Acute Neck Pain - The Basics
Neck pain affects a large amount of the population every year. it can be after a trauma like a fall or a car accident, or it can be a gradual onset of pain. In the Work From Home culture where some people are still working form their kitchen table 2 years after the start of the pandemic, neck pain may be on the rise. Although the desk set ups and fancy ergonomic keyboards often get all of the praise for keeping neck pain at bay, it is often what you do at your desk that affects your neck pain, and not the desk set up itself.
Ruling out the serious stuff!
In the case of trauma, such as a car crash or a sporting accident, neck pain may begin either instantly, or very early on after the accident. In the case of the inability to turn your neck, significant pain along the spinous processes (the bony parts at the back of your neck), or neurological symptoms going down to your arms like pins and needles, shooting pain, muscle weakness, or numbness, you should access healthcare advice as soon as possible, most likely the A&E department. Sometimes people get these symptoms gradually. Central neck pain and arm symptoms over the course of weeks, months, or years. This is may be a number of things such as a cervical myelopathy, or a cervical radiculopathy. This is definitely something that should be assessed by a GP or a physiotherapist.
Muscular Neck Pain - ‘Wry Neck’
Wry neck is a term not used very often in healthcare, but still often used by the UK population when describing neck pain. It feels different in every patient but often includes a combination of the following:
Pain in one side of the neck particularly, often in the upper trapezius muscle (the big meaty muscle between your neck and your shoulder
A limitation of range of motion, often limited in rotation, flexion, and extension, with one side usually feeling more restricted
A general ‘tight’ feeling in the neck, with a constant urge to stretch the area, or apply pressure with a thumb or massage ball/gun
Common Causes of Acute Neck Pain
Ruling out traumatic injuries with the serious symptoms mentioned at the beginning of this blog post, the cause of acute neck pain usually comes from multiples facets of your life. Something at MVMNT that we use at MVMNT during our assessment of acute neck pain is the acronym ‘SNAPS’
S - Stress. Has there been a particularly increase in stress in your life recently? This can be work, family, a bereavement, but it can also be physical stress. This may be someone feeling exhausted, run down, and generally needing a holiday. We know that stress can have a significant effect on physical health, in particularly neck pain.
N - Nutrition. Are you eating enough? This can be with regards to eating enough to fuel you exercise, and recovery after exercise. What does your nutrition look like? Have you been recently relying on fast food and processed foods. We all know that food and nutrition has a significant impact on how our body recovers from sickness and injury.
A - Alcohol and Hydration. Has your alcohol intake increased, or has it been at a high level for a long period of time? Alcohol has a significant impact on our body, reducing our recovery, dehydrating us, making us feel sluggish, and generally making your organs work g=harder than they normally would. Increased alcohol intake goes hand in hand with dehydration and poor sleep quality and recovery.
P - Physical Activity Change. This can be a significant reduction or increase in activity. In some people, this may look like a busy 2 weeks at work where they have done more hours at the desk, and their exercise has been sacrificed. For other people, this may suddenly engaging in a new activity, but doing ‘too much, too soo’. These changes to your body’s status quo can contribute to neck pain.
S - Sleep. Recovery is significantly improved by getting more quality sleep. Some people can cope very well with 6hrs of sleep, while other adults need closer to 8hrs. The more active you are, the more sleep your body will probably need. Stress and alcohol can both have negative effects on your sleep, and they can all negatively impact each other in a vicious cycle.
Self Treatment
For most causes of neck pain, you will begin to get relief with a few days, barring some of the serious symptoms we mentioned. Some people like to expedite the recovery process with treatments such as:
Massage
Pain medication
Heat
Dry needling
Manipulations/’cracking’
Other than heat, and just trying to move as much as possible, the other modalities have conflicting evidence, some providing placebo benefit at best, while others may make you feel worse. The consensus amongst the evidence base is often to use heat to relax the muscle, move your shoulders, neck and back as much as you can, and let nature do the rest. If prescribed by a GP, medication may also play a role in recovery.
If you are currently experiencing neck pain and you’re worried about some of your symptoms, click here to book an assessment with one of our physios.