Is it a Warning Sign of a Dangerous Disease?
In most cases, neck pain is not triggered by a dangerous condition. In other cases, it can be due to a spinal cord injury, autoimmune disease, cancer, and other health problems that you should solve as soon as possible.
There are basically three red flags you should look for in case of neck pain:
- Very severe neck pain that does not improve or worsens progressively
- Neck pain that does not improve or keeps coming back after six weeks
- Neck pain that starts after trauma, such as collision injury or a sudden blow.
Additionally, you should be careful if you experience these additional signs and symptoms. If you have them, it will be a good idea to talk about it with your doctor:
- Pain that radiates to other parts of your spine
- Unexplained weight loss
- Very severe headaches that start all of a sudden
- High fever and changes in the consciousness
- Vomiting or constantly feeling dizzy
- Family history of autoimmune disease
You can also have neck pain without any likely explanation; sometimes, this unexplained pain goes away without any medication. It can be unpredictable and feel strange, but in most cases, there is nothing to worry about. Talk to your doctor if you suspect there’s more to it than a simple muscle tension problem or if the symptoms are very severe and interfere with your daily activities.