Our sedentary lifestyle, sitting postures, working life, injuries and more – the reasons for neck pain are endless. The neck pain may stiffen you neck and restrict you from moving the head. If it stays for long with you see a neck pain specialist. Here are diagnosis and treatment process. Neck pain can be debilitating and it can put you down to do the daily chores or even to move your head as you want.
Imaging tests
Your doctor may recommend imaging tests to get the reasons of the neck pain better. Examples include:
- X-rays help in exploring the areas where you have pinched nerve or spinal cord by the bone spurs or different degenerative changes.
- CT scans has the combination of the x-ray images that are takes from different directions and it produces cross sectional pictures in details to get a picture of the internal structure.
- The MRI process uses the radio waves as well as a magnetic field for creating detailed bone and the tissue images as well as the nerves and the spinal cord.
Therapy
Physical Therapy
A physiotherapist or neck and back doctor can teach the right posture, the alignment and the exercises for neck strengthening to help you avoid recurring problems by using heat, ice, electric stimulation and more actions.
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
The electrodes placed on the skin near the suffering areas provide small, pain-relieving electrical impulses.
Traction
Traction puts weight on your neck using pulley or often an air bladder to stretch the neck gently. This treatment may give relief from certain neck pain, especially the pain associated with nerve root irritation, under the supervision of a medical and physical therapist.
Short Term Immobilization
It uses a soft neck or collar to support and relieve pain by removing pressure off your neck. Though, a collar can do more harm than good when used for over 3 hours at a stretch or for more than 1 to 2 weeks.
Massage
A massage can alleviate muscle tension and spasms, decrease pain and help relax. Some people can like the massage of themselves or a volunteer friend or partner, while others can be relieved by a trained professional massage.
Therapeutic Injection Procedures
Certain injections of the cervical spine may help relieve neck pain.
Epidural injection of the cervical steroid - Cortisone steroid is injected into the cervical epidural area, the outer layer of the spinal canal with contrast-improved fluoroscopy (x-ray guidance). The aim is to reduce inflammation of the nearby roots and tissues of the nerves, most commonly due to herniated disc.
RFA or Radiofrequency Ablation - If the confirmed pain source is a facet joint, RFA can be taken into account. A special needle is placed near the sensory nerve of the face joint by means of fluoroscopy to produce a heat lesion that prevents signals of pain from coming into the brain. RFA provides usually longer-term relief. One study found that 3 years after RFA, about 30% of patients still had relief.
See us at Neuroscience Specialist for neck and pain specialist. Here we have the experienced neck and back doctors for your assistance.
**Disclaimer- Information presented here is not intended to be qualified medical advice. Nothing expressed herein creates a doctor-patient relationship.