Treatment of Neck Pain

It goes without saying that neck pains are one of the most excruciating experiences that one can have. They don’t let you sit or sleep in peace or even look, concentrate, focus, or even eat properly. You are not the only one who had to cancel all your appointments and take a leave for the day for neck pains.

But advances in the medical field have opened a plethora of specialized and unique treatments to take care of this intolerable pain. And this is what we are going to learn about today.

But before we lay it all out, we must find out what causes them and how you can prevent them because prevention is always better than cure.

Neck Pain Treatment

First and foremost, you need to understand the structure of your neck because how can you treat something that you don’t know A to Z from. The neck is made up of vertebrae, your neck stands between your upper torso and skull. Cervical discs present in it helps in absorbing the shocks produced between your bones. Your head is supported by the muscles, ligaments, and bones present in your neck. They also help in its movement.

Any kind of injury, inflammation, or abnormalities of the muscles, ligaments, and bones present in your neck can result in neck pain. Although most types of neck pain heal by themselves or with simple home remedies, if you continue to have neck pain for a few days, you need to seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Causes of Neck Pain

Next up, let us focus on what causes these atrocious pains. Here are some of the most prevalent causes of neck pain.

• Poor posture.
• Sudden jerking of the neck while exercising or dancing.
• Sleeping while putting your neck in a compromised position.
• Working at a desk for long hours without taking a break in between.
• Any type of injury ranging from a small fall to sports injury or even as big as a car accident.
• Meningitis, which essentially refers to the inflammation of the small tissues around your spinal cord and brain. It brings with it a headache, fever, and neck pain.
• Osteoporosis which leads to the weakening of the bones can also cause pain in your neck.
• Rheumatoid arthritis results in swelling of the joints, which, in turn, causes neck pain.
• Narrowing down of spinal column puts pressure on the nerve roots present in your neck, resulting in severe pain.
• Degeneration of cervical discs.
• Fibromyalgia causes neck pain along with memory loss and fatigue.

Besides all these, you can also experience neck pain due to infections, tumors, congenital abnormalities, cancer of the spine, and abscesses.

Preventive Measures for Neck Pain

There are few preventive measures that you can take to soothe the pain of your neck. But beware, every individual is different and what works for someone, may or may not work for others. But, generally speaking, most of the aforementioned measures are considered standard relief measures for neck pain.

• Application of ice for a couple of days followed by application of heat.
• Slow and gentle stretching of neck up-and-down and side-to-side.
• Taking rest from heavy workouts or rigorous activities when the pain emerges.
• Avoiding the habit of cradling phones between your shoulder and neck.

When you have sudden neck pain and it is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, sweating, breathing difficulty, jaw pain, and/or arm pain, then it might be a symptom of a heart attack. Call the ambulance immediately in this case.

Also, never use neck collars or braces without the approval of your doctor. Doing so might worsen your condition.

Treatment for Neck Pain

Treatment begins with a thorough appointment with your doctor. We advise you to be completely transparent to your doctor and give them your past medical history and a glimpse of your lifestyle so that they can correctly diagnose you and offer you the most appropriate treatment.

Needless to say, always consult reputed doctors from a certified medical centre like 7DMC. A place like this will not only offer you world-class medical practitioners, but also the advanced scientific treatments needed to handle your issues.

Step 1

Depending on your condition, your doctor might ask you to go through some tests to determine the root cause of your pain. This can include X-rays, MRI scans, blood tests, CT scans, and electromyography, lumbar puncture, among others.

Step 2

Based on your results, your doctor can recommend you some of the following measures or practices:

• Ice and heat therapy
• Neck collar
• Pain medication
• Mild stretching and other related exercises
• Corticosteroid injections
• Traction
• Muscle relaxants
• Antibiotics (in case of an infection)
• Surgery (in rare severe cases)

Step 3

If the aforementioned methods are not suited for you, you may be prescribed some alternative treatments to resolve your neck pain. This includes some of the following treatments:

Chiropractic Treatment for Neck Pain

Based on manual therapy, chiropractic treatment involves the manipulation of joints, soft tissues, and spines alongside exercises and lifestyle counselling to treat any musculoskeletal pain, including your neck.

At 7DMC, the department of chiropractic medicine is led by Dr. Tarek Alameddine, who is regarded as a revolutionary figurehead in the chiropractic field for adding spinal decompression therapy to his practice.

With his specialties being sciatica, back pain, degenerative disc disease, herniated discs, bulging discs, accident, or work-related injuries, he has spent several years practicing in California, USA.

Massage

Combining traditional medical measures with new-age scientific methods, 7DMC specializes in providing medically-approved massages to aid musculoskeletal pain and inflammation.

Ms Maha Wahiba Harkati, the resident DHA licensed manual and massage therapist. She has been treating numerous patients suffering from chronic pain to acute pain to even sports injuries and accidents. The massages are based on an integrated system and they relieve neck pain and restore efficient function through manual manipulation and touch

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is another alternative medical treatment that may be recommended for soothing neck pain. It not only aids in treating pain but also boosts your overall health while also preventing the onset of any diseases.

Dr Sam Kotkat, who leads the department of Chinese medical clinic, has been working as a certified acupuncturist for almost two decades now and has worked both in the USA and Egypt; she is known for adopting traditional medicine therapies and giving them a holistic approach. Not only neck pain, but her work has also aided people with respiratory disorders, neuromuscular conditions, and menstrual issues, to name a few.

You may be recommended all or one of a combination of these aforementioned methods by your doctors. Listen to their advice diligently.

Conclusion

Neck pain, although is common and seems not dangerous, can lead to serious hazards if it continues to persist. So, treat them by seeking adequate medical conditions.

Your neck is the support system of your head. As such, when it is in pain, most of your bodily functions take a toll. So, don’t ignore it and give it the proper medical attention that it needs.

References

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK338120/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25659245/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2943658/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6723111/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2907992/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2032696/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2786244/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447299/