Neck and Shoulder Pain

• Description
• Table of Contents
• An excerpt from this report

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Modern life is a pain in the neck. Just as there are many causes of neck pain, strategies for treating it are equally varied. This report describes the most effective exercises, therapies, ergonomic strategies, medications and surgeries to treat this debilitating condition.

Prepared in collaboration with the editors at Harvard Medical School and Robert H. Shmerling, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Associate Physician, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Senior Editor, Intelihealth. 37 pages. (updated: 2004)

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Here's an Excerpt from this Neck and Shoulder Pain Special Health Report

Does your neck feel stiff when you awake in the morning? Do your neck and shoulder muscles seize painfully with no warning? There are many kinds of neck pain, and doctors estimate that 7 out of 10 people will be troubled by some type of neck pain at some point in their lives. One in 10 adults is hurting right now , and for 1 in 20 , the pain is longstanding and intense enough to severely limit the ability to work and play.

Why is neck pain so common? Your neck supports a heavy weight — your head — but must still allow you to tilt, turn, and nod it easily. This combination of strength and flexibility requires a complex system of muscles, bones, tendons, and nerves that, as a result, makes your neck vulnerable to injury.

Some neck pain starts with the bang of a rear-end collision, but more commonly, neck structures begin to ache after years of normal use, overuse, and misuse. Computer-heavy workplaces are notorious sites of neck maltreatment, as workers sit for hours with shoulders slumped and heads thrust forward toward their monitors, stressing the neck muscles. Neck pain is a leading reason workers call in sick. Middle-aged people suffer more neck pain than young people or retirees , and more women than men are affected.

While the specific cause of neck pain often remains a mystery — doctors often can’t pinpoint the precise origin — it is rarely caused by a serious medical problem. It doesn’t often require surgery, and it usually responds to self-help techniques.

Over the years, health professionals have altered how they diagnose and treat neck pain, placing increased control in the hands of patients. Even though high-tech diagnostic techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are available to visualize neck structures, the most important clues to the source of your pain are your description of your symptoms and the results of your physical examination. And today, you’re more likely to take an active role in your treatment by using over-the-counter medications, heat, and exercises rather than narcotic prescriptions, traction, or surgery.

Formerly common treatments such as lengthy bed rest or time wearing a neck collar have been replaced by encouragement to return to activity as soon as possible. To that end, physical therapists identify your posture problems and teach you to stretch, strengthen, and use your neck muscles properly. This reduces pain, lets you safely resume the activities you enjoy, and lessens the chance of a painful recurrence. In some cases, surgery is needed to gain relief, but doctors now hesitate to recommend this course unless neck pain is persistent and clearly the result of a damaged disk or another structural problem that responds well to surgical repair.

This report is not intended as a substitute for a face-to-face evaluation with a doctor, but instead provides information about how your neck works, what can make it hurt, common diagnostic methods, and a range of reliable treatment options. The following pages also describe the many simple steps you can take to prevent, ease, and manage a pain in the neck.

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