This is true sometimes, however, it usually returns. The scary thing is that when it does return, it’s usually worse. The reason is that the underlying problem that caused your pain is still there.
Let’s say that a spinal shift has caused an irritation to your C5 disc. The inflammation created from the injury put unwanted pressure on the C5 and C6 nerve levels. This caused neck pain and some shoulder area irritation. Within a few days and some ibuprofen it seemed to go away and you were pain-free.
This can happen, most likely because the inflammation went down (we’re talking about internal inflammation, not necessarily visible swelling), nerve pressure released, and pain went away. However, you may still have a certain degree of spinal shift, maybe a disc that is more susceptible to injury, and maybe muscle tissue that is still strained.
Without correcting the posture or misalignment, one quick and unexpected turn, or one night sleeping in an awkward position may retrigger the pain.
The best thing to do is to take action right away to fix the problem so that it doesn’t just come back again.
additional reading:
- Neck Exercises
- Anatomy of Your Neck and the Neck Muscles
- Neck Pain Relief Kit
- Which Neck Pillow is Right for My Needs
- -Common Neck Conditions and the Nerve Level that Controls Them-
