Neck Pain
Neck pain is a common problem, with two-thirds of the population having neck pain at some point in their lives. Neck pain is also loosely referred to as cervical pain. Neck pain affects about 5% population and is more common in women than men. About one-half of episodes resolve within one year but remaining patients continue to suffer pain and associated disability.
Common causes of neck pain
Muscular Pain
Overuse and poor posture , such as too many hours hunched over a steering wheel, laptops, mobile phones and other electronic gadgets often triggers muscle strains. Even such minor things as reading in bed or gritting your teeth can strain neck muscles.
Arthritis in Joints
Just like all the other joints in your body, neck joints tend to undergo wear and tear with age, which can cause osteoarthritis in the neck.
Nerve Root compression
Herniated disks or bone osteophytes (abnormal growth) in the vertebrae of the neck can take up too much space and press on the nerves branching out from the spinal cord. Patient also feel pain in his arm or hand also with tingling or numbness.
Injuries
Rear-end automobile collisions often result in whiplash injuries, which occur when the head is jerked backward and then forward, stretching the soft tissues of the neck beyond their limits.
Diseases
Neck pain can sometimes be caused by diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculosis, meningitis or cancer Neck pain can also come from conditions directly affecting the muscles of the neck, such as fibromyalgia
When to seek medical advice
In case of injury, one should seek medical advice immediately without any delay. If there has not been an injury, you should seek medical care when neck pain becomes:
- Continuous and persistent pain
- Severe pain
- Accompanied by pain that radiates down the arms or legs
- Accompanied by headaches, numbness, tingling or weakness
Neck Pain Treatment Options
Acute neck pain
Home treatment includes applying heat or ice and using over-the-counter pain relievers. If these modalities don’t show effect, the patient should rush to a pain physician for further detailed evaluation.
Chronic neck pain
If the pain persists or becomes long standing pain then one should not waste any more time and contact a pain physician directly. The treatment options are defined by the exact cause of such a pain. The various options that are available
Physical therapy
Ultrasonic, Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, High Intensity LASER. Along with these neck strengthening exercises are performed. No exercises should be performed in acute painful conditions.
Pharmacotherapy
This includes a combination of medicines, safe pain killers, muscle relaxants and other drugs which are given depending on the exact cause of pain.
Cervical Epidural Procedure
Cervical epidural neuroplasty is a interventional procedures which is minimal invasive and very low risk involve.
- Cervical epidural procedure done for patients who is suffering from the neck pain with radicular pain in either one of the arm and hand with tinging and numbness. Pain occurs due to disc prolapsed from cervical spine and causing the compression of nerve root.
- This procedure done in Local Anesthesia under Live x-ray guidance. We inject anti inflammatory medicine in cervical epidural space which reduce pain and inflammation around nerve root.
- Cervical epidural procedure are absolutely safe, effective and produce rapid recovery in almost all the patients except nerve root irritation produce by osteophytes or bone spurs.