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"Unlocking Relief: Effective Strategies for Easing Persistent Neck Pain"
Many people experience neck pain. It can result from straining the neck muscles by having a bad posture, such as leaning over a computer or hunching over a workbench. Another common cause of neck pain is osteoarthritis.
In rare cases, neck pain may indicate a more serious problem. If having neck pain along with numbness or weakness in the arms or hands, or if the pain radiates into a shoulder or down an arm, patient should seek medical attention.
Different causes of Neck Pain are:
The neck bears the weight of the head and is prone to injuries and conditions that can cause pain and limit movement. Some possible causes of neck pain are:
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Muscle strains: Spending too much time hunched over a computer or a smartphone can strain the neck muscles. Even simple things, such as reading in bed, can have the same effect.
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Worn joints: The neck joints, like other joints in the body, can wear out with age. This can lead to the formation of bone spurs that can interfere with joint motion and cause pain.
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Nerve compression: The nerves that branch out from the spinal cord can be compressed by herniated disks or bone spurs in the neck vertebrae.
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Injuries: Whiplash injury is common in rear-end car accidents. It happens when the head is jerked backward and then forward, injuring the soft tissues of the neck.
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Diseases: Some diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, meningitis or cancer, can also cause neck pain.
Some of the symptoms are:
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Pain that gets worse when the head stays in the same position for a long time, such as when driving or working on a computer
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Muscle stiffness and cramps
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Reduced ability to move the head
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Headache
The Preventions can be taken for Neck Pain:
To prevent neck pain, you should keep your head aligned with your spine. You can also make some simple changes in your daily habits. For example, you can:
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Maintain good posture: When you stand or sit, make sure your shoulders are over your hips and your ears are over your shoulders. When you use small screens, such as cell phones or tablets, hold them straight and look at them with your head up, instead of bending your neck down.
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Take regular breaks: If you work or travel for long hours on your computer, get up and move around. Stretch your neck and shoulders.
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Set up the workspace properly: Adjust your desk, chair and computer so that the screen is at the level of your eyes. Your knees should be slightly below your hips. Use the armrests of your chair.
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Quit smoking: Smoking can make you more likely to develop neck pain.
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Avoid heavy shoulder bags: The weight can put pressure on your neck.
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Sleep well: Your head and neck should be in line with your body. Use a small pillow to support your neck. You can also try sleeping on your back with pillows under your thighs, which will relax your spinal muscles.
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Be active: If you are sedentary, increase your physical activity.
How is Neck Pain diagnosed?
Some imaging tests can help identify the cause of the neck pain. For example:
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X-rays can show if the nerves or spinal cord are being squeezed by bone spurs or other changes in the neck.
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CT scans can create detailed cross-sectional images of the neck structures by combining X-ray images taken from different angles.
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MRI can produce clear images of the bones and soft tissues in the neck by using radio waves and a strong magnetic field. The soft tissues include the disks, the spinal cord and the nerves that come from the spinal cord. Patient can have structural problems in the neck that show up on X-ray or MRI without having any symptoms. To find out the cause of the pain, imaging studies should be used along with a careful history and physical exam.
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Electromyography (EMG) An EMG can tell if the neck pain is related to a pinched nerve. It involves putting fine needles through the skin into a muscle. The test measures how fast the nerves conduct signals to see if they are working properly.
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Blood tests: Blood tests can sometimes detect inflammation or infections that might cause or worsen the neck pain.
What are the treatments of Neck Pain?
Treatment Self-care can usually help with mild to moderate neck pain within two or three weeks.
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Medications:The Doctors can use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to relieve pain. Follow the directions carefully. Taking too much can have serious side effects. If over-the-counter pain relievers don’t work, Doctors might recommend prescription NSAIDs or muscle relaxers.
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Physical therapy: A physical therapist can show how to improve the posture, alignment and neck strength. Physical therapy might also include heat, ice and other methods to reduce pain. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). This involves placing electrodes on the skin near the painful areas. The electrodes send small electrical impulses that may help with pain. However, there is not much evidence that TENS is effective for neck pain. Soft neck collar. A soft collar that supports the neck can help ease pain by taking pressure off the neck.
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Surgical and other procedures Steroid injections: The Doctors might inject steroids near the nerve roots, into the spinal joints or into the muscles in the neck. These can reduce inflammation and pain. Numbing medications, such as lidocaine, can also be injected to relieve pain. Surgery is rarely needed for neck pain. It might be an option for relieving pressure on the nerve roots or spinal cord.
What is cervical facet radiofrequency ablation?
Cervical radiofrequency ablation is a procedure to treat pain in the cervical spine, the upper part of the spinal column that connects the head to the body.
“Radiofrequency” means using radio waves that are aimed at the cervical spine. These radio waves make heat that kills a small amount of nerve tissue that causes pain and nerve problems. By killing a small part of nerve tissue, cervical radiofrequency ablation stops the nerves from sending pain signals to the brain. The procedure is a simple way to effectively reduce pain.
What is cervical Epidural Steroid Injection?
A cervical epidural steroid injection may help to give short-term relief. This injections are meant to treat pain caused by conditions that make one or more cervical nerve roots inflamed. When a nerve root in the neck is squeezed or inflamed as it splits from the spinal cord and leaves the spine, radicular pain can go down the arm and into the hand. Cervical nerve root inflammation that causes neurological problems, such as numbness or weakness, is called cervical radiculopathy.When done by a Doctor a cervical epidural steroid injection puts cortisone steroid medicine directly into the area of the spine that covers the inflamed nerve root(s). This medicine may help lower nerve root inflammation and ease the related pain, such as neck pain.
What is trigger point injection for the cervical myofacial trigger points?
Trigger point injections may help ease chronic muscle pain, including pain in neck. These injections aim at “knots” in muscles called trigger points that can cause pain, stiffness, and limited range of motion. It involves injecting an anesthetic or, sometimes, a steroid into the affected area.Trigger points can form in any muscle in the body that suffers a sudden injury or repeated damage.
Trigger point injections are a possible treatment option for easing muscle pain. They involve injecting a little bit of an anesthetic to reduce pain. Lidocaine or bupivacaineTrusted Source are some of the anesthetics that are commonly used. Sometimes injections have a saline solution instead.
What is greater occipital Nerve block for neck pain?
An occipital nerve block is a procedure where the Doctor injects a mix of pain medicine and steroids into the scalp on the back of the head, in the area around the greater occipital nerve. This is usually done to treat chronic headaches that are caused by an irritation to the nerve in the back of the head. The occipital nerve block procedure should help get rid of this type of headache quickly.The doctor will clean the skin where the injection will be done. A local anesthetic will be injected so that the patient don’t feel any pain during the procedure. The medicine for the occipital block will be put near the occipital nerve through a small needle near the base of the skull.