Neck Pain: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment
Neck pain is a condition that arises due to sitting/lying down in an awkward position. Sometimes, the condition develops while sitting in the same posture for a prolonged period, and therefore, this results in straining of the neck muscles.
Neck pains, if not treated early could accumulate into a problematic condition and the seriousness could have an adverse effect. Problems such as Osteoarthritis are among the leading reasons for neck pain.
In one instance, neck pain can sustain for a few hours, while there are chances of the problem turning into chronic neck pain if untreated. While in other situations, neck pain is usually accompanied by relatable symptoms.
Symptoms
The symptoms of neck pain can appear in different movements and activities. Here are some symptoms as referred by doctors from a multispeciality hospital in Chennai:
Stiffness in Neck: Perhaps the most common symptom is when the patient feels stiffness around the neck. This leads to slowing down and constant pain for the time being.
Shooting pain: This is a symptom observed where the affected person feels pain along the entire neck region to other parts of the body. Mostly, the pain extends to the shoulders, back, and arms.
Numbness feel: Sometimes, cases like pinched nerves due to excess strain on bones and tissues sends a numb feel all across the upper portion of the body. Generally, such problems are minor and hardly take time to resolve. However, there are cases where the numbness has remained for a prolonged time and resulted in other adverse symptoms.
Headaches: In this case, the pain from the neck can lead to cervicogenic headaches and the problem might lead to migraine.
Causes
All these symptoms are typically caused due to these conditions:
Cervical Stenosis: One of the more serious issues where the spinal canal compresses the spinal cord and affects the body over a period. This leads to discs dying out between vertebrae and the shock-absorbing ability of the bones would lead to severe neck pain.
Muscle Spasms: Muscle spasms is a sudden symptom that cripples muscles of the neck and the pain resulting is high. A muscle spasm can be unpleasant and slows down movement in turning the neck from one to another direction.
Other Causes: Neck pain has many other causes including injury by accident, cervical spondylosis, and cervical radiculopathy among the main contributors.
Treatment
Doctors from a top multispeciality hospital in Chennai take up these steps while diagnosing patients suffering from neck pain,
X-Rays: The X-Ray would show the reports of any movement in the spinal cord or any nerve movements.
MRI: MRI gives detailed visuals of tissues and bones. This could detect tissues in the spinal cord and discs.
The treatment differs from one condition to another. However, most of the cases take somewhere from 3 weeks to a month to recover. Here are the treatments:
Medicinal: Medicines like anti-inflammatory drugs are advised based on the issue and the complexity of the problem. These medicines are prescribed after a comprehensive assessment of the neck via diagnostic tests.
Chiropractic Therapy: Chiropractors are professionals whose expertise would help in adjusting the cervix and knows how to relieve pain by adjusting joint movements.
Neck collar: Soft neck collar supports the neck and alleviates pain by taking the strain out of the neck. Wearing such collars for a while could reduce neck pain.
Neck pain, when diagnosed early, can be treated without a hassle. Reach out to RPS, one of the best hospitals in Chennai for your neck and related ailments.