Most likely, each of us at least once in our life experienced such an unpleasant condition as pain in the neck and head. But pain is a signal of help that our body gives us, paying little attention to it. This is a sign that some negative and destructive phenomena and processes are taking place in our body. Therefore, you should not "seize" the discomfort with analgesics and postpone the solution to this problem until later. If your neck and head muscles hurt a lot and for quite some time, consult a medical specialist, and do not self-medicate!
Who most often suffers from pain in the neck and head, or at risk
Every day, more and more people, often at a very young age, complain that the neck muscles and head ache. This is due, first of all, to physical inactivity - lack of physical activity, as well as to the large amount of time that each of us spends at the computer and the wheel of our favorite car, being mainly in the wrong position from the point of view of the spine.
Problems with unpleasant pain in the neck and head can occur in those who lead a mobile and active lifestyle. First of all, this kind of pain is experienced by professional athletes, especially weightlifters, figure skaters, gymnasts and acrobats, as well as those involved in various contact sports. Professional dancers, as well as those who like to actively move to a disco, can also overtake a pain in the neck, giving off to the head.
Quite often, the muscles of the neck and head hurt in elderly people suffering from various diseases. Often, in addition to injuries and pathologies of the vascular system, the elderly experience various degenerative processes, which leads to painful sensations.
What causes can cause pain in the neck and head?
When the neck and head hurt, there are difficulties with turning the latter. There is an acute pain that interferes with the movement, and then for one or several days there is a stiffness in the spine.
If your neck and head muscles often and for a long time hurt, then a neurologist can figure out the main causes of these unpleasant painful sensations. In most cases, these sensations can be caused by reasons such as:
- Injuries to the spine and musculoskeletal system.
- Congenital or acquired pathology of the spine.
- Prolonged physical or mental stress, a state of chronic fatigue and stress.
- Pathologies and disorders of the blood supply and blood circulation.
- Autoimmune diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
- Infectious diseases.
Let us dwell in more detail on each of the reasons that answer the question of why the neck and head hurt.
Musculoskeletal and spinal injuries
When the neck and head hurt, the cause can be various injuries of both the spine itself and other parts of the musculoskeletal system. Ligaments and muscles, vertebral bodies and discs located between them, intervertebral joints can be injured.
As a result of various injuries, pain in the neck and head can occur. It happens that the problem is quite old, and the consequences begin to bother after any negative situations or influences, for example, prolonged stress, physical or psycho-emotional overstrain.
Often, such a minor injury, the person himself does not remember, with the exception of serious injuries that entailed hospitalization or were accompanied by severe pain. Even a sharp braking of the car at an average speed can cause the so-called “whiplash” injury. In this case, muscles, ligaments, intervertebral discs and joints, as well as spinal roots are damaged and there may be a situation that the neck hurts, gives to the head.
Congenital or acquired pathology of the spine
Pathologies of the spine, which can be either congenital or acquired, lead to neck and head aches. One of the most common of these is osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.
Those who suffer from such a disease describe it like this: "The neck hurts, gives to the head." That is, the pain passes from the affected area of the spine and spreads to the occipital region. Discomfort is not constant, it usually “rolls” with bouts after sharp movements of the head, especially from side to side. Another sign that indicates the occurrence of osteochondrosis is a crunch of the neck during movement, after which a headache occurs.
Prolonged exposure to stress or severe physical and mental overwork
Under the influence of various adverse factors that are present in the life of each of us, we are immersed in a state of stress. The negative emotions caused by this state seem to fall on our shoulders, forcing us to walk, “hanging” our heads down, and to stoop. Stressful loads negatively affect not only our psycho-emotional state, but also our body.
In such situations, there is a tonic tension of the spinal muscles, which cause pain in the shoulders, neck and spine. If a person experiences stress constantly, then he has almost all the time his back muscles are in a spasm. This condition not only leads to pain, but can also trigger the mechanism of development of osteochondrosis.
A variety of disorders and pathologies of blood supply and blood circulation
First of all, they include vertebral artery syndrome. In the human body, the blood supply to the brain occurs through two arteries: the carotid and vertebral. With this pathology, there is a malfunction in the blood supply to the brain through the vertebral arteries from one or both sides, in most cases with head movements. At the same time, the neck hurts when turning the head.
Another ailment sometimes becomes a prerequisite for such discomfort. In the event that the neck and head hurt from behind, the cause can be such a serious disease as hypertension, which is usually called simply hypertension.
Autoimmune diseases affecting the musculoskeletal system
There are a lot of such diseases. These are various types of arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatism and ankylosing spondylitis.
Infectious diseases
In such infectious and inflammatory bowel diseases as dysentery, yersiniosis, typhoid fever, reactive arthritis may develop. Infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, osteomyelitis, and brucellosis directly affect the musculoskeletal system. In addition, diseases such as poliomyelitis, malaria, and tetanus can also cause neck and head aches. Also, the culprits are sometimes various types of meningitis, herpes zoster.
Quite rarely, when the neck and head hurt, the causes may be hidden in any infectious disease of the cervical spine and head or degenerative changes in the spine.
Why can my neck hurt when you turn your head?
The main reasons why the neck hurts when turning the head are:
- Affected by osteochondrosis of the thoracic and cervical spine.
- Fracture of the second cervical vertebra.
- With a traumatic displacement relative to the vertebra located under it in any direction of the second cervical vertebra. Doctors call this disease "spondylolisthesis."
- Twisting of the vertebral artery around the first vertebra is the atlas, which leads to insufficiency of the basilar artery.
- The development of the so-called "anterior scalene syndrome." This syndrome can occur either due to an increase in muscle volume as a result of training, especially excessive, as a result of injuries of the upper musculoskeletal system (cervical vertebrae and muscles), a sedentary lifestyle and fullness, as well as a number of diseases, for example, shoulder-shoulder periarthritis .
- With the occurrence and development of radiculitis of the cervicobrachial region.
- Neuralgia, which can occur as a result of hypothermia or cold-related illnesses on the legs. In addition, it can be a concomitant disease with spondylarthrosis, osteochondrosis and other ailments that affect the cervical vertebrae.
What to do with pain in the neck and head?
First of all, if the muscles of the neck and head hurt, consult a neurologist to determine the cause
unpleasant sensations. Only a doctor can prescribe diagnostic measures that objectively show the degree of damage to the musculoskeletal system or to any part of the spine.
After the cause of the disease is established, the specialist will be able to choose an individual treatment regimen that will help relieve pain.
Everyone knows that any disease is easier to prevent than to completely cure. In order to avoid pain in the muscles of the neck and head, you need to observe the regime of work and rest, try to regulate physical and mental stress, monitor your health and regularly check your health. Anyone can do it!