Neck Pain
- Muscle strains: Overuse and poor posture, such as too many hours hunched over a steering wheel, laptops, mobile phones, and other electronic gadgets often trigger muscle strains. Even such minor things as reading in bed or gritting your teeth can strain neck muscles.
- Arthritis in joints of Cervical spine: Just like all the other joints in your body, neck joints tend to undergo wear and tear with age, which can cause osteoarthritis in the neck.
- Nerve compression: Herniated disks or bone osteophytes (abnormal growth) in the vertebrae of the neck can take up too much space and press on the nerves branching out from the spinal cord.
- Injuries: Rear-end automobile collisions often result in whiplash injuries, which occur when the head is jerked backward and then forward, stretching the soft tissues of the neck beyond their limits.
- Diseases: Neck pain can sometimes be caused by diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculosis, meningitis, or cancer. Neck pain can also come from conditions directly affecting the muscles of the neck, such as fibromyalgia.
In case of injury, one should seek medical advice immediately without any delay. If there has not been an injury, you should seek medical care when neck pain becomes:
- Continuous and persistent pain
- Severe pain
- Accompanied by pain that radiates down the arms or legs
- Accompanied by headaches, numbness, tingling, or weakness
- Alternating an ice pack with heat, several times a day for 30 minutes,
- Gentle stretching and massage may help to relieve neck pain.
- Gentle exercise and good posture may also help to prevent it.
- Physical therapy like Therapeutic Ultrasonic, TENS, Extracorporeal shock wave therapy, Low level laser therapy, Non Invasive Pulsed radio frequency neuromodulation. Along with these neck strengthening exercises are performed. No exercises should be performed in acute painful conditions.
It includes combinations of simple over-the-counter pain medication like paracetamol and NSAIDs, opioids, muscle relaxants, co-analgesics depending upon the disease causing neck pain.
Interventional ManagementIf the above two options don’t work for neck pain than below mention interventions can be used depending cause of neck pain.
- Cervical Facet Joint / Median Branch Neurolysis: This procedure is performed under live X-ray guidance when the patient is fully conscious. The area from where the pain is coming is identified & with high accuracy special needles are placed to deliver anti-inflammatory medicine to give immediate nearly 50% relief & relaxation. It is a day care procedure done under local anesthesia only.
- Occipital nerve block: This is mainly performed to relieve headache in posterior part of neck. It is also an OPD base procedure & done under Local anesthesia only
- Radiofrequency procedures: If patients are having continuous pain even after treatment, Radiofrequency procedures are done for long term benefit. In this treatment high frequency current is passed through the needle tip which ablate the pain signals from nerves without any effect on other nerve function. It is again done under local anesthesia with the help of live X-ray machine.
- Cervical Epidural Steroid: This procedure is useful for relieving pain coming from lower Facet Joint in the neck area. It is also useful for patients having slipped disc & nerve pain going to arm, hand.
For the prevention of further such events, it is essential to adopt specific measures. These measures encompass avoiding heavy lifting, maintaining breaks during prolonged work hours in front of a laptop, limiting extended use of mobile phones, and being mindful of pillow usage. Developing good postures during activities such as sitting, working, reading, and driving is crucial. Individuals seeking the best neck pain treatment clinic in Vadodara can benefit from professional guidance and comprehensive care to address and manage these preventive measures effectively.