Neck pain may be caused due to three major reasons: strain to the neck, trauma/injury to the neck or due to some underlying bone and joint disorders. At times pain from other structures around the neck region may radiate till the neck, giving rise to pain in the neck.

 

One may strain the muscles of the neck due to abnormal positioning of the head and neck, while watching television, working on a computer or reading books, bending over the desk while working, sleeping in an awkward position and sudden twisting of the neck while performing exercises.

 

The spinal cord runs through the neck and can get injured due to trauma. Any injury to the spinal cord and its associated structures in the neck region can cause pain in the neck. Such injuries may occur as a result of fall from a high point, motor accidents (the injury associated with sudden to and fro jerking of the head is referred to as whiplash injury), direct blow to the neck, sports injuries or other similar incidents.

Underlying disorders that commonly result in neck pain include long-term bone conditions such as fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, gout, Paget’s disease or ankylosing spondylitis. Any infections of the spine or the related structures such as meningitis can also give rise to the pain. The increasing age is associated with various changes in the bones; among these changes, narrowing of the canal in the spinal cord through which various nerves pass is one of the reasons that cause neck pain in the elderly. In certain rare instances, a tumour in the neck region may be the cause of the pain.¹