Head / Neck

Got a pain in the neck? Any part of your neck - muscles, bones, joints, tendons, ligaments or nerves - can cause it. Pain may also come from your shoulder, jaw, head or upper arms.

Muscle strain or tension often causes neck pain. The problem is usually overuse, such as from sitting at a computer for too long. Sometimes you can strain your neck muscles from sleeping in an awkward position or overdoing it during exercise. Falls or accidents, including car accidents, are another common cause of neck pain. Whiplash, a soft tissue injury to the neck, is also called neck sprain or strain.

Treatment depends on the cause, but may include applying ice, taking pain relievers, getting physical therapy or wearing a cervical collar. You rarely need surgery.

Start Here
Neck Pain(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/symptom/513.printerview.html

Neck Swelling(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/symptom/514.printerview.html

Overviews
Neck Pain(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/neck-pain/DS00542/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print

What You Need to Know about Neck Pain(American Physical Therapy Association) - Links to PDF -

http://www.apta.org/AM/Images/APTAIMAGES/ContentImages/ptandbody/neck/neckpain.pdf

Latest News

Health Tip: What's Causing My Neck Pain?(07/01/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_86312.html

Diagnosis/Symptoms
Electrodiagnostic Testing(American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00270

Neck Pain(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/symptom/513.printerview.html

Neck Swelling(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/symptom/514.printerview.html

Needle Biopsy(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/needle-biopsy/MY00088/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all

X-rays, CT Scans and MRIs(American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00188

Treatment

Causes of Back and Neck Pain(National Pain Foundation) - http://www.nationalpainfoundation.org/articles/406/causes

Metastatic Squamous Neck Cancer with Occult Primary (PDQ): TreatmentFrom the National Institutes of Health(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/metastatic-squamous-neck/patient/

Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/espanol/pdq/tratamiento/escamoso-metastasico-del-cuello/patient

Spinal Fusion(American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00348

Prevention/Screening

What a Pain in the Neck! Good Habits to Remember to Prevent Neck Pain(American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) - http://www.aapmr.org/condtreat/pain/necktips.htm

Alternative Therapy
MedlinePlus: ChiropracticFrom the National Institutes of Health(National Library of Medicine) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/chiropractic.html

Rehabilitation/Recovery
Overview of Neck Pain(American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) - http://www.aapmr.org/condtreat/pain/neckpain.htm

Specific Conditions
Burners(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/brain/head/478.printerview.html

Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/common/brain/head/478.printerview.html

Burners and Stingers(American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00027

Cervical Dystonia(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/spasmodic-torticollis/DS00836/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print

Cervical Fracture(American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00414

Cervical Radiculopathy(American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00332

Cervical Spine(American Association of Neurological Surgeons) - http://www.neurosurgerytoday.org/what/patient_e/cervical.asp

Cervical Spondylosis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/cervical-spondylosis/DS00697/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print

Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy (CSM)(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/brain/disorders/622.printerview.html

Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/common/brain/disorders/622.printerview.html

Herniated Cervical Disc(North American Spine Society) - http://www.spine.org/Pages/ConsumerHealth/SpineConditionsAndTreatments/CommonProblems

Corrective Actions/Degenerative Conditions/Herniated Cervical Disc.aspx
Neck Masses(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/print/sec23/ch276/ch276h.html

Neck Sprain(American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00410

Repetitive Motion DisordersFrom the National Institutes of Health(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/repetitive_motion/repetitive_motion.htm

WhiplashFrom the National Institutes of Health(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/whiplash/whiplash.htm

Videos

Anterior Cervical Fusion(OR-Live) - One hour program - http://www.or-live.com/distributors/NLM/rnh.cfm?id=287

Cervical Laminoplasty(OR-Live) - One hour program - 9/11/2007 - http://www.or-live.com/distributors/nlm-flash/uho_1933/rnh.cfm?id=639

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Cervical Vertebrae Injuries From the National Institutes of Health(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Cervical+Vertebrae%22

ClinicalTrials.gov: Neck Injuries From the National Institutes of Health(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Neck+Injuries%22

ClinicalTrials.gov: Neck Pain From the National Institutes of Health(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Neck+Pain%22

ClinicalTrials.gov: Spinal Injuries From the National Institutes of Health(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Spinal+Injuries%22

ClinicalTrials.gov: Whiplash Injuries From the National Institutes of Health(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Whiplash+Injuries%22

Research
Study Finds Benefits of Therapeutic Massage for Chronic Neck PainFrom the National Institutes of Health(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) -http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/051809.htm

Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Article: Efficacy of neck stabilization exercises for neck pain: a randomized... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19565156&tool=MedlinePlus

Article: CT should replace three-view radiographs as the initial screening test... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19509621&tool=MedlinePlus

Article: Cervical spine injuries in children: attention to radiographic differences and... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19410157&tool=MedlinePlus

Neck Injuries and Disorders -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=(neck+pain[majr]+OR+neck+injuries[majr]+OR+cervical+vertebrae/in[majr]+OR+cervical+vertebrae/ab[majr])+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Dictionaries/Glossaries
Glossary of Orthopaedic Words(American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/glossary.cfm

Directories
Find an Orthopaedist(American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - http://www6.aaos.org/about/public/members.cfm

Organizations
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons - http://www.aaos.org/

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke From the National Institutes of Health - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/

Also available in Spanish http://espanol.ninds.nih.gov/

Children
Branchial Cleft Remnant(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site663/mainpageS663P0.html

Congenital Muscular Torticollis (Wryneck)(American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00054

Cysts and Sinuses of the Head and Neck(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site2194/mainpageS2194P0.html

Klippel-Feil SyndromeFrom the National Institutes of Health(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/klippel_feil/klippel_feil.htm

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:
Head and Neck Cancer - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/headandneckcancer.html

Bones, Joints and Muscles - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bonesjointsandmuscles.html

Injuries and Wounds - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/injuriesandwounds.html

Date last updated: July 12 2009
Topic last reviewed: June 19 2009

From MedlinePlus (http://medlineplus.gov), 24 Hour Health Information.