In addition to being the carrier of the head, our neck also provides the neural connection between the spinal cord, brain, arms and the rest of the body. Being a mobile area makes it vulnerable to injury and damage, which leads to neck pain that every person experiences in their daily lives. Neck pain is a pain that can be seen at any age for a variety of reasons. The second most common type of pain after the waist is neck and nape pain. Due to the connection point, it is also seen that many patients who apply to the doctor with complaints of shoulder, arm or headache are caused by disorders in the neck muscles and other related structures.
Neck pain symptoms
Neck pain is seen in 3 different types: acute, subacute and chronic. Cases where the pain lasts less than 1 month are considered acute, cases lasting 4-12 weeks are considered subacute and cases lasting more than 3 months are considered chronic neck pain. Neck pain can manifest itself in different ways. The symptoms of neck pain are as follows:
- Feeling pain when moving the head and difficulty turning it from side to side; stiff neck,
- Sharp pain at a single point in the neck, usually in the lower part,
- Mild but constant pain in the neck area or in a single spot,
- Burning sensation starting from the neck and spreading to the shoulders and arms,
- Tingling and numbness in the neck, arms, fingers and shoulders,
- Tension type headache originating from the neck
What causes neck pain?
Neck or nape pains are usually dull pains. In other words; numbness, tingling, electric shock-like pains are felt. Moving the neck can increase the severity of the pain. Sometimes dizziness can accompany the pain. So, what are the causes of neck pain? Disorders, traumas, injuries, swollen lymph nodes, tumors, heart diseases, lung diseases, cervical canal stenosis in muscles, ligaments, bones or discs cause neck pain. The two most common disorders that cause neck pain are cervical disc herniation and calcification. Cervical disc herniation is the condition in which the gel-like fluid inside the discs in the neck degenerates due to various reasons, and puts pressure on the spinal cord and nerves. Cervical calcification is the formation of protrusions (bone spurs) in the bones and structural disorders in the joints due to the rupture or wear of the discs in the neck.
Diagnosis of neck pain
When looking at the symptoms of neck pain; neck stiffness, sharp pain in a single spot, pain spreading to the entire neck, pain radiating to the head, and tingling pain that causes difficulty in lifting an object can be listed. In diagnosing and diagnosing neck pain, it is necessary to look at the symptoms the patient is experiencing. Diagnosis and diagnosis of neck pain is made according to the patient’s history and the results of imaging and blood tests requested by the doctor after the physical examination.
How is Neck Pain Treated?
“How to relieve neck pain” is a topic that many patients wonder about. However, instead of trying to relieve neck pain with hearsay, a specialist should definitely be consulted for long-lasting and ongoing pain. The treatment of neck pain is decided after the cause of the pain is determined. Neck pain treatment methods are as follows:
- Medicines
- Epidural steroid injections
- Nerve blocks
- Facet nerve injection and radiofrequency applications
- Posterior root injection and radiofrequency applications
- Intra-disc ozone therapy
- Intra-disc thermal radiofrequency applications
- In-disc laser applications