Symptoms of Neck Pain
Symptoms of neck pain can range in severity and duration. Most of the time, neck pain is acute and lasts for a couple of days to a week. Other times it may get chronic. Your neck pain may be mild and not interfere much with your activities or day-to-day living, or it may be severe and cause disability.
Symptoms of neck pain may include:
- Sharp pain: Neck pain may appear as a sharp or “stabbing” pain that is specific to one area.
- Stiff neck: People with neck pain often describe feeling as though their neck is “stiff” or “stuck.” Neck pain can sometimes cause a decreased range of motion.
- Pain when moving: You are more likely to feel the pain more when you move, twist, or extend your cervical spine, either up and down or from side to side.
- Radiating pain or numbness: Your neck pain may radiate to your trunk, head, shoulder, and arms. If your neck pain involves the compression of a nerve, you are likely to experience tingling, numbness, or weakness in either of your arms or hands. Neck pain that is from a pinched nerve may feel like a sharp or burning pain that starts at the neck and travels down the arm. Discuss with your doctor if you feel these symptoms.
- Pain when palpated: The pain around your neck may increase if your cervical spine is palpated (physically examined).
- Headache: Pain that starts in your neck may also cause a headache called a cervicogenic headache. Neck pain with a headache may also be a symptom of a migraine headache.