Our neck is made up of the cervical spine, beginning at the base of the skull, that contains seven, small vertebrates. Our cervical spine holds up the weight of our head, which on average can weight up to 12 pounds! Since your neck has such a wide range of motion, it can be very susceptible to pain and injury. Different motion and actions can negatively affect your spine and cause wear and tear on the biomechanical functions your neck uses to operate. Extended sitting, repetitive movements, accidents, falls, and trauma to the head or body all can cause chronic neck pain as well as normal aging and everyday wear and tear.
Chronic neck pain can be caused by a number of factors, but some typical causes include:
- Injury and Accident: Traumatic, forced movement to the head or body in any direction can dramatically affect the body and neck. When we receive a trauma such as whiplash from an auto accident, it affects the biomechanics of your body negatively. Take whiplash for instance. When we are hit from behind our spine inadvertently bends from C7, then C6, then C5 and upward towards our skull where the shockwave or cracking of the whip ends. Our necks are naturally supposed to bend from C1, down to C7, not the other way!
- Normal Aging: Degenerative disorders such as degenerative disc disease or spinal stenosis directly affect the spine and can occur with natural aging.
- Auto Accidents: Auto accidents are the leading cause of neck and back pain! Even minor accidents can cause hidden traumas and tears to muscles, ligaments and tissue. These are serious and result in degenerative diseases if left untreated.