Neck pain? Could a stiff neck indicate the presence of something serious?

 

Neck pain? don't be alarmed

Often without reason, we fear pain in the spine more than we are afraid of other forms of pain: neck and back give us the idea of ​​being so vulnerable to serious pathologies that we are terrified as soon as we have any discomfort.

The paradox is that in the vast majority of cases our back and neck are fine, in perfect (or almost) perfect health. As if to say that often the symptom (pain) is actually the worst part of the condition, a symptom and that's it, even if sometimes very annoying.

We are not talking about borderline situations, such as immediately after an accident in which a specialist medical examination is required with possible instrumental analyses, this is an article for situations of common pain, not emergencies.

If you've been having pain for a long time, and it doesn't go away, then here you will find some basic information that has the dual purpose of reassuring you and letting you know the mechanisms of neck pain.

 Neck pain and red flags (Red Flag)

The fear that we all have by now is that a serious and often incurable disease attacks us. So pain is an alarm bell that triggers doubts and paranoia that usually have no reason to be there.

While difficult, it is possible that pain affecting the neck could indicate a possible autoimmune disease, infection, cancer, or even a spinal cord injury.

These are conditions that scare and, in addition to neck pain, they also bring some very specific and clear symptoms that allow a fairly quick and accurate diagnosis. So if they are present it is essential to go immediately to be checked.

What we will see later are the so-called red flags (Red flags) which are indicators of one of the aforementioned serious pathologies.

The most excruciating and sudden pain in the neck is

 almost always a false alarm

A sudden, sharp, stab-like pain is not itself a Red Flag! As absurd as it may seem in these cases, it is very rare that it is something you have to worry about.

When they occur, always in most cases, they only indicate that there is inflammation (more or less strong) in the cervical area which is manifested by severe pain.

Serious causes that lead to neck pain (e.g. cancer) usually have a constant excruciating pain as a symptom, so they are not similar to a stab!

The sudden and acute ones are mainly false neurological alarms due to musculoskeletal problems of little importance. In practice, the brain has a reaction that is not commensurate, therefore excessive, with respect to pain.

Our brain has developed to protect the spine and therefore has an overreaction that leads to sensitization of the area, so we feel terrible pains even if nothing is really serious.

To this, it should also be added that the cervical spine is " wrapped " by a very dense network of nerves. They're hard to piss off, but it's not impossible.

Many acute pains are often caused by minor neuropathies which, in the worst case, tend to flare up within a few days or weeks. It's an annoying healing process, but ultimately bearable especially if you know it's just a passing condition.

Stress and anxiety because you are afraid of suffering from some serious pathology, of which neck pain is only a symptom, are often the most difficult thing to manage.

Could a stiff neck indicate the presence of something serious?

When they occur, always in most cases, they only indicate that there is inflammation (more or less strong) in the cervical area which is manifested by severe pain.

Serious causes that lead to neck pain (e.g. cancer) usually have constant excruciating pain as a symptom, so they are not similar to a stab!

The sudden and acute ones are mainly false neurological alarms due to musculoskeletal problems of little importance. In practice, the brain has a reaction that is not commensurate, therefore excessive, with respect to pain.

Our brain has developed to protect the spine and therefore has an overreaction that leads to sensitization of the area, so we feel terrible pains even if nothing is really serious.

It should also be added that the cervical spine is " wrapped " by a very dense network of nerves. They're hard to piss off, but it's not impossible.

Many acute pains are often caused by minor neuropathies which, in the worst case, tend to flare up within a few days or weeks. It's an annoying healing process, but ultimately bearable incredibly if you know it's just a passing condition.

Stress and anxiety because you are afraid of suffering from some serious pathology, of which neck pain is only a symptom, are often the most difficult thing to manage.