How Neck Pain Affects Your Whole Body

Lots of adults and young people experience neck pain every year. Neck pain can be caused by many things, including nerve compression, neck injury, accidents, and osteoarthritis.

It can affect your work productivity, mental health, social life, and family time.

Neck pain can also interfere with your ability to sleep and your daily life. If left untreated, it can affect your whole body.

Below are more details on how neck pain can affect your whole body.

Neck Pain Can Cause Headaches

You may experience several types of headaches when suffering from neck pain. For instance, you may experience cervicogenic headaches, characterized by a dull pain that radiates from the back of your head. The pain may also spread to your head temple and the area around your ears and eyes.

Neck pain can also cause another type of headache known as occipital neuralgia. This kind of headache is characterized by shock-like sensations that radiate from the back of your head. You may experience it only on one side of your head. To relieve this type of headache, you should consider massage therapy.

Neck Pain Can Cause Painful Shoulders and Arms

Neck bones form the upper part of the spinal column. Some of the nerves in this column travel to your arms and shoulders. When these nerves get irritated, you may experience neck pain. The pain may radiate from the neck to your arms and shoulders. If you twist your neck when experiencing this kind of pain, the arms and shoulders may become more painful.

In case you experience this kind of pain, you should seek medical care. Your doctor will try to identify the cause and source of the pain. That will help them develop a treatment plan that will help reduce and alleviate both neck and shoulder pain.

Neck Pain Can Cause Lower Back Pain

Your spinal column extends from your neck to your lower back. The spinal column forms a protective tunnel for the nerves in your body. If any of these nerves get irritated, you may experience neck pain. The pain may radiate from the neck to your lower back when the irritated nerves travel through your spinal column.

You should seek assistance from a back and spine specialist when this happens. The specialist will review your health history and may perform X-rays to determine the source and cause of the pain. The medical professional will then develop a treatment plan to help you recover from the pain.

Chronic Neck Pain Can Lead to Depression

Living with chronic pain can negatively affect your mental health. It can make you feel sad and anxious. You may also have feelings of hopelessness and malaise, which can lead to depression. When this happens, you should seek medical care. You should also seek psychiatric care.

Antidepressants such as norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors and serotonin reuptake inhibitors can help treat chronic pain depression. However, these medications can cause some side effects. If you do not want to take these medications, you can opt for therapy and practice relaxation techniques.

Neck Pain Can Cause Dizziness

You may experience dizziness and neck pain at the same time. The dizziness caused by neck pain is commonly known as cervicogenic dizziness and will occur when you move your neck. The feelings of dizziness may be accompanied by other unpleasant symptoms, including lightheadedness and unsteadiness.

You are likely to feel dizzy if the specialized receptors in your neck joints and muscles are injured. You may also feel this way when one of the cervical spine’s vertebral arteries gets inflamed or compressed. In such a case, you will notice that the dizziness increases when you turn your head.

If you are experiencing neck pain and dizziness simultaneously, you should seek medical attention. Your doctor will physically examine you and do several diagnostic tests to determine the cause of the pain and the associated dizziness.

The Bottom Line

Prolonged neck strain can cause neck pain, which can affect your whole body. For instance, neck pain can make you feel dizzy and depressed. You may also experience lower back pain and headaches when having neck pain. To manage these unpleasant symptoms, you should seek medical attention.

Originally posted 2022-02-04 00:54:02. Republished by Blog Post Promoter