• Muscle strains. The overuse of neck such as too many hours hunched over your computer or smartphone often triggers muscle strains. Even minor things, such as reading in bed or gritting your teeth, can strain neck muscles.
• Worn joints. Neck joints tend to wear down with age. Osteoarthritis causes the cushions (cartilage) between your bones (vertebrae) to deteriorate.
• Nerve compression. Herniated disks or bone spurs in the vertebrae of your neck can press on the nerves branching out from the spinal cord.
• Injuries. When the head is jerked backward and then forward, in case of collisions, it strains the soft tissues of the neck.
• Diseases. Certain diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, meningitis or cancer, can cause neck pain.
