Symptoms, Causes and Quick Treatments
of Neck and Shoulder Pain
Neck and shoulder pain problems are very common. Some people experience only shoulder or neck pain while others have both at the same time. The neck and shoulder is made out of many elements: bones, nerves, veins and a number of ligaments. The roots of this problem can be different some might be minor, but some might be major or even life threatening. Anything from such simple things as strains, minor injury to more serious – trauma or even heart attack can cause neck and shoulder pain. A huge impact on our shoulder and neck problems has our age. The older we get the more issues we may obtain.
exercises for neck and shoulder pain
Symptoms
There are many different symptoms of neck and shoulder pain other than the pain itself.
- Different types of pain: sharp, burning, dull, sharp like stabbing etc. The pain of neck and shoulder can result in a smaller range of motion, stiff neck and even headache. The pain description is very important to your doctor; it can give clues to the roots of the problem and help a proper diagnose.
- Bruises, cuts or a feeling of numbness. When the nerves are injured, they may not work properly. This may lead to a complete lack of sensation of the arm.
- Lack of strength in a given area. This weakness can be significant when trying to move around or when picking something up. The result of this could be some kind of an injury like muscle, bone or nerve damage.
- Swelling of the area. Most of the time is caused by fractured or broken bone – for example collar bone.
- Blocked veins or arteries can cause coolness of the area. This means that not enough blood is being pumped.
- Different color changes. Redness most of the time indicates infection of some kind. Purple indicates a bruise or a rash. Blue or white is another sign that the blood is not being pumped in a proper way.
Neck and Shoulder Pain Causes
Neck - the neck is constructed out of many elements that are prone to being injured – muscles, bones, veins, ligaments and nerves
- Trauma
- Bad Posture
- Different Kinds of Diseases (Gallbladder Disease)
- Heart Problems
- Overworked Muscles
- Muscle Tension
- Broken Cartilage
- Pinched Nerve
- Abuse of an Injury ex: dislocated shoulder that didn’t get enough time to heal up
- Spine problems
Shoulder – It is made out of ball and socket joint. The shoulder possesses a huge range of movement, and is prone to being injured.
- Lack of Sleep
- Abused Tendons
- Dislocated Joint
- Broken or Fractured Collar or Upper Arm Bone
- Spine Problems
- Pinched Nerves
- Overuse
Quick and Funny Yoga for Neck and Shoulder Pain
Treatment: Quick Tips
These treatments should work for minor and even some of the major problems. If the neck and shoulder pain doesn’t stop it is recommended to visit a specialist.
- Arm Resting: put the arm on your side, relax and let it hang for 20 seconds every half an hour. It is better to have your arm rested for few seconds often, than having it rest for several minutes only twice a day.
- Change Position – Stand up and take a walk, drink some water. Try to change your position from sitting to standing every hour or so. It helps the blood flow and doesn’t take such a toll on your body. ( recommended for the computer users )
- Stretch: to stop neck and shoulder pain make sure you stretch properly. Stretch your neck and shoulder 3 times a day for few minutes at a time.
- Massage: You can either give it yourself or hire a professional to do it. It is enough to massage the area of pain for 30 minutes every few days. It is recommended to have a professional massage of the whole body once a month. It will improve your blood flow and relax all of your muscles. Once a month is enough to see satisfying results.
- If you feel any pain – use ice. An ice pack, bottle of cold water or a bag of ice will do nicely – put it on the area of pain for 15 minutes twice a day. Don’t do this for too long if the pain doesn’t stop it is time to visit a doctor. Anywhere from 3 to 5 days is enough. It was proven that icing is a lot more effective than heating. In such situations heating can bring unnecessary risks, it can even worsen any swellings you might be having
Neck and Shoulder Pain Conclusion
Remember that this issue can be something minor, but also the pain could also be caused by something major or even life threatening. If the pain doesn’t stop or just keeps coming back and you don’t see any satisfying improvement with neck and shoulder pain it is crucial to visit a specialist.