Most of the time, neck pain is not just confined to the neck area but often gets extended to the shoulders and arms. When this pain is radiated to the back of the head, it is even worse. Your neck muscles turn sore and stiffen up and at the same time you get a heavy feeling in the head. Thus movement of the head and neck becomes a painful affair and is very difficult to deal with. Head and neck pain is either acute or chronic. An acute pain lasts for a few hours to few days, while a chronic problem persists for several weeks. Common Causes In general, it has been found that the real cause of neck pain and headaches lies with the neck joint. This happens because the neck muscles are attached with the base of the skull and nerves in the neck are also connected to the head. Thus the pain in the neck readily gets referred to the head through these structural components. The causes of an acute pain in head and neck is often related to some kind of injury or infection. On the other hand, a chronic pain is usually a symptom of major underlying health disorder. A few of the commonly found causes are listed below:

• Poor posture. When you are sitting for several hours in forward head posture along with rounded back, it puts a lot of pressure on the cervical spine and causes a lot of pain. This is one of the most common reasons behind head and neck pain as many people spend hours sitting in this incorrect posture while working in computers. Wrong sleeping position can also give rise to this problem.
• Traumatic injury to the neck or head. If the neck and base of skull receives severe blow directly during any automobile accidents or bad fall, then pain can be felt in both the neck and head.
• Strain or sprain in the neck muscles. This mostly occurs when the muscles are overused due to twisting or turning of the neck repeatedly.
• Mental stress. When your mind is under stress, the body muscles tend to become taut and it affects the neck muscles too. The tension in the neck muscles give rise to the painful symptoms.
• When you are dealing with a sinus infection, neck pain often accompanies the sinus headache.
• It can be a symptom of meningitis. It is a serious bacterial infection that causes inflammation in the tissues around the brain and spinal cord. Here the pain is accompanied by high fever, excessive neck stiffness and nausea.
• Neck Arthritis. Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are the two forms of arthritis that mostly affect the neck joint. Osteoarthritis in neck is also known as cervical spondylosis where the vertebrae wears out and its damaged portion presses the nerve roots and the resulting pain can be felt in the neck and back of the head. Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory condition due to which part of the cervical vertebra moves out of its position and one or more of the neck and scalp nerves get pressed.
• Slipped disc in neck. In this condition, the cartilage disc in between the bony segments of the spinal column is ruptured and its gel content protrudes out and presses the nerve and soft tissues in the area.
• A migraine headache is characterized by a pain in the front or one side of the head and is often accompanied by stiffness and tingling sensation in the neck.

Treatment Before the start of the treatment, doctors first determine the cause with the help of X-rays, CT scan and MRI scan. Then they help the patient to get rid of the pain. Anti-inflammatory medicines are prescribed to reduce the pain and inflammation. Application of ice and heat alternately to the neck area gives a lot of relief from the painful symptoms. A light massage of the neck muscles help to release the tension from the muscles and alleviates the pain and discomfort. As the pain subsides a bit, doctors recommend mild neck stretching exercises that can relax the neck muscles. However, activities that involve vigorous movements like running, jogging, weightlifting should be suspended for the time being. If it is an indication of some underlying health problem, then it has to be treated in order to get relief from the pain. Meningitis is a bacterial infection and is treated with suitable antibiotics. For sinus infection, decongestants, antihistamines and antibiotics are prescribed. In some cases of neck arthritis, if the doctors feel that the neck movements should be restricted, they recommend use of neck collars so that the damaged tissue gets the scope to heal up. If you experience such pain quite frequently, it is essential that you keep your mind stress free. This is because whatever be the head and neck pain causes, it tends to get aggravated in stressful condition. Doctors may suggest use of orthopedic mattress and pillow for sleeping. An alternative solution is sleeping on a firm mattress without a pillow.