FAQs Of Neck Pain* What is neck pain? It is the pain occurring below the head and above the shoulders. IT restricts the movement of the neck. In many cases it disappears within some days. But for some people it remains for longer time with high intensity of pain. * What are the causes of neck pain? They may be caused by various reasons ranging from muscle strain to disc injuries. Reasons include arthritis of neck joints, herniated disc, fibromyalgia, meningitis and cervical foramina stenosis, etc. * What are the serious symptoms of neck pain? Minor neck pain may be a symptom of neck arthritis. Osteoarthritis may appear in very young age and may progress before appearance of symptoms. Important symptoms of the neck pain are headache, neck movement problems, numbness and weakness of neck, stiffness of the neck, etc. Sometimes neck pain creates pain in the shoulder, arm or hands also. * How to make diagnosis of neck pain? Diagnosis of the neck pain starts with medical history and physical examination. Doctor asks about the occurrence, intensity of the pain, illness, injuries, previous treatment etc. Physical examinations include tests related to range of movement of neck. It also looks for numbness weakness or tingling in the arms or shoulders. Sometimes blood tests are done to diagnose infection in the thyroid or tumor in the neck. If above tests fails to diagnose neck pain, then doctors go for advanced tests like x ray, CT scan, MRI scan, myelogram, electromyogram, etc. They help in finding out diseases or damages in the neck by giving detailed picture. These tests increase the speed of diagnosis and give accurate results. * What is the treatment for neck pain? Usually neck pain disappears within some days without any physical therapy or with minor pain killers. If the pain still exists, doctors opt for other pain killers and therapies like physiotherapy, chiropractic or osteopathy. Mobility is required to be kept even there is neck stiffness. For chronic neck pain treatment includes the use of muscle relaxant, neck collar, antibiotics. Instead of complete bed rest or use of neck collar, current trend is to bring to the patient to normal activity as soon as possible. |