In any given year, one of every five wrestlers will experience a neck injury of some kind, according to Core Performance. Half of those will experience another neck injury at some point. A sore neck sometimes can be a symptom of a serious injury, so it should always be given the appropriate medical attention as soon as the symptom is noticed.
Spinal Cord Injuries
A sore neck sometimes is just one of several symptoms that could indicate a dangerous spinal cord injury. If a sore neck is accompanied by numbness, pain or tingling in the arms or legs, there is a possibility of injury to the spine, and the injured person must not be moved until emergency workers can arrive to help. If there is no pain or numbness in the arms and legs, the sore neck might be a symptom of a neck strain or a neck sprain.
Strains and Sprains
A neck strain is caused by a pulled neck muscle, while a neck sprain is caused by an injured ligament. In either case, the wrestler should take a break until the pain goes away. Ice packs should be applied to the injured area up to four times a day for 15 or 20 minutes at a time for two to five days. After the two- to five-day period, apply damp and warm treatments to the area three or four times a day for 15 or 20 minutes each time. If pain continues for more than one to two weeks, the wrestler should visit a doctor and follow the doctor's advice.
Migraines
A sore neck sometimes can be a symptom of migraine or a post-traumatic headache. Wrestlers sometimes can experience migraines because of head trauma from sudden impact or because over-exertion during training. If neck pain is a symptom of a migraine, it usually will be accompanied by nausea, vomiting and an intense headache. In most cases, there will be a previous history of migraine headaches. Some post-traumatic headaches are not migraines but can still result in a sore neck. This type of headache can be caused by a sudden impact during a wrestling match.
Stingers and Burners
Stingers and burners are the same thing -- a sudden pain that shoots down from the neck all the way through the arm to the fingers; it feels like a jolt of electricity. A stinger is caused by a powerful impact against the shoulder and neck that suddenly compresses the nerves and gives off a painful electric shock. After the shock, the arm goes limp and sometimes can remain weak for a long time. Wrestlers can suffer this type of injury when they slam into each other during a match. A stinger can be distinguished from a spinal cord injury because the pain and weakness of a stinger usually impacts one arm, while a spine injury will impact both and sometimes the legs.
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