There can be many reasons why you have neck pain, from inflammatory diseases like arthritis to injuries like whiplash. But imagine one day, while you browse the internet, you stumble upon a fellow netizen asking, "Is it normal for my neck to hurt after drinking coffee?" Then you look down at your cup and start to wonder, "Can coffee really cause neck pain?"
A lot of people depend on their daily dose of caffeine to get through their daily grind, 93% of Americans, in fact. So the thought of having to let go of coffee can be devastating. But fear not; we've scoured countless journals to help you have a worry-free cup of coffee.
So buckle up, because there's a lot to unpack.
Why Does My Neck Hurt After I Drink Coffee?
There are many possible reasons why coffee may cause neck pain. Some of these reasons may cause immediate pain, while others may be felt after drinking large amounts of caffeine for a long time.
For example, if you suffer from GERD, coffee may actually worsen your symptoms, such as heartburn and neck pain. According to a study, drinking caffeinated drinks, such as coffee, tea, or soda, is linked to an increased risk for GERD symptoms. This risk is greater the more you drink caffeine.
Researchers believe that coffee may weaken the sphincter between your stomach and esophagus. It can also make the contents of your stomach more acidic. These can result in you having more episodes of acid reflux, leading to heartburn and burning neck pain.
Can Caffeine Make Your Neck Hurt?
Well, to tell you the truth, there is really no straightforward answer to this question. The subject of caffeine and pain has left researchers in a bind, and the amount of conflicting information is enough to really cause you neck pain.
However, there is some evidence that large doses of caffeine can indeed cause neck pain. Some studies suggest that caffeine has effects on the body that may cause your neck to hurt. These can include effects on stress levels, inflammation, and bone formation.
Take note: most of these studies use doses of caffeine way above what you normally drink. According to the FDA, as long as you don't exceed 400 milligrams of coffee a day (around four to five cups), then you're perfectly fine.
It is also important to consider that a lot of us rarely drink coffee alone. Most of the time, we add sugar and creamer to liven up our coffee drinks, and these ingredients may also be the culprit of your neck pain.
Can Too Much Caffeine Cause Muscle Tension?
Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, which means it can stimulate the brain and causes it to work faster. This can be a good thing for your brain. But if you're suffering from pain in your neck and shoulders, it may not be so great.
Caffeine can increase your stress hormones, cortisol, and catecholamines. These hormones may be the reason why we feel alert after drinking coffee. But they can also cause your neck muscles to tense up more, which may lead to a common form of neck pain called mechanical neck pain.
Caffeine can also worsen anxiety and panic disorder. Now, this doesn't mean that coffee causes anxiety; rather, it can increase your likelihood of having panic or anxiety attacks. Aside from causing muscle tension, anxiety is actually a risk factor for neck pain.
Can Caffeine Cause Bone And Joint Pain?
Another possible reason why your daily cup of coffee can cause neck pain could be due to its effects on your cartilage and bones. Cartilage is the flexible tissue that protects your bones and joints.
A study suggests caffeine can decrease cartilage production, making you more susceptible to osteoarthritis. When osteoarthritis affects the neck, it can cause the bones and joints of your neck to break down, resulting in neck pain and stiffness.
Caffeine can also be a double-edged sword in people with gout. Gout is very relevant in this conversation of ours because it can also cause neck pain. Gout happens when uric acid, a natural waste product of our body, turns into crystals and settles down in our bones and joints, causing pain.
In one study, people who drank one or more cups of coffee a day had lesser levels of uric acid. However, this reduction in uric acid levels may initially worsen your pain. This is because caffeine can act like allopurinol, the drug used to treat gout.
“When people first start taking allopurinol, they have an increased risk of gout attacks as the uric acid is mobilized from body tissues. Over time, taking allopurinol consistently decreases the uric acid sufficiently such that attacks no longer occur.”
– Dr.Tuhina Neogi, associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at the Boston University School of Medicine.
In Dr.Neogi’s study, people who drank coffee regularly had fewer episodes of gout attacks.
Can Caffeine Cause Inflammation?
Aside from increasing your risk for arthritis and muscle tension, caffeine can also have other effects on your body that can lead to neck pain.
Remember how it increases the levels of your stress hormones? It turns out that aside from causing your muscles to tense up, too many stress hormones can also cause inflammation, which may result in neck pain.
Another example would be decreased sleep. We know that caffeine can energize you and, in some cases, give you a hard time sleeping. Well, this can actually cause pain or make your neck pain worse.
This might be because a lack of sleep may stop your nervous system from regulating pain properly. It may also increase inflammation all over your body. Dr. Yvonne Lee, a rheumatologist at Northwestern Medicine, says:
“Studies in healthy individuals have found that sleep deprivation is associated with an increase in inflammatory markers measured in the blood. It is possible that an acute inflammatory response to sleep deprivation could lead to more long-term problems."
Arthritis Pain at Night: Sleeping with Arthritis | Arthritis Foundation
A study also suggests that some people may be hypersensitive to caffeine, causing an inflammatory reaction. This increased sensitivity to caffeine may be due to slow caffeine metabolism, meaning that your body can’t break it down fast enough.
If you are a slow metabolizer of caffeine (no thanks to genetics), then you are more likely to develop inflammation due to its effects on your body. You are also more at risk of heart diseases like heart attacks.
While coffee is the main source of caffeine in our diet, caffeine is not the only compound found in our favorite drink. Coffee may have other compounds that can have both positive and negative effects in people who are not sensitive to caffeine.
Can Coffee Cause Inflammation?
Brace yourselves, because this is where things get really interesting (and a tad bit confusing). Several studies have linked caffeine to inflammatory diseases, especially rheumatoid arthritis.
Studies suggest that drinking excess coffee can increase your risk for rheumatoid arthritis. And guess what? Neck pain can be a main symptom of rheumatoid arthritis.
In one study, participants who drank 4 or more cups of coffee a day doubled their risk compared to those who didn’t. Meanwhile, those who drank more than 10 cups a day were 15 times more likely to develop “rheumatoid factor.” Rheumatoid factor is a protein that has a great role in the development of rheumatoid arthritis.
Researchers aren’t sure if the caffeine in coffee is the main culprit, though. In another study, women who drank 4 or more cups of decaffeinated coffee still had an increased risk for rheumatoid arthritis.
Coffee also has compounds called diterpenoids. Diterpenoids are chemicals commonly found in plants that can have both anti-inflammatory and inflammatory effects (nature’s slogan: “keeping humans confused and on their toes since antiquity”). Coffee has two diterpenoids, cafestol, and kahweol, that can increase your LDL cholesterol or “bad” cholesterol.
LDL cholesterol may increase inflammation and also deposit in your blood vessels. This puts you more at risk for developing hypertension and other forms of heart disease.
But wait! Don't throw away the coffee beans yet! While those studies say coffee can cause inflammation, there are also a number of studies that say otherwise. In fact, some studies suggest that coffee can actually protect you from rheumatoid arthritis.
Can Coffee Help with Inflammation?
Coffee can act as a powerful antioxidant and can have anti-inflammatory effects. Although cafestol and kahweol may increase your bad cholesterol, they may also help reduce inflammation. They may even help prevent cancer.
Aside from diterpenoids, coffee also contains a large amount of compounds called polyphenols. Polyphenols are chemicals we usually get from plants and are responsible for coffee’s anti-inflammatory effects. These polyphenols help fight off other chemicals that damage our cells and tissues.
One of the main polyphenols found in coffee is chlorogenic acid. It’s responsible for coffee’s unique taste and also for its anti-inflammatory effects. It may help decrease inflammatory markers, protect you from conditions like heart disease.
In multiple studies, people who drank coffee had lower levels of inflammatory markers. Inflammatory markers are proteins in our blood that indicate inflammation. These include cytokines, chemokines, and certain growth factors. According to a study, the more you drink coffee, the greater the reduction in these proteins.
In one study, people who drank 4-8 cups of coffee daily for a month had a reduction in inflammatory marks by up to 8-16%. And when they were asked to stop drinking coffee for another month, their inflammatory markers went up by 6%. This reduction of inflammation may help ease neck pain caused by certain diseases.
What About Decaffeinated Coffee?
If you prefer your coffee decaffeinated, then you will be pleased to hear that decaffeinated coffee offers the same anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects as regular coffee - but without the additional effects of caffeine.
Can Coffee And Caffeine Help Ease Neck Pain?
While older studies point to caffeine as a possible cause of neck pain and other health problems, recent studies say otherwise.
Newer studies have strong evidence that suggests caffeine can have an analgesic effect. This means it can actually relieve pain, not cause it. In fact, in one study, office workers who downed a cup of coffee before they started working developed less neck pain after finishing their tasks. At the end of the task, those who drank coffee reported less intense neck pain compared to the non-coffee drinkers.
While more research on the effects of caffeine on reducing neck pain is needed, the study suggests coffee may be a helpful way of easing pain. So, if you're struggling with neck pain, give coffee a try.
The researchers believe caffeine may help ease neck pain by blocking the receptors that influence pain. When these receptors are blocked, you may start to feel relaxed, which may help ease tension in your neck muscles. Dopamine is also released once these receptors are blocked, and may help ease the pain. Aside from caffeine, other compounds in coffee may also help relieve your neck pain by fighting inflammation.
Can Coffee Withdrawals Cause Neck Pain?
Yes, coffee withdrawals can also cause neck pain. This is because caffeine withdrawals can also cause your muscles to tense up, which may result in neck pain.
Caffeine withdrawals may also cause neck pain by triggering severe headaches like a migraine. When you drink coffee, the caffeine can cause your blood vessels to tighten, reducing blood flow. When you suddenly stop drinking coffee, this results in a rebound effect, and your blood vessels widen, causing a rush of blood. This process may be seen in migraines.
So how does neck pain play into this? Well, the nerves involved in a migraine also run down your neck. When you experience a migraine attack, it’s common to also feel neck pain. If you want to learn more about the relationship between migraines and neck pain, we have an in-depth article here.
Takeaway
The relationship between caffeine and neck pain is a complicated one. While some studies suggest coffee can indeed cause neck pain, numerous studies say otherwise.
You are safe from any negative effects if you don't drink excessive coffee. It's also important to consider that other components of coffee drinks (we're looking at you, sugar!) can also be the culprit of your neck pain.
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