Neck pain

Key points about neck pain

  • There are various reasons for developing neck pain and most are not serious.
  • Neck pain often gets better on its own within a few weeks.
  • Try to stay active and continue to move your neck. Keep doing your normal work or daily activities, or return to them as soon as you can. It's fine to have some pain while moving.
  • Keeping still isn't helpful and can be harmful. Heat, ice packs and massage may help.
  • Get advice if you have flu-like symptoms, a stiff sore neck, severe pain after an injury or loss of feeling or function in your arms.
Woman reaches behind to rub sore neck
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Overview

  • Most neck pain is not serious and will improve over time.
  • To help you recover more quickly, keep active and continue to move your neck. Keep doing your normal work or daily activities, or return to doing these as soon as you can. It's fine to have some pain while moving. 
  • It's not helpful to keep still or use a cervical collar – these can be harmful.
  • Use heat or ice packs, or massage if these reduce your pain.
  • Rarely, neck pain is a sign of a more serious problem. You should get it checked right away if you:
    • have flu-like symptoms along with a stiff painful neck and difficulty bending your head forward
    • have severe neck pain after an injury, such as a motor vehicle accident, diving accident or fall
    • lose function in your arm such as weakness or clumsiness or you have persistent loss of feeling
    • have difficulty passing urine.

Call Healthline on 0800 611 116 if you don't know what you should do.

Symptoms of neck pain

Neck pain refers to pain or stiffness in the neck. You may have limited movement of your neck and moving it may make the pain worse. Sometimes the pain starts in your neck but may spread to your shoulder blade, shoulder, arm or your head. You may also feel 'pins and needles' in part of your arm or hand.

There are different reasons for developing neck pain including the following common causes:

Common causes Description
No obvious cause
  • People often have neck pain for no apparent reason. This means there hasn't been any injury.
  • Pain like this is more common at times of high stress, poor sleep or lower levels of physical activity.
  • When this type of neck pain is combined with movement limitations it's often called an acute wry neck (or torticollis).
Sprains and injuries 
  • Injuries from sports, falls or whiplash can cause neck pain. 
  • This happens when the neck is moved beyond its normal range of motion. 
  • Whiplash is a sudden fast forward and backward movement causing injury to the soft tissues of your neck, most commonly caused by rear-impact car accidents. The pain and stiffness associated with these accidents usually begins 24 to 48 hours after the injury.
Posture-related
  • Sometimes neck pain is related to particular postures.
  • Even though posture doesn't cause injury, it makes sense to alter painful postures if possible.
  • This might include getting up and moving around more often, sitting more upright or sleeping with one pillow.

Other less common causes of neck pain can be nerve issues, inflamed lymph nodes, bone disorders, tumours and swelling of your thyroid gland. 

Most neck pain will get better on its own within a few weeks. In the meantime, here are a few general things you can do.

Keep active

  • Movement and exercise are good natural pain relievers. Keeping active reduces the impact of neck pain on your life. It's okay to feel some pain while moving.
  • Some discomfort with exercise is normal and should be expected. If an exercise makes your pain a lot worse, or you get other symptoms like dizziness, you should seek advice before continuing.
  • At times you may have a flare-up or marked increase in pain (this can happen whether you exercise or not). If this happens, you may be happier reducing the amount you exercise for a couple of days, but try not to stop completely. As the pain eases, try and build back up to your previous level as soon as you can.


Stay at work or get back to work and normal daily activities as soon as you can

Being at work helps you to focus on things other than your neck. Being at work is good for your general health too.


Move your neck

  • Gentle movements (starting as soon as possible) will help to reduce pain and spasm and help you regain full range of motion. Movement also helps healing.
  • Move your head often and gently in all direction. Relax as you move. It's okay to feel some pain but don't force the movement. Tuck your chin in, turn your head from side to side, bend your head forward and back. 
  • See neck pain and stiffness exercises.


Hot or cold compresses

You can try using hot and cold to reduce your pain, whichever one gives you the most relief. Alternating heat and cold may help.

  • Apply ice or cold packs to the painful area for 10–15 minutes every few hours. Wrap a plastic bag of ice (or a bag of frozen vegetables) in a damp cloth or light towel. Never place ice directly on your skin.
  • Apply a moist, warm compress or a warm wheat bag to the painful area for 20–30 minutes several times a day. This should be warm but not hot to reduce the risk of burning. 


Massage 

When you have neck pain your neck may become stiff. Massage can help you to relax and move your neck more. Massage the area gently with your fingers for several minutes. Massage shouldn't make your pain worse. 


Medicines

Most neck pain settles quickly without medicine. Medicines can be used to supplement other things that you're doing for neck pain, but often don't provide much additional benefit and can be harmful long-term. Medicines such as paracetamol or non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) can help to ease the pain and keep you active. However, NSAIDs are not suitable for everyone and are usually not recommended on an ongoing basis. Common examples of NSAIDs include ibuprofen, diclofenac and naproxen. Read more about pain relief medicines..


Physiotherapy

If your symptoms don't improve over a week or so, you may see a physiotherapist for advice on specific neck exercises to do at home. 


Apps

Here are some neck exercise apps you might find useful. 

Most neck pain improves gradually with home treatment. See your healthcare provider if your neck pain is severe, persists for several days without relief, spreads down your arms or legs or is accompanied by headache, numbness, weakness or tingling.

When to seek urgent medical care

Sometimes neck pain is a sign of a more serious problem.

You should get it checked right away if you:

  • have flu-like symptoms along with a stiff painful neck and difficulty bending your head forward
  • have severe neck pain after an injury, such as a motor vehicle accident, diving accident or fall
  • lose function in your arm (eg, weakness or clumsiness) or you have persistent loss of feeling
  • have difficulty passing urine.

Call Healthline on 0800 611 116 if you don't know what you should do.

Neck pain is a normal part of life. The best ways to reduce the likelihood of neck pain or reduce its impact are to do the following:

The following links have more information on neck pain. Be aware that websites from other countries may have information that differs from New Zealand recommendations.

Neck pain(external link) Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
Neck pain(external link) Versus Arthritis, UK 
Neck pain(external link) Patient Info, UK
Acute neck pain – a guide to help your recovery(external link) NHS Trust, UK
Neck pain(external link) Mayo Clinic, US

Resources

Neck pain exercises [PDF, 157 KB] Arthritis Research UK
What is neck pain?(external link) Arthritis Research UK, 2013

Apps

Neck exercise apps

References

  1. Neck pain(external link) American College of Rheumatology
  2. Gross A, Forget M, St George K, et al. Patient education for neck pain(external link). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2012

Brochures

neck pain arthritis research uk

Neck pain exercises

Arthritis Research UK

neck pain arthritis research uk

What is neck pain?

Arthritis Research UK, 2013

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Credits: Healthify editorial team. Healthify is brought to you by Health Navigator Charitable Trust.

Reviewed by: Dr Ben Darlow, Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy Specialist Wellington, Associate Professor and researcher, Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice, University of Otago, Wellington

Last reviewed: