Neck Pain

What causes neck pain?

Most people experience neck pain at some point, often because of tension in the neck muscles or holding their head in an awkward position — hunched over a keyboard or falling asleep on the couch, for instance.

You can also suffer from acute neck pain if you injure yourself playing sports or in an accident at home or work. Rear-end automobile collisions frequently result in whiplash injuries, where your head moves forward and then backward with such violence that the soft tissues in your neck stretch and tear.

If you have chronic neck pain, it could be because an old injury hasn't healed properly, or you could have a condition such as degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, arthritis, or a herniated disc. 

These disorders are often a result of aging, wear-and-tear, and commonly result in one of the leading causes of neck pain, cervical radiculopathy.

How does cervical radiculopathy cause neck pain?

The cervical vertebrae are seven bones that make up the neck section of your spine. Inside your spine is the spinal cord; nerves exit the spinal cord through the vertebrae to all parts of your body. 

Cervical radiculopathy occurs when a misaligned, swollen, or otherwise abnormal structure within your spine presses on one or more of these nerves.

In addition to neck pain, cervical radiculopathy causes a variety of other sensations, from "pins-and-needles" or tingling to prickling or burning, and sometimes numbness. The pain and other symptoms extend down the pinched nerve, so they often affect your arms and hands as well as your neck.

How is neck pain treated?

Minor neck pain usually resolves by itself in a few days or with home care methods such as over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pain medications, ice or heat, rest, and gentle exercise. You might need to have physical therapy for moderate to severe neck pain.

If these methods aren't helping, Expert Pain offers a selection of advanced interventions that can address the cause of your neck pain. These include:

Cervical epidural steroid injections

The providers at Expert Care find that the intervention offering the most immediate relief from neck pain is a cervical epidural steroid injection. This treatment delivers powerful cortisone steroid medication and a local anesthetic into the cervical epidural space, calming nerve inflammation and reducing pain.

Nerve blocks

Nerve blocks are similar to epidural steroid injections, but your provider at Expert Care injects the drugs into the group of nerves causing your neck pain.

Neurostimulation

Neurostimulation devices like spinal cord stimulators send electrical signals to nerves in your spine, so your brain doesn't perceive their messages as pain. Expert Care specializes in using BurstDR™ and HF10 spinal cord stimulation methods.

Don't let neck pain stop you from living the life you want. Call Expert Care to find out about the cutting-edge treatments available, or book an appointment online today.