Neck Pain Specialist

Neck Pain Q & A

Why is my neck susceptible to injury?

Your neck is more flexible than the rest of your spine, but it’s also less well protected, so injury to the tissues in the neck and wear-and-tear conditions are a common problem.

Your neck is a complex combination of vertebrae, spinal discs that cushion the vertebrae, ligaments that attach the bones together, nerves, and muscles. These components all work in harmony to enable you to move your neck and head up, down, and around, but damage to any of these structures can restrict your ability to move and cause severe pain.

What conditions cause neck pain?

Although some systemic diseases and infections can cause neck pain, most often the pain is musculoskeletal and due to injury or tissue degeneration. Conditions that commonly cause neck pain include:

• Ligament injuries
• Spondylosis
• Herniated discs
• Muscle strains
• Whiplash injuries
• Osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Cervical radiculopathy (pinched nerve)

If you injure your neck severely in a motor vehicle accident, sporting incident, or fall, it’s best to stay still until emergency help arrives to prevent serious spinal damage and possible paralysis.

Diagnostic imaging tests, including X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, and diagnostic spinal injections help your physician at Orthopedic Specialists to determine the cause of the pain, enabling them to prescribe the most appropriate treatment.

How is neck pain treated?

Once they’ve reached a diagnosis, your physician can recommend the treatment most likely to relieve your discomfort and heal the damage in your neck. Potential treatments include:

• Pain relief medication
• Muscle relaxants
• Tricyclic antidepressants for pain relief
• Short-term use of a soft collar
• Physical therapy
• Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
• Traction
• Trigger point injections
• Epidural steroid injections
• Selective nerve root blocks
• Facet joint injections
• Radiofrequency ablation

These approaches most often result in relief of symptoms and return of mobility, but if they don’t, the team at Orthopedic Specialists includes highly qualified surgeons who excel at carrying out procedures to treat neck pain, including cervical laminectomy, diskectomy, spinal fusion, and artificial disc replacement.

Call Orthopedic Specialists or schedule an appointment online today to learn more about the most advanced neck pain treatments available.