Neck Pain

NECK PAIN ?
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NECK PAIN
Neck pain (or cervicalgia ) is a common problem, with two-thirds of the population having neck pain at some point in their life time. Neck pain affects about 330 million people globally as of (4.9% of the population) It is more common in women (5.7%) than men (3.9%). About one-half of episodes resolve within one year. About 10% of cases become chronic.

Common causes of neck pain:-

• Muscle strains.
  Overuse, such as too many hours hunched over a steering wheel, laptops, mobile phones and other electronic gadgets often triggers muscle strains. Even minor things as reading in bed or gritting teeth can strain neck muscles.
• Osteoarthritis:
  Just like all the other joints in body, neck joints tend to undergo wear and tear with age, which can cause osteoarthritis in the neck. It is insidious onset & unusual before 40 years.
• Nerve compression.
  Herniated disks or bone spurs(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 auto 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.
• Myofacial pain syndrome:
  Presence of trigger points within one or more muscles, associated pain, muscle spasm, stiffness, limitation of motion, muscle atrophy. Autononomic dysfunction
• Ankylosing spondylosis
  Gradual onset, morning & post midnight stiffness, improving with activity Restricted neck motion

Cervical spondylosis
Degenerative changes of the cervical spine reach a prevalence of nearly 95% by age 65. Pain due to cervical spondylosis may be severe with activities requiring neck flexion and rotation, absent or significantly reduced when the patient's neck is held in a neutral position

Cervical myelopathy: Spinal cord compression in the neck
In the upper extremities: Radicular pain, sensory weakness, loss of reflexes In the lower extremities: Long tract signs---spastic weakness, hyper-reflexia, clonus, extensor planter reflex, impaired vibratory & positional sense.

Cervical radiculopathy:
The causes of cervical radiculopathy include herniated disc, foraminal stenosis, tumor, osteophyte formation, and rarely infection. Nerve root is irritated, inflammed and compressed.
Common symptoms

• Neck pain is commonly associated with dull aching. Other symptoms associated with neck pain include numbness, tingling, tenderness, sharp shooting pain, fullness, difficulty swallowing, pulsations, dizziness and lightheadedness.

TREATMENT OPTIONS

Pharmacotherapy-.
Interventional therapy
If a combination of physical and pharmacotherapy is unable to provide adequate pain relief then we should go for interventional(injection) pain relief techniques. These techniques are absolutely safe, effective and show rapid recovery in all age groups provided they are performed by the experts in these techniques(i.e pain physician).



Life style modifications-
These are required for prevention of further such events.These include AVOID lifting heavy weights, long uninterrupted work hours in front of laptops, mobile phones, pillows. Maintaining good postures while sitting, working,reading,driving etc.