Mechanical neck pain is widely understood to be pain around the neck region that does not arise from a specific trauma or pathology. It can come on suddenly, eg waking in the morning having ‘slept funny’ or more slowly over time. The pain can manifest as both dull pain or sharp sudden pains on certain movements. Some people experience this pain on one side of the neck, whereas others describe it as affecting the whole neck and even spreading to the head or shoulder region.

Most people recover well from mechanical neck pain, particularly once they start to regain their normal movements. For some they improve quickly, within a few days, and may just take some simple pain relief or apply heat to the area. Others can require help and this type of complaint tends to respond very well to manual therapy from a clinician such as a physiotherapist (eg massage, manipulation) and specific exercises.