are not severe and will resolve with the appropriate care. This may include manual therapy like osteopathy, physiotherapy or chiropractic, some rehabilitation exercises or stretches (like those available with Desk Therapy), anti inflammatory or analgesic drugs. It is important to exclude more serious causes like infection, fractures and tumours so a consultation with a physician may be appropriate. There may be psychological causes such as anxiety or depression - it's no coincidence that difficult situations or people may be called a 'pain in the neck'!
It is also important to examine why problems have occurred. There may be prolonged desk work or computer work leading to postural problems, the ergonomic set up of the work station may be detrimental to the sufferer. Perhaps poor neck mobility or stiffness or too much stress and anxiety. These factors may respond favorably to stretches for the neck, rehabilitation exercises and relaxation techniques all of which can be found on Desk Therapy.
Desk Therapy exercise software can help. Please visit the home page to see how Desk Therapy can create an exercise programme designed specifically for you.