Stabbing in the neck

Neck piercing - stabbing in the neck

Neck pain and neck stabbing (stinging in the neck) count as well as neck tension and a stiff neck or stiff neck in this country to the relatively widespread complaints. As one of the main causes of the increased occurrence of problems in the neck area, especially the unfavorable posture in office work or working on the PC is evaluated.

contents

• Neck piercing - stabbing in the neck
• Quick help with piercing neck pain
• definition
• symptoms
• causes
• diagnosis
• Treatment for neck piercing

Quick help with piercing neck pain

If sharp neck pain occurs, heat treatment can help. Place a hot water bottle or a cherry stone cushion on the painful area or place a red light lamp on it. A thermal paving, for example, can keep the painful area warm during work. If the symptoms do not ease or even get worse, the heat treatment should be stopped immediately and a doctor should be interviewed.

The stinging pain in the neck often appears in a flash of certain head movements and disappears when the head returns to the starting position. (Image: Christian Schulz / fotolia.com)

Very often, those affected take restraint to avoid pain. This does not contribute to healing. On the contrary - the aching tension or the pinched nerve is maintained and by restoring it can be added to other ailments elsewhere. Try to move as normal as possible despite the pain. Also, long sitting and lying times are not conducive. Try to relieve the pain with a walk rather than lie down in bed or on the couch during the day.

definition

Neck stabbing refers to a sudden pain in the neck, which occurs in certain movements of the shoulders or the head. The stinging in the neck is by no means to be equated with the broader term "neck pain", since the latter also includes prolonged pain in the resting state. The term "neck piercing" is here clearly narrower and describes only the movement pain in the neck area.

symptoms

The stinging in the neck is perceived as a sudden stabbing pain in the neck area during movements of the shoulders or twists or inclinations of the head. As a rule, the pain disappears immediately when the starting position is taken again. If the movement is repeated, the symptoms often recur. As an acute complaint, the neck piercing may occur during certain movements over several days. If this is the case over a longer period of time, it is referred to as chronic neck stabbing. As accompanying symptoms are different complaints possible, which are also related to the neck muscles.

Possible concomitant complaints

Pressing strained neck muscles on surrounding fascia, blood vessels or nerve tracts, this often leads to concomitant symptoms such as shoulder blade pain, upper arm pain and sensory or sensory disorders (tingling in the limbs, falling asleep, numbness on the head). Also, headaches on the back of the head are more often associated with the neck piercing here. In addition, there are sometimes nonspecific symptoms such as dizziness or general headaches.

Misbehavings, which, for example, creep up quickly when working in an office, promote the occurrence of stinging pain in the neck. (Image: Racle Fotodesign / fotolia.com)

causes

In most cases, the neck piercing is based on muscle tension and hardening, especially the so-called trapezius muscle (trapezius muscle), which extends from the thoracic spine to the shoulder and the back of the head. In unfavorable posture of the trapezius muscle is continuously loaded and strained. This can also affect other muscles in the neck area, which are burdened for example by a forward tilted head posture when working on the computer. The affected muscles hurt when moving and can no longer perform the usual functions. Also, the hardened muscles sometimes press on the surrounding connective tissue structures, blood vessels and nerve tracts, which may cause the accompanying symptoms already mentioned.

Pinched nerve as a cause

In particular, when a nerve is pinched, such as the occipital nerve major at the back of the head, in addition to the neck piercing often drawing pain in other body regions are observed. Such complaints can be caused directly by the direct irritation or inflammation of the nerve, but also indirectly by the irritation of the surrounding musculature. Frequently cramped muscles press on the nerve and create a pressure pain in certain movements. A pinched nerve is often accompanied by discomfort such as tingling, numbness and sensory disturbances. The following factors favor the appearance of a pinched nerve:

• Lengthy one-sided loads,
• long periods of sitting,
• constant bad posture,
• Signs of wear in the spine,
• incorrect lifting and carrying of loads,
• wrong movements during sports,
• Accidents or falls,
• bone fractures.

Neck tensions and pinched nerves can often be controlled by massages and physiotherapy. (Image: Hetizia / fotolia.com)

diagnosis

On the basis of a description of the symptoms, it usually becomes clear relatively quickly whether there is a functional impairment and which muscles or nerves may be affected. The palpation of the neck area provides further important information for the diagnosis. Thus, the neck muscles appear noticeably hardened and under certain circumstances, local thickening can be felt. By means of a certain movement test, the diagnosis can be further restricted.

Treatment for neck piercing

The conventional treatment initially provides a relaxation of the musculature by means of medical massages and additionally uses the possibilities of physiotherapy, not least to avoid a recurrence of the symptoms. Depending on the intensity of the pain, analgesics are prescribed or, in particularly bad cases, injected directly into the muscle.

Naturopathic treatment

Naturopathy offers treatment options with the manual procedures of osteopathy, chiropractic and the Rolfing, which in turn are quite promising, especially in the case of recurrent neck problems. In addition, the overall statics and stress distribution in the body are taken into account beyond the affected body region. Accompanying symptoms that may be related to the stinging sensation, such as chest pain or back pain, are integrated into both the diagnosis and the treatment.

In addition to the treatment can be tried by means of homeopathic remedies such as Arnica or Bryonia and Schüßler salts, to contribute to the relaxation of the muscles.

Osteopathy treatment of the neck. Stinging is usually a sign of nerve pain. (Image: Dan Race / fotolia.com)

Lower mental stress

As in natural medicine, a connection between neck tension and mental stress is seen, various techniques for relaxation and stress reduction are often part of the therapy. In particular, the so-called progressive muscle relaxation, which causes a relaxation of the musculature and at the same time unfolds a psychic relaxing effect, is increasingly used here. But other relaxation methods, such as yoga or autogenic training are more often part of the naturopathic therapy for neck piercing. (fp, vb; updated January 31, 2019)