According to the Sports Injury Clinic website, muscle pain in the back and neck is common, can be insidious or sudden in onset and can result from numerous factors. Muscle pain in the back and neck can range in severity from mild to marked, and it can negatively affect a person's activities of daily living. Health care professionals such as chiropractors, licensed massage therapists, physical therapists and acupuncturists treat muscle pain to speed healing and improve a patient's quality of life.
Trauma
Blunt force trauma or cervical acceleration or deceleration injuries can cause muscle pain in the back and neck. Blunt force trauma to the tissues of the back and neck can occur by accident or during athletic competition, such as boxing, mixed martial arts or wrestling. The trauma causes pain, swelling, inflammation and possibly bruising, and occasionally results in the formation of a soft tissue defect. According to a 2008 study by Margareta Nordin and colleagues published in the "European Spine Journal," CT scans are an appropriate diagnostic tool for high-risk patients who have suffered blunt trauma to the neck.
Cervical acceleration or deceleration injury, also known as whiplash, is another form of trauma that can cause muscle pain in the back and neck. According to the Sports Injury Clinic website, whiplash occurs following a rapid forward and backward motion of the head and neck, and typically it's caused by rear-end motor vehicle accidents. Pain and stiffness in the neck and back, although not necessarily felt immediately after the accident, usually manifest within 24 to 48 hours after the collision.
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
According to Len Kravitz, Ph.D., at the University of New Mexico, delayed onset muscle soreness is a painful and occasionally debilitating condition you feel in your muscles for one to three days after vigorous physical activity. Often confused with regular muscle pain and tightness, delayed onset muscle soreness is more severe and longer lasting. If a person has been living a sedentary lifestyle and suddenly decides to participate in vigorous exercise that recruits back and neck muscles, they'll likely experience some degree of delayed onset soreness post-activity. Even highly-trained athletes will occasionally experience delayed onset muscle soreness, especially if they're engaging in unfamiliar physical activities. Because sensations of pain or discomfort and a limited range of motion can impair athletic training and performance, prevention and treatment of delayed soreness is important to coaches, athletes, trainers and therapists.
Poor Posture
Poor posture can place a significant amount of strain on the muscles of the back and neck. According to the Cleveland Clinic--one of the top four hospitals in the United States--posture is the "position you adopt when you hold your body upright against gravity while standing, sitting or lying down." To develop and maintain good posture, a person must train their body to stand, walk, sit and lie in positions that place the least strain on their stabilizing muscles, tendons and ligaments. Maintaining good posture can help a person recruit their muscles properly, reduce abnormal joint wearing and arthritis, decrease stress on the spinal ligaments, prevent spinal fixations and excessive strain and reduce backache and muscular pain. Maintaining good posture is especially important for people performing repetitive work tasks, as workplace injuries, such as muscle strains, can be both physical and financially debilitating.
