Neck pain happens when your spine gets hurt or overworked. This can be from an accident, aging, or poor alignment. Acute neck pain starts suddenly but goes away in a few days or weeks. Rest, stretching, physical therapy, and self-care can help it heal. Staying active and using good posture can help prevent and recover from neck / arm pain. Chronic neck pain lasts more than 3 months.
The cervical spine has the most range of motion and is prone to injury (Fig. 1). Neck pain ranges from mild to severe depending on the amount of injury. It can be acute or chronic.
Acute neck pain starts suddenly and heals in a few days to weeks. The source is usually from the muscles, ligaments, joints, or discs.
Chronic neck pain persists for more than 3 months. It may be felt all the time or worsen with certain activities. The source may be nerve damage, scar tissue, arthritis, or stress. People with chronic symptoms may be referred to a pain specialist. (see Pain Management).
Acute neck pain may feel like:
- Stiffness or tightness
- Aching or burning
- Sharp, stabbing or shooting pains
- Numbness or tingling (pins and needles)
- Muscle soreness or spasm in shoulders or neck
Muscle spasm is a state of extreme contraction. Perhaps you cannot turn your head. If nerves are involved, pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness may develop in your shoulders, arms or hands.
Get medical help right away if you suddenly have extreme leg weakness, falls, or can't control your bladder or bowels. This could be a serious problem.
Neck pain along with a severe headache, fever, or nausea can be a sign of infection or a bleed in the brain. If your neck is so stiff that you can't touch your chin to chest, get medical help immediately.
Neck pain can result from injury, mental stress, aging, and other conditions. Poor posture (e.g., slouching, tech neck, sleeping on your stomach) and improper lifting can make neck injuries more likely. When using cell phones or tablets, keep your head up and hold the device straight out rather than looking down at the device.
Conditions that cause neck pain include:
- Muscle strain: A whiplash injury, sports injury, or fall can strain or tear muscles and ligaments. Fractures can occur.
- Bulging or herniated disc: The soft center of a disc can push or rupture through the disc wall and pinch a nerve.
- Pinched nerve: Compression of a spinal nerve in the neck can cause pain to travel down the arm into the hands. Carpal tunnel syndrome usually involves numbness and tingling.
- Degenerative disc (osteoarthritis): As you get older, the discs can dry out and shrink.Small tears in the disc wall can be painful. Bone spurs can form and ligaments can thicken.
- Facet joint arthritis: The facets are paired joints on each vertebra. Arthritis damages the joint capsule causing pain.
- Stenosis: Narrowing of the bony canals in the spine can compress the cord and nerves.
A medical provider will ask about your health history and how your neck problem started. Diagnosis begins with a physical exam to check your muscle strength and nerve reflexes. Sometimes X-rays, CT, or MRI scans are ordered.
Healing begins with self-care and nonsurgical treatments (Fig. 2). The goal is to fix the problem, help you move better, and prevent re-injury.
Self care: Neck pain often resolves with rest, ice or heat, massage, pain relievers, and gentle stretches. Use an ice pack for 20 minutes a few times a day during the first 2 to 3 days. After that, try a warm shower or heating pad on low setting to relax your muscles. Don't stay in bed too long—more than a couple of days can make things worse. Get up and walk short distances. If you're not starting to improve after a few days, see your doctor.
Medications: You can take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin, ibuprofen or naproxen. These help reduce swelling and pain. If you have muscle spasms, the doctor may give you a muscle relaxant. If pain is severe, a stronger analgesic may be prescribed.
Steroids can also reduce swelling and inflammation of the nerves. A Medrol dose pack are pills taken by mouth and tapered over five days. They start working within 24-hours. Your doctor may suggest an epidural steroid injection near the painful nerve.
Physical therapy / exercise: We advise you to keep moving as normally as possible. A physical therapist can help you return to regular activity and prevent re-injury. They'll teach you proper lifting and walking techniques. You'll also learn home exercises to strengthen and stretch your neck, arms, and stomach muscles. Massage, ultrasound, cupping, dry needling, heat, and traction may be helpful. People also benefit from yoga or chiropractic care.
Surgery: Surgery may help those who have muscle weakness, a serious disc herniation, cord compression, or a pinched nerve that doesn't get better after a reasonable time of nonsurgical therapy.
Most people with acute neck pain respond to treatment. A positive attitude, staying active, and going back to work are key elements of recovery. If your regular job duties are too hard at first, modified (light or restricted) duty may be prescribed for a time..
Prevention is key to avoiding recurrence:
If you have more questions, please contact the Mayfield Brain & Spine at 800-325-7787 or 513-221-1100.
Spine-health.com
Allaboutbackandneckpain.com
acute: a condition of quick onset lasting a short time, opposite of chronic.
arthritis: joint inflammation caused by infection, immune deficiency (rheumatoid arthritis), or degeneration of the cartilage that causes pain, swelling, redness, warmth, and restricted movement.
chronic: a condition of slow progression and continuing over a long period of time, opposite of acute.
osteoporosis: loss of bone or atrophy of skeletal tissue that causes bones to weaken and become brittle, and prone to fracture. Preventive measures include adequate calcium and regular exercise to stimulate bone metabolism.
radiculopathy: refers to any disease affecting the spinal nerve roots. Also used to describe pain along the sciatic nerve that radiates down the leg.
spinal cord: part of the central nervous system enclosed and protected by the spinal vertebrae; conducts messages (impulses) back and forth between your brain and body to control sensation and movement.
vertebra (plural vertebrae): 1 of 33 bones that form the spinal column. From top to bottom, there are 7 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacral, and 4 coccygeal vertebrae. The top 24 bones are moveable.
updated > 07.2025
reviewed by > Banita Bailey, RN, Mayfield Clinic, Cincinnati, Ohio
Mayfield Certified Health Info materials are written and developed by the Mayfield Clinic. We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information. This information is not intended to replace the medical advice of your health care provider.
Nearly 80 percent of our spine patients are able to recover with nonsurgical treatment. Our interventional pain and physical medicine experts help patients find relief from neck, back, and leg pain. But when physical therapy, medications, and spinal injections fail to relieve pain, we help patients with surgery.
We treat more than 3,000 patients with neck pain each year.
To make an appointment call 513-221-1100.
Many Mayfield patients have the option of same-day, outpatient surgery at our spine surgery center.
Related links:
• Degenerative Disc Disease
• Herniated Cervical Disc
• ACDF Surgery, Anterior Cervical Discectomy & Fusion
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