Neck pain is one of the more common forms of chronic pain issues, but that doesn’t make it any less debilitating. In fact, almost 59% of chronic-pain sufferers reported an impact on their overall enjoyment of life. If you’ve noticed your neck pain becoming a more serious issue lately, consider if one of these could be potentially causing your pain issues.

  1. Poor posture: Depending on your daily activities, you could be sitting, standing, or otherwise carrying yourself in a way that puts unusual pressure on your neck and back.
  2. Recent injury: Whether you’re an athlete who’s recently suffered a lumbar sprain or if you’ve gotten into a small car accident, whiplash and similar injuries could cause damage to the muscles in your neck, even after the inciting incident. Injuries can also develop over time, particularly when it comes to repetitive motion that might be damaging.
  3. Sleep struggles: Poor sleep habits can actually worsen ongoing chronic pain, particularly neck and shoulder pain. This pain can keep you from getting enough sleep, putting you into a vicious cycle.
  4. Bad habits: Certain day-to-day habits can worsen neck and back pain if repeated frequently enough. This particularly includes carrying heavy items like a bag or purse, as well as less obvious issues like grinding your teeth.
  5. Chronic conditions: Neck pain can sometimes be a symptom of a larger ongoing issue, such as arthritis or other joint pain conditions, that’s contributing to your chronic pain.
  6. Unexpected illness: Not all types of neck and spine pain are directly related to injury or behavior. Sometimes they could be a symptom of developing an illness, such as in the case of certain types of cancer.
  7. Pinched nerve: If your pain has developed suddenly and with few other symptoms, it’s possible you could have accidentally pinched a nerve in your neck. This can also be true in cases of spinal pain, rather than just the neck.

Ongoing pain in your neck and back can be incredibly irritating and uncomfortable, but there’s a chance it can be treated. For more information on causes of neck pain and pain management options for this type of chronic pain, contact Advanced Pain Medicine today.