What to do for Sore Neck Muscles and What are Its Causes?

Sore Neck Muscles

Stiffness and soreness of the neck is known to be caused by irritation of the bone, ligaments or muscles in the neck area. Sudden neck motion while exerting or doing an activity can strain the neck and sore the muscles.

The sternocleidomastoid muscles are the particular ones that become affected by stiff neck.

These muscles control the flexing and rotation of the head and neck. The sclenus anterior muscle can also be affected by soreness. This specific muscle flexes and extends the neck. A person with sore neck muscles can experience discomfort and inconvenience.

The overuse or too much stress on the muscles close to the jaw is known to be the common reason for neck soreness and headache.

Sore Neck Muscles Causes

Neck muscles soreness is often attributed to neck or head injury. An individual can suffer from such condition because of jerking, abrupt head motion, carrying heavy objects, back injuries, improper position of the head when sleeping, and others.

In most instances, this is risk-free and should not cause alarm.

However, this can be an indication of a severe health dilemma and should not be disregarded. Sometime, neck muscles soreness can be a symptom of arthritis, fibromyalgia and cancer. Medical problems that have direct relation with sore neck muscles are:

• Headache and neck muscles soreness: When these two symptoms occur, they basically signify neck muscle condition. The neck muscles are connected to the bottom of the skull. Thus, when this part is strained it leads to headache.

• Sore throat and neck muscles soreness: These two can be indicative of many disorders such as meningitis and strep throat infection.

• Glands and neck muscles soreness: Inflammation of the lymph nodes means the presence of infection.

What to Do for Sore Neck Muscles

Proper evaluation and physical check up has to be done to pin point the cause of sore neck muscles in an individual. Treatment option would also depend upon the associated symptoms. If a particular ailment causes the soreness in the neck muscles, it should be treated to bring relief into the neck.

There are simple remedies one can do to ease soreness and stiffness on the neck muscles.

• Taking non-prescription drugs such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can help alleviate the pain and inflammation.

• Applying heated pads or warm compress can also provide relief from pain and discomfort. Some would opt for cold compress, which can also be effective.

• Massaging the affective area also helps to stretch the muscles and reduce the pain.