Modern life takes its toll on humans in more ways than one and neck and shoulder pain is just one of them. It’s not uncommon for many of us to come back from work with tired shoulders, a stiff neck or even both. Well, given the amount of bending and drooping that our neck and shoulder go through the whole day while we work at the laptop, bend over a desk, carry heavy shopping bags or drive kids to school, this is nothing unnatural. Not only our lifestyle and habits, there’s actually more that contributes to pain in these areas and a detailed discussion is given below.

Causes

Understanding the nature of your neck and shoulder pain is important before you attempt to seek cure for it. A number of causes can contribute to this condition, namely-

• Poor posture
• Degenerative ailments
• Bone joint abnormalities
• Muscle strain/ Neck stretches
• Tendonitis
• Shoulder blade dislocation or joint instability
• Fractures
• Pinched nerves
• Frozen Shoulder
• Whiplash

While injury and disease are common causes of neck and shoulder pain, please also note that a vast number of cases also crop up from spinal misalignments, nerve anomalies and muscle tightness that are caused by stress.

Symptoms

Neck and shoulder pain can trigger off disturbing symptoms like –

Chronic neck pain, stiffness in the neck associated with mild to moderate shoulder pain symptoms.
Radicular symptoms can also occur where the patient can experience radiating pain in the neck, shoulder and arms with associated tingling, weakness and numbness.

Morning stiffness in the neck or shoulder area or pain at rest/night

It is important for a patient suffering from neck and/or shoulder pain to report the exact symptoms to the doctor if he wants a definite cure. The doctor may further perform tests like X-ray, MRI, CT scan or EMG to assess the exact cause of the pain disturbing the patient. Additional check-ups may also be done to check reflexes, muscle capacity, vascular supply, neurological status and sensation to establish the appropriateness of the findings.

Solution

Treatment for neck and shoulder pain is available under surgical and non-surgical options, the suitability of which is decided by the doctor offering treatment to the patient. Some patients have also been seen to show remarkable improvements with chiropractic care, a natural and non-invasive way of treating pain and discomfort without drugs.