Does neck pain make you uncomfortable throughout your day? Then, this article is for you. Many different factors can cause your neck pain, which can also range in severity and duration. Most of the time, it gets better with home remedies. Sometimes it requires treatment. Recently, neck joint injections have become a good option to treat neck pain due to their benefits. Learn what are the causes and treatments of neck pain and when you should consider neck joint injections for your neck pain. Visit the best Pain Management Clinic in Brooklyn at Doral Health & Wellness or log on to www.doralhw.org.

Causes

Neck pain can be caused by many different factors, including:

1. Aging:  As you age, your cervical spine naturally deteriorates or degenerates, which causes pain. Degenerative conditions like osteoarthritis (wearing down the joint cartilage) and spinal stenosis (narrowing the spaces of the spine) lead to neck pain. Over time, stress and repeated movements cause the disks of the spine to weaken, causing a herniated disk or pinched nerve.
2. Physical strain:  Overusing the neck muscles with repetitive or strenuous activities can cause stiffness or pain. Poor posture, weak abdominal muscles, and heavier body weight also affect your spine’s alignment and lead to neck pain. For example, straining your neck when using your phone or computer screen for long periods can cause neck pain.
3. Mental stress:  Whenyou’re stressed, if you tighten your neck muscles, then it leads to neck pain and stiffness. Many people who tighten these muscles during stress or agitation don’t realize this until their neck starts hurting.
4. Injury: Trauma and other injuries can damage muscles, ligaments, disks, vertebral joints, and nerve roots of your spinal cord and lead to neck pain. Whiplash during vehicle accidents is a common injury that leads to neck pain.
5. Growths: Masses, like tumors, cysts, and bone spurs, can put pressure on the nerves in your neck and lead to pain.
6. Other health conditions: Neck pain also serves as a symptom of many health conditions like meningitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer.

Symptoms

Neck pain symptoms can range from mild to severe. Usually, neck pain is acute and lasts for some days or weeks. However, it may become chronic. Depending on the severity, it can have profound effects on your daily life. You may experience any or some neck pain symptoms, including:

• A stiff neck feels like a stuck neck, which decreases the range of motion.
• Sharp pain like stabbing pain in a certain area of your neck.
• Pain when moving the neck. This pain can occur during moving in any direction, twisting, or extending your cervical spine.
• Radiating pain and numbness to your head, trunk, shoulder, or arms. If your neck pain involves nerve compression, you may feel numbness, tingling, or weakness in your arms or hands. This pinched nerve may feel like burning or sharp pain that starts from the neck to your arm. You should talk to a doctor if you experience this symptom.
• A headache that starts from your neck pain is called cervicogenic headache. This can also be a symptom of migraine headaches.
• Pain, when palpated (occurs when your neck pain increases due to the cervical spine being pressed/touched).

Treatment of neck pain

Neck pain treatment focuses on relieving pain and improving neck functionality. Most causes of neck pain eventually get better and are managed at home with remedies like hot or cold therapy, exercise, stress reduction techniques, or quitting smoking. If pain doesn’t improve with these home remedies, then the doctor may suggest treatments to manage your symptoms, including:

• Pain medications and muscle relaxers: Medicines, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), help to ease neck pain and inflammation, and muscle relaxants help the neck muscles to heal, are the common first-line treatments for neck pain.
• Physical therapy: A physical therapist can teach you certain exercises and movements to strengthen the muscles and tendons in your neck and improve flexibility and functionality.
• Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) unit: This is a stimulation machine that passes low-level electric current to the skin near your nerves to disrupt the pain signal causing discomfort. But some people can’t use this device, so make sure you consult with your doctor before using a TENS unit.
• Steroid injections: These shots are given near the nerve roots to lower inflammation and pain.
• Alternative therapies: Your doctor may recommend some additional therapies to improve pain like acupuncture or massage therapy to loosen the tight muscles that make you uncomfortable. You can see an osteopath or chiropractor to fix your spine.
• Surgery: Most causes of neck pain get better with the above-mentioned treatments. However, in some cases, surgery is recommended (when one or more of the vertebrae in your spine shift out of place or put pressure on the nerves).

When are neck joint injections needed?

Neck joint injections are needed when other non-surgical treatments fail to improve your symptoms. Joint injections are a direct approach to deliver medication to the affected areas, which offer rapid or fast relief. You can get these benefits from neck joint injections:

• Immediate pain relief: Many patients experience a pain reduction within hours to days after the injection. This quick relief allows them to return to their daily activities with less discomfort.
• Improved function:  Chronic neck pain makes it difficult to perform even the simplest tasks. These injections provide relief and improve function in the affected areas, allowing you to work with greater ease and comfort.
• Reduction in related symptoms:  Many patients not only experience pain relief but also feel reduction in other symptoms (may include numbness, tingling, or weakness related to their condition) in the arms or upper chest.

Many different factors cause neck pain, which can range from mild to severe. While the majority of neck pain gets better on its own, some require treatment. And if your neck pain symptoms don’t improve with nonsurgical treatment options, you can seek neck joint injection for faster and better relief without undergoing surgery. Talk with your doctor to discuss what treatment option is good for your neck pain and improve your quality of life.

Need help with neck pain? Visit our pain management clinic in Brownsville to get professional medical help. Call us to book your appointment now!!! If your pain needs professional assistance, visit our pain management clinic in Brooklyn today or call to get a consultation. Our location at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11212 is well-served by public transportation, including many bus routes, and the subway line. Visit our website at https://doralhw.org/department/pain-management/ or contact us on +1-347-384-5690 for additional details.