A common cause of neck pain is the presence of a bulging intervertebral disc in the cervical spine. These discs are made up of a tough, fibrous, outer shell containing a gel-like substance inside that acts to absorb the shocks to the spine that occur on a daily basis. If the discs become damaged and weaken then the shell may not be able to contain the inner material as well as before, causing a bulge which may then lead to a herniation or rupture of the disc and the leaking of the gel from the disc into the surrounding area. Read more