What is neck pain?
Neck pain, called cervicalgia, can present as mild discomfort or severe pain in the back of the neck that radiates down the back of the neck and head or into the shoulders. In most cases, no specific cause of the pain can be found.
Cervical pain may be due to an injury, a muscular or mechanical problem, nerve impingement caused by an enlarged disc between the vertebrae, or cervical osteoarthritis, which is the wearing away of the vertebrae of the cervical spine.
If the pain is acute, unforeseen and intense, it is called “acute cervical pain” and if the pain lasts more than three months, it is called “chronic cervical pain”. Cervical pain is a very common condition that affects women more often than men. Most people will have neck pain at some point in their lives.
What causes neck pain?
Some causes can be: trauma or injury, pathologies related to the cervical spine (herniated disc, cervical osteoarthritis, spondylitis and more infrequently damage caused by tumors or infections), stress and worries, falling asleep in a bad posture or prolonged computer use.
Finally, traffic accidents, including the so-called “whiplash syndrome”, can cause acute or chronic neck pain, requiring rehabilitation and sometimes infiltrations.
What are the symptoms of neck pain?
Generalized pain in the cervical area as well as stiffness in the neck muscles. The pain may radiate downward toward the shoulders or between the shoulder blades, i.e., the shoulder blades. It may also radiate into an arm, hand, upward into the head or cause headache. The neck muscles are tense, sore and hard to the touch.
Acute pain may cause an abnormal posture of the neck during which the head is deflected to one side, this is called torticollis.
How do you get a proper diagnosis?
In most cases, a cervicalgia can be diagnosed by an examination of the cervical region by a Pain Unit specialist to assess neck movements (flexion, extension, rotation and lateralization), look for sore spots in the muscles by palpation, explore the joints of the spine and possible entrapment or “pinching” of the cervical nerves.
X-rays, CT (CAT) scans, MRI (MRI) or blood tests may be necessary to make a more accurate diagnosis.
How is neck pain treated?
In acute cervical pain of limited duration, analgesics, such as paracetamol, or anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, muscle relaxants are recommended. The use of a neck brace is recommended during the first 24 – 48h to relax the painful region, but it is not advisable to prolong its use for a long time. Manual therapy, by the rehabilitator or physiotherapist, is also an alternative. Perform a series of exercises of flexion, extension and rotation of the neck, gently and slowly, without causing pain, several times a day.
For problems of longer duration, for example, three or more months, a rehabilitation treatment with a physiotherapist and muscle training is recommended. There are also other analgesic techniques such as TENS (transcutaneous electrostimulation), iontophoresis (introducing analgesic drugs through the skin by means of electrical currents) and infiltrations in the joints of the spine or in the affected muscles.
What is the prognosis for cervicalgia?
It depends on the underlying cause of the pain. The prognosis is generally good if the patient remains active and gets appropriate treatment without delay.
What can you do yourself if you have neck pain?
Be as active as possible. Try to go to work and continue your usual daily activities, bed rest is not necessary. If a neck brace is available, it should not be worn for more than one or two days.
Remember that neck pain is rarely caused by a serious health problem and most cases will disappear within a week.
If you have neck pain for longer periods of time, it is a good idea to consult your medical specialist.