Common causes of neck pain
With so many muscles, ligaments, tendons, vertebra, and even your spinal cord running through the neck, there are a number of reasons why you might have pain. A common issue that the American Association of Neurological Surgeons mentions is degeneration of the discs in the cervical spine. Arthritis is another degenerative condition to that can affect the neck. Narrowing of the spinal cord or muscle inflammation are other common causes.
When the spinal cord narrows, there can be increased pressure on nerves that causes pain. Some common things that can narrow the spinal cord include disc herniations and bone spurs. Other risk factors include age, injury, or poor posture.
Problems with the nerves that run through the neck can cause issues in places all over the body (such as the organs), since most of the nerves in the spinal cord run through the neck. There are certain causes of neck pain that are less common, such as cancer and meningitis.
