Neck Pain or Stiffness

When To Call

Call 911 Now

• Pain starts after a major injury such as with contact sports or car crash
• Not moving or too weak to stand
• You think your child has a life-threatening emergency

Go to ER Now

• Fever and stiff neck (can't move neck normally)
• Headache with fever
• Numbness, tingling or pain in arms, upper back or legs
• Muscles in the arms or legs are weak (loss of strength)
• Not alert when awake ("out of it")
• Acts or talks confused

Call Doctor or Seek Care Now

• Pain started after a minor injury
• Severe pain
• Your child looks or acts very sick
• You think your child needs to be seen, and the problem is urgent

Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours

• Can't move neck normally and no fever
• Headache without fever
• Fever lasts more than 24 hours
• Age is less than 5 years old
• You think your child needs to be seen, but the problem is not urgent

Contact Doctor During Office Hours

• Cause of neck pain is not clear (no history of overuse)
• Neck pain (from lots of turning) lasts more than 2 weeks
• Neck pains are a frequent problem
• You have other questions or concerns

Self Care at Home

• Strained neck muscles (from turning or overuse) present less than 2 weeks

Care Advice

What You Should Know About Neck Pain:

• Most new neck pain is from stretching and turning the neck muscles too much. Muscle overuse causes strained neck muscles.
• Long periods of looking down is a common cause of neck pain. Seen mainly with texting or looking down at other mobile devices.
• When muscle pain starts without reason, it can be from sleeping in an awkward position.
• Here is some care advice that should help.

Pain Medicine:

• To help with the pain, give an acetaminophen product (such as Tylenol).
• Another choice is an ibuprofen product (such as Advil).
• Use as needed.

Cold Pack for Pain:

• During the first 2 days, use a cold pack or ice wrapped in a wet cloth.
• Put it on the sore muscles for 20 minutes.
• Repeat 4 times on the first day, then as needed.
• Reason: reduces pain and any spasm.
• Caution: avoid frostbite.

Use Heat After 48 Hours:

• If pain lasts over 2 days, put heat on the sore muscle.
• Use a heat pack, heating pad or warm wet washcloth.
• Do this for 10 minutes, then as needed.
• Reason: increase blood flow and improve healing.
• Caution: avoid burns.

Sleep Position:

• Sleep on the back or side, not the stomach. Reason: sleeping face down puts stress on the neck muscles.
• Sleeping with a neck collar helps some people.
• Use a foam neck collar (from a drug store). If don't have one, wrap a small towel around the neck.
• Reason: keep the head from moving too much during sleep.

Activity:

• Protect the neck. Avoid any activity that increases the pain.
• Avoid any sports or work that increase the pain.
• After 48 hours, start a gentle stretching program.

Stretching Exercises:

• Do 3 minutes of gentle stretching exercises each day. Reason: improve the tone of the neck muscles.
• Touch the chin to each shoulder. Touch the ear to each shoulder. Move the head forward and backward.
• Don't apply any resistance during these stretching exercises.

What to Expect:

• New neck pain without a reason most often goes away in a few days.
• Neck pain from muscle overuse (strained neck muscles) goes away in 1 to 2 weeks.

Call Your Doctor If:

• Neck pain becomes severe
• Stiff neck occurs
• Pain starts to shoot into the arms, upper back or legs
• Pain lasts more than 2 weeks
• You think your child needs to be seen
• Your child becomes worse

Remember! Contact your doctor if you or your child develop any "Contact Your Doctor" symptoms.