Have you ever woken up with a sharp pain in the side of your neck? If this has happened to you in Winterville, North Carolina, you might be wondering what’s causing your pain. There are many issues that can cause this type of pain, but there are two in particular that could be the root cause of your neck pain.
- Strained muscle
There are 26 muscles in the neck, and that’s not counting muscles from your head, shoulders and torso that are attached to the neck. With so many muscles in this area, it’s no wonder that a muscle strain could be causing the sharp pain in the side of your neck. Strains occur when a muscle is overstretched or torn. There are many activities that can cause this type of injury.
Playing sports can lead to a neck muscle strain, and this is most common when the sport is high impact or uses repetitive head movements. An example that fits both of these criteria is football. Car accidents can also strain neck muscles thanks to a movement called whiplash. Whiplash is when the head moves violently forward and backward, and it gets its name from the resemblance it has to the cracking of a whip. This type of violent movement can easily overstretch or tear a muscle in the neck and cause pain. Even sleeping can cause a muscle strain if your head neck is in a poor position all night.
- Cervical radiculopathy
Cervical radiculopathy is the medical term for a pinched neck nerve, and this issue is another one that can cause sharp pain in the side of the neck. In fact, this type of pain is the most common symptom of a pinched neck nerve. Other symptoms that this condition can cause include numbness, tingling and difficulty moving the neck without pain.
A pinched nerve in your neck is typically caused by a deeper problem with the neck. An example of such a problem is a herniated neck disc. Discs are intended to act as cushions between your vertebrae, but they can be damaged by impacts to the head and neck. The form this damage often takes is a tear in the outer shell of the disc. In turn, the tear allows the inner material in the disc to poke out or herniate, and it’s this material that can rub against or pinch a cervical nerve.
Come find help for your neck pain at Peak Performance in Winterville, NC
Peak Performance is proud to offer high-quality physical therapy services at our clinic in Winterville. Not sure what’s causing the sharp pain in the side of your neck? Our team can help you find out with a free screening. Once we pinpoint the source of your pain, we’ll create an individualized therapy plan that targets this source, and the plan we build for you could include therapy techniques like:
- Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM)
- Manual therapy
- Ergonomic training
- Therapeutic exercises
Contact us today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment to start treating your neck pain.
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