Neck Pain

Neck pain is a common complaint. Neck muscles can be strained from poor posture — whether it’s leaning into your computer at work or hunching over your workbench at home. Wear-and-tear arthritis also is a common cause of neck pain. Rarely, neck pain can be a symptom of a more serious problem. Seek medical care if your neck pain is accompanied by numbness or loss of strength in your arms or hands or if you’re experiencing shooting pain into your shoulder or down your arm.

Neck Pain Definition:

• Neck pain is discomfort in any of the structures in the neck. These include muscles and nerves as well as spinal vertebrae and the cushioning disks in between.

What has caused my Neck Pain?

We mostly think of neck pain coming from some kind of major trauma. Whiplash is likely the best known type of neck pain. It is caused during a traffic accident when the neck snaps back and forth. What makes whiplash so difficult to live with is that some symptoms associated with the trauma may not show up for weeks or even months down the road. Insurance companies are famous for denying whiplash claims after a certain point, but you still have to deal with chronic pain. If this sounds like your situation, contact the office of Interventional Pain Associates in Austin today to learn more.

Are there other causes?

Neck pain can also be caused by increased trauma over a long period of time. People who spend decades working in cubicles often report chronic neck pain after staring at a computer for years on end. Construction workers report the same kind of fatigue and pain after years on the job, too. The world of chronic pain can envelope anyone, no matter what your line of work, so just because you don’t have a high impact job, doesn’t mean you can’t develop neck pain.