What Commonly Causes Neck Pain?
Neck pain is most likely to come from damage to muscles, bones, ligaments, tendons, and nerves in your cervical spine (the vertebrae that make up your neck). The most common reasons for neck pain are:
- Muscle strains
- Herniated discs
- Whiplash injuries
- Osteoarthritis
- Bone spurs
- Osteoporosis
- Muscle tension due to stress
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Cervical spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal)
- Degenerative disc disease
- Cervical radiculopathy (pinched nerves)
Cervical radiculopathy occurs when bone or tissue presses on or pinches one or more nerves in your neck. It often results from other conditions such as herniated discs or bone spurs and can cause problems like numbness in your arms and hands or unpleasant tingling, prickling, or burning sensations.
How Is Neck Pain Diagnosed?
Diagnosing neck pain requires a physical examination, during which your Louisiana Pain Specialists provider observes how well your neck functions and what problems you have.
After reviewing your medical history and current symptoms, they may order further tests to confirm a diagnosis or get more information.
Tests for neck pain may include X-rays, a CT scan, or an MRI. In addition, if your provider suspects you have cervical radiculopathy, they might need to see the results of electromyography (EMG), and nerve conduction velocity (NCV) tests to assess your nerve function.
What Treatments Can Help With Neck Pain?
You can take steps to look after your neck by thinking about your posture and avoiding activities or positions that overstrain your neck.
You should avoid activities that worsen your neck pain. Pain-killing and anti-inflammatory medications can ease your immediate discomfort, and hot and cold compresses can also offer pain relief.
If your neck pain is severe or persists for more than a few days, Louisiana Pain Specialists offers a range of advanced treatments, including:
- Physical therapy
- Prescription painkillers
- Trigger point injections
- Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy
- Epidural steroid injections
- Facet joint injections
- Radiofrequency ablation
- Spinal cord stimulation
- For most patients, a personalized program consisting of the least invasive treatments is usually highly effective.
A small number of people have such persistent or severe neck pain that they require treatments like radiofrequency ablation or spinal cord stimulation. These are minimally invasive procedures that offer an alternative to invasive surgery.