The neck and neck ache - what should I do? What are the causes of pain in the neck and head? The neck hurts when you turn your head

Most likely, each of us at least once in my life experienced such an unpleasant state as pain in the neck and head. But pain is a signal about the help that our body gives us, paying little attention to it. This - a sign that in our body there are some negative and destructive phenomena and processes. Therefore, do not "seize" the discomfort of analgesics and postpone the solution to this problem for later. If you have a strong and long pain in the muscles of the neck and head, contact a medical specialist, and do not self-medicate!

Who most often suffers from pain in the neck and head, or at risk

Every day more and more people, often at a very young age, complain that the muscles of the neck and head ache. This is due primarily to physical inactivity - insufficient physical activity, as well as to the large amount of time that each of us spends on the computer and the steering wheel of our beloved car, being mostly in the wrong position from the standpoint of the spine.

Problems with unpleasant pain in the neck and head may occur in those who lead a dynamic and active lifestyle. First of all, this type of pain is felt by professional athletes, especially weightlifters, figure skaters, gymnasts and acrobats, as well as those who are engaged in various contact sports. Professional dancers, as well as lovers actively move in the disco, can also overtake the pain in the neck, giving to the head.

Quite often, the muscles of the neck and head are hurt in elderly people suffering from various diseases. Often, in addition to injuries and pathologies of the vascular system, the elderly have various degenerative processes, which leads to painful sensations.

What causes can cause pain in the neck and head?

When the neck and head hurts, it is difficult to turn the latter. There is a sharp pain that interferes with the movement, and then for one or several days there is a stiffness in the spine.

If your neck and head muscles ache often and for a long time, then the main reason for these unpleasant painful sensations can be understood by a neurologist. In most cases, these sensations can be caused by such reasons as:

1. Injuries of the spine and musculoskeletal system.
2. Congenital or acquired pathologies of the spine.
3. Prolonged physical or mental stress, a state of chronic fatigue and stress.
4. Pathologies and disorders of the blood supply and circulation.
5. Autoimmune diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
6. Infectious diseases.

Let us dwell in more detail on each of the reasons that answer the question of why the neck and head hurts.

Injuries to the musculoskeletal system and spine

When the neck and head hurts, the cause can be various kinds of trauma both of the vertebral column itself and of other parts of the musculoskeletal system. Injured may be ligaments and muscles, the body of the vertebrae and discs located between them, intervertebral joints.

As a result of various injuries, there may be pain in the neck and head. It happens that the problem is quite old, and the consequences start to worry after any negative situations or impacts, for example, long-term stress, physical or psycho-emotional overstrain.

Often such minor injuries are not remembered by the person himself, except for serious injuries that entailed hospitalization or accompanied by severe pain. Even a sharp braking of the car at an average speed can cause a so-called "whiplash" injury. At the same time, muscles, ligaments, intervertebral discs and joints are damaged, as well as spinal roots and there can be a situation that hurts the neck, it pushes into the head.

Congenital or acquired pathologies of the spine

Pathologies of the spine, which can be both congenital and acquired, lead to the fact that the neck and head aches. One of the most common of these is the osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.

Those who suffer from such a disease, describe it like this: "The neck hurts, gives to the head". That is, the pain passes from the affected area of the spine and spreads to the occipital region. Discomfort is not permanent, usually "rolls" attacks after sharp movements of the head, especially from side to side. Another sign that speaks of the onset of osteochondrosis is the crunching of the neck during movement, after which a headache occurs.

Long-term exposure to stress or severe physical and mental fatigue

Under the influence of various unfavorable factors that are present in the life of each of us, we are immersed in a state of stress. The negative emotions caused by this state fall on our shoulders, forcing us to walk, "hanging" our head down and stooping. Stressful loads negatively affect not only our psycho-emotional state, but also our body.

In such situations, the tonic tension of the dorsal muscles occurs, which causes pain in the shoulders, neck and spine. If a person experiences stress constantly, then almost all the time his back muscles are in spasm. This condition not only leads to pain, but it can also trigger the development of osteochondrosis.

Varied disorders and pathologies of blood supply and circulation

First of all, they include the syndrome of the vertebral artery. In the human body, the blood supply to the brain occurs through two arteries: the carotid and the vertebral. With this pathology, there is a malfunction in the blood supply of the brain through the vertebral arteries from one or both sides, in most cases with head movements. This hurts the neck when turning the head.

A prerequisite for this discomfort sometimes becomes another ailment. In the event that the neck and head hurts from behind, the cause may be a serious illness, such as hypertension, which is usually called simply hypertension.

Autoimmune diseases affecting the musculoskeletal system

There are many such diseases. These are different types of arthritis, rheumatic polymyalgia and Bekhterev's disease.

Infectious diseases

With such infectious and inflammatory bowel diseases as dysentery, yersiniosis, typhoid fever, reactive arthritis can develop. The infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, osteomyelitis, brucellosis directly affect the musculoskeletal system. In addition, the cause of what hurts the neck and head, there may be diseases such as poliomyelitis, malaria, tetanus. Also, the culprits are sometimes various kinds of meningitis, shingles.

Rarely, when the neck and head hurts, the causes can hide in any infectious disease of the cervical and head or degenerative changes in the spine.

Why can the neck hurt when you turn your head?

The main reasons for which the neck hurts when turning the head is:

1. Lesions of the osteochondrosis of the thoracic and cervical spine.
2. Fracture of the second cervical vertebra.
3. In case of traumatic displacement of a relatively located vertebra underneath in any direction of the second cervical vertebra. Physicians call such a disease "spondylolisthesis."
4. Twisting of the vertebral artery around the first vertebra - atlanta, which leads to a lack of basilar artery.
5. The development of the so-called "anterior staircase muscle syndrome". This syndrome can arise both because of the increase in muscle volume as a result of training, especially excessive, as a result of injuries of the upper part of the musculoskeletal system (cervical vertebrae and muscles), a sedentary lifestyle and fullness, as well as a number of diseases, for example, humeropathy periarthritis .
6. When there is and development of radiculitis of the cervico-brachial region.
7. Neuralgia, which can occur as a result of hypothermia or leg colds. In addition, it can be a concomitant disease in spondylarthrosis, osteochondrosis and other ailments that affect the cervical vertebrae.

What to do with pain in the neck and head?

First of all, if the muscles of the neck and head ache, contact a neurologist specialist to establish the cause
The occurrence of unpleasant sensations. Only a doctor will be able to prescribe diagnostic measures that will objectively show the degree of defeat of the musculoskeletal system or any part of the spine.

After the cause of the disease is established, the specialist will be able to select an individual treatment regimen that will help relieve pain.

Everyone knows that any disease is easier to prevent than completely cure. That there was no pain in the muscles of the neck and head, you need to observe the mode of work and rest, try to regulate physical and mental stress, monitor your health and regularly check your health. Everyone can do it!