Most chronic neck pain can be treated at home. However, there are some neck pain red flags that indicate that you need to see a medical doctor. These include:

• You've been in an auto or other severe accident and your neck hurts.
• You've been experiencing severe neck pain of any kind for more than 6 weeks, and it's not getting better.
• You're experiencing severe neck pain along with any of the following symptoms:

  Numbness or tingling in the arm, weakness in the arm or hand, atrophy of the hand muscles, loss of sensation in the arm or hand

  Incidents of notable dizziness/nausea.

  Weight loss

  Unexplained fever or chills

  A severe headache, fever, and inability to bend your head forward

  A severe, rapid-onset headache

  A gradual increase in symptoms including extreme morning stiffness, pain in various joints, rashes, digestive difficulties, urethral discharge, eye irritation, especially before age 40.

  You generally aren't feeling well.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, please call your medical doctor for an evaluation prior to seeking other kinds of treatments.

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