Neck pain

What is neck pain?

Neck pain (also known as cervicalgia) is pain in or around your spine beneath your head. It can occur when neck muscles are overused or by trauma to the muscles and ligaments by your neck, vertebral discs, vertebral joints, or nerve roots in the spinal cord.

Symptoms

Persistent ache
Stabbing/burning pain
Shooting pain that travels from the neck to shoulders and/or arms
Headache
Stiffness in neck, shoulders, or upper back
Inability to turn your neck or tilt head
Numbness or tingling feeling in shoulders and arms

When to see a doctor

Consider seeing a doctor if pain interferes with daily activities. Neck pain can be a medical emergency if:

It develops after an accident
It is persistent even without movement
It involves headache, dizziness, nausea, or vomiting
It occurs with chills or fever
It occurs with numbness or tingling in arms, shoulders, or legs
It occurs with weakness in legs or loss of coordination in limbs
It doesn't improve with over-the-counter medications
It doesn't improve after around 1 week

Prevention

Maintain proper technique when tackling and blocking (use shoulders, not head)
Maintain proper posture in your day to day
Perform neck strengthening exercises
- 4 point kneeling - cervical chin tucks
- 4 point kneeling - Y exercise
- Shoulder abduction lateral raise
- Weighted shrugs
- Bent over dumbbell row

Recovery

NSAIDs
Rarely, surgery is needed (if vertebrae in spine have shifted out of place)