Cause and symptoms
The majority of newly occurring neck pain is harmless and will go away on its own.
There may be several reasons why you experience pain in your neck. Perhaps you have had a sudden twist, have overloaded your neck/shoulders for some time or have some wear and tear changes. In most cases, you may not be aware of the triggering cause, which can be very frustrating. However, the treatment will often be the same, regardless of the cause of your discomfort.
There may be several local structures in your neck that can be the triggering cause of the pain, e.g. the joints, muscles and connective tissue of the neck. There will often be muscular tension and tenderness in the neck/shoulder area and this can extend further up towards the edge of the skull and cause a headache. The pain is most often localized in the neck and the pain can be stabbing in the neck and shoulders when you move your head.
Your pain may well be experienced as very intense. The prognosis for getting rid of your pain is good if you stay active and start exercising even if you still have neck pain.
How to help yourself
The vast majority of people get significantly better within a few days or weeks, without treatment. It is therefore beneficial to wait and see.
The prognosis for getting rid of your pain is very good if you stay active and start exercising even if you still have neck pain. You can take breaks during the day, but it is important that you maintain your activity level and physical fitness and avoid inactivity.
You should adjust your activities so that you can stay physically active as much as possible. You should avoid activities that worsen your pain and instead find other activities that you can do despite the pain. These can be, for example, walking or swimming/aqua aerobics as well as light exercises.
