If you've woken up with a stiff neck, it may not be cause for alarm, but you might need to take a trip to the doctor's office if it's severe, persistent, recurring, or accompanied by other symptoms like fever or nausea. There are several potential causes, each with its own treatment. Here's what you should know about the most common possibilities.

When a Stiff Neck Means You Should Visit the Doctor's Office

1. Whiplash & Other Injuries

When your head snaps forward or to the side too quickly, the movement can injure muscles and ligaments that help support your head. The most obvious example is whiplash from a car accident, but this can also happen with sports injuries, falls, and so forth. It can take several days for the soreness to manifest, so you might not immediately connect your pain with the incident. A trip to the doctor's office can help confirm the cause, and they can also refer you to a physical therapist for quicker, more successful healing.

2. Arthritis

If your neck pain and stiffness is chronic, an inflammatory condition like arthritis may be the cause. This condition causes swelling around and between the bones in your neck, which limits their range of movement. You may need medication for the arthritis, and you might also need to get new bedding or change your sleeping position, especially if your stiffness is most severe in the morning.

3. Meningitis

This condition involves swelling of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord. Neck stiffness is often accompanied by headaches, fever, nausea, confusion, body and limb aches, cold hands and feet, paleness, rashes, or sensitivity to light. Meningitis is potentially deadly within hours, so you should get to the hospital immediately if you experience neck stiffness with any of these other symptoms.

If you need to visit a doctor's office to determine the cause of your stiff neck or get physical therapy for an injury, visit Savoy Medical Center in Mamou, LA. With five locations in Mamou, Basile, and Ville Platte, they have decades of experience providing health care and rehabilitation services, as well as focusing on oncology. Call (337) 468-5261 to make an appointment, or visit their website today.