Neck pain is one of the most annoying types of pain because it greatly restricts movement and may prevent you from carrying out your daily activities easily and may also prevent you from sleeping during the night. Find out the reasons Neck pain from behind Ways to get rid of it, treat it, and when to go to the doctor.

Back pain symptoms

Neck pain is often accompanied by some other symptoms that indicate a problem in the neck or indicate the wrong body position, and these symptoms appear in the form of:

• Pain that gets worse when the neck stays in one position for a long time, such as driving a car.
• Poor ability to move the head normally.
• Feeling cramps and contraction in the neck muscles.
• Headache.

When do you consult a doctor?

Usually with rest, this pain should gradually disappear, but you should go to the doctor immediately if you suffer from this pain after an injury, a fall, or after an accident, or in some cases such as:

• If the pain gets worse.
• If it continues for several days even after resting.
• If the pain spreads to the arms and legs.
• If the pain is accompanied by a constant headache, numbness of the head, numbness of the limbs, or general weakness and inability to move normally.

Causes of neck pain from behind

In fact, there are several reasons for feeling this pain, and the reasons range from simple reasons to more serious reasons, which we present to you as follows:

Muscle tension and tension in the neck muscles

This is one of the most common causes of neck pain, and this muscle tension often occurs as a result of the following:

• Wrong body position.
• Sleeping with the wrong head and neck position.
• Violent neck shaking during your exercise.
• Sitting for a long time with the head not moving and the neck remaining in one position.

Injury or accident

The formation of the neck bones makes it one of the most sensitive bones in the body, which is highly susceptible to injury with a fall, during an accident, or even during a sports injury, where a sprain occurs to the muscles and ligaments of the neck, and the condition can become more dangerous than just pain if fractures occur in the cervical vertebrae. This can lead to spinal cord severing, which is a life-threatening condition.

Diseases that may cause neck pain from behind

There are some diseases whose symptoms include feeling pain in the neck, whether from the back or from the right or left side, and these diseases include:

Meningitis

It is an inflammation of the thin tissues that surround the brain and spinal cord. In addition to neck pain, several other symptoms may appear, such as fever and headache. If these symptoms appear alongside other symptoms of meningitis, you must go to the doctor immediately because it is a serious condition that requires immediate care.

Heart attack

A heart attack can cause pain in the neck from behind and shoulder pain, but other symptoms of a heart attack must appear. If you feel or notice them in a loved one, you must call for an ambulance or quickly go to the emergency room to do the necessary.

Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis can also affect the neck joints as well as other joints in the body, causing joint swelling and other symptoms besides feeling pain. (Learn more about rheumatoid arthritis, its symptoms and treatment)

fibromyalgia;

Or the so-called fibromyalgia, which can affect any muscle in the body, including the neck muscles. (Learn more about fibromyalgia, its symptoms and treatment methods)

Osteoporosis

The most fragile bones are the bones of the hands and legs, but they can also affect the bones of the neck, causing small fractures in them and thus leading to pain. (Learn about the causes of osteoporosis and ways to prevent it)

Spinal stenosis

This condition occurs as a result of prolonged infections due to some diseases such as arthritis, where the vertebrae of the spine press on the spinal cord and nerves in the neck, causing pain. (Learn more about the symptoms and treatment of spinal stenosis.)

Slipped disc

When the cartilage in the vertebrae (disc) moves, it can cause pressure on the spinal cord and nerves, causing neck pain along with pain in other parts of the body (Learn about the causes, symptoms, and treatment methods of a herniated disc).

Other causes of neck pain from the back

In rare cases, neck pain and stiffness can occur, such as:

• Congenital anomalies of the spine.
• infection.
• Abscesses in the neck.
• Benign and cancerous tumors of the spine.

Diagnosing the cause of neck pain from behind

When you go to the doctor and you complain of severe pain that you could not bear, the doctor will do a physical examination and ask you if you were injured before in an accident or the pain appeared after a fall, and he will also ask you about the severity of the pain and when you felt it, then he will order some tests that include:

Back neck pain treatment

Treatment depends on the cause of the pain. If the condition is simple and not caused by a specific disease, then home treatment methods can help. If the pain is continuous or there is a disease causing it, there may be a need for medication and some other procedures as follows:

Treating neck pain from the back at home

• Rest for a short time and avoid strenuous activities that require movement of the neck.
• Apply cold or hot compresses for 15-20 minutes at most, leaving at least two hours between each time.
• There are some stretching exercises that can help get rid of muscle spasms, but you should consult a doctor first so as not to make a movement that will make your situation worse.

natural therapy

You can resort to a physiotherapist who helps you get rid of neck pain from the back and increase its flexibility, and the technique used in treatment depends on the cause of your pain and what the doctor determines, and physiotherapy sessions may continue for several weeks depending on the progress of the case.

Physical therapy may also include massage to massage the neck, and practice some methods and movements with the hands to adjust and straighten the positions of the neck and spine, but these methods must be done by a professional with the necessary qualifications because any wrong movement may cause more serious complications.

pharmaceutical

The doctor can prescribe some mild pain relievers such as acetaminophen and muscle relaxants, or if the pain is more severe, he may also prescribe stronger pain relievers that contain opioids, but for a short time.

The doctor can also give injections in the neck that relieve pain for a long time, such as cortisone injections, or other injections that reduce inflammation and prevent pain, but they can have some side effects.

surgery

The doctor may have to resort to surgery depending on several factors, including the age of the patient, the period of feeling pain and the cause of the pain, and if other treatments did not help the patient or if the symptoms developed to include the nerves of the arms and legs, or if the patient became suffering from imbalance in movement and walking, the doctor may resort to a procedure Surgery to treat the cause of the pain.

Finally, you can prevent neck pain from the back by maintaining your head position naturally and correctly while not moving your head or neck suddenly or violently. We remind you of the need to consult a doctor in the event of a sudden neck injury so that the matter does not develop into a more serious problem.