Neck pain on the right side

Regardless of the lifestyle a person leads, we all sometimes feel pain in the neck on the right. Its nature can be varied, as well as the reasons for its occurrence. Such painful manifestations cannot be neglected, as they can signal various diseases. That is why a doctor's consultation will not be superfluous. It is worth observing what position you sleep in and whether your pillow is orthopedic.

Neck pain is often accompanied by stiffness of its mobility - this also occurs as a result of the above-described reasons. Can such pain in the neck on the right go away on its own? In most cases, this is what happens, especially if you help the muscles relax and increase the blood flow to the painful area. A hot shower will help with this. But if the pain in the neck on the right causes you severe discomfort, there is no point in waiting - go to see a doctor.

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Causes right neck pain

Pain in the neck on the right can be quite harmless, but, unfortunately, it can also serve as a signal of the development of complex diseases in the body:

1. Herniated disc (usually occurs in the lower cervical spine).
2. Osteoarthritis (damage to the intervertebral joints causes pain that may be more localized on the right side of the neck).
3. Osteochondrosis (severe pain, often also felt in the arm).
4. Muscle spasm (most often occurs as a result of overexertion, hypothermia of the cervical spine, incorrect sleeping position, lifting heavy objects, carrying heavy objects for a long time).
5. Spinal stenosis (leads to damage to the spinal cord, which is not always reflected in pain, but often leads to numbness in the limbs, disruption of the pelvic organs, and general weakness).

In addition, many diseases can cause some kind of pain on the right side of the neck. Here are the most common ones:

• Brain tumors.
• Tumor of the cervical spine (in most cases, these are metastases from cancer of other organs: prostate, breast, lung, kidney, thyroid, melanoma; If pain in the cervical spine bothers a person throughout the day, is long-term and persistent, a tumor can be excluded).
• Meningitis (inflammation of the membranes of the brain causes pain in the cervical region, especially when trying to tilt the head forward).
• Retropharyngeal abscess.
• Viral parotitis (in other words, “mumps”: during the disease, the lymph node on the left or right side of the neck, sometimes on both sides, becomes inflamed and enlarged, which leads to severe pain, especially when swallowing).
• Acute thyroiditis (the disease is quite rare, cases of purulent thyroiditis are known).
• Tuberculosis.
• Osteomyelitis, etc.

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Prevention

There is no need to panic right away if you woke up in the morning and felt pain in the right side of your neck. In this case, most likely, the pillow you use for sleeping is not suitable, you took an uncomfortable position at night, or you were unlucky enough to be in an inappropriate place the day before, and a banal draft was to blame. Also, it is worth remembering whether you have recently lifted heavy objects with your right hand, perhaps carried something heavy in this hand for a long time. Perhaps there was a sharp and unexpected turn of the neck (often happens in various types of car accidents).

Pain in the right side of the neck may also be accompanied by limited ability to turn the head, nausea and dizziness. If it does not go away on its own, then a course of manual therapy will definitely ease your condition. Try to avoid drafts, do not overstrain your right hand while working at the computer. If the pain in the neck on the right does not go away for a long time, and also causes you inconvenience and discomfort, you need to seek help from a qualified specialist. Depending on the causes of such pain, you may need to consult a traumatologist, rheumatologist, neurologist or oncologist.

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