Simply sleeping in an odd position the night before can make it difficult to turn your head upon awakening the next morning.
The first thing to consider is your pillow. It must adequately support the muscles of your neck in such a way that your neck, head and shoulders are all on a level plane. If your neck is crooked all night, there is a good chance you will experience pain the next morning.
The major symptoms of a neck problem are stiffness and a dull ache in the area as well as pain in the back or shoulders. The exact cause could be one of the following:
Arthritis, improper sleeping positions, bad posturing, muscle strains, over used joints, disorders of the cervical vertebral discs, injury to the neck.
Whiplash is a common occurrence when involved in an auto accident, for instance. The sudden blow you were not expecting can lead to an over extension of neck muscles, causing an injury.
Disc disorders, such as a herniation of one of the cervical discs in the neck can cause excruciating pain, as well as cause compression of one of the nerves that innervate the spine. You may experience tingling sensations anywhere below the compression, resulting in inflammation and irritation to the nerve root.
Arthritis can be a cause of neck pain. As aging occurs there is a degeneration of the discs and cartilage. This leads to a reduction in the amount of cushioning being provided and a loss in range of movement. A bone spur can also have a similar effect.
Muscles and nerves that are in close proximity of an injury can become irritated, and have a tendency to make the muscle develop spasmodic episodes, which causes intense pain.
Treatment:
Most often, neck pain treatment can be performed at home with rest and pain medication, but if it does not go away within seven days you may need to notify your doctor.
Your doctor should be made aware if you begin to exhibit the following symptoms:
Severe or sharp shooting pain, weakness in the extremities, incontinence of bowel and bladder.
These can be an indication that there is some greater problem present and your doctor needs to be advised. Any pain that is suffered for more than two weeks requires some medical diagnosis.
Jared Wright is the marketing manager of Clivir.com where people meet to learn from one another on topics such as back pain. You can follow the links to find more related articles such as back pain relief remedy: http://www.clivir.com/classrooms/show/lower-back-pain-exerci ses-treatment-and-remedies.html http://www.clivir.com/lessons/show/back-pain-remedy-and-reli ef-products.html