What causes neck pain?
Your neck is the start of your spinal column and supports the weight of your head, while also allowing for a wide range of movement. Neck pain or stiffness can happen for a variety of reasons, like:
- Injury
- Muscle strain
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Osteoporosis
- Fibromyalgia
- Cervical disc degeneration
- Herniated cervical discs
Pain that affects your neck makes an immediate impact on your ability to perform everyday activities, so if you injure your neck or experience pain that doesn’t go away with self-care, get medical attention at Piedmont Interventional Spine & Pain Center.
How do you diagnose neck pain?
During your appointment at Piedmont Interventional Spine & Pain Center, your provider performs a detailed physical examination to check for tenderness or weakness and to assess your neck’s flexibility.
If your provider is unable to pinpoint the cause of your neck pain with a physical exam, he may suggest injection therapy, like:
Epidural injections
During an epidural injection, your provider injects a local anesthetic to identify the specific component that is the cause of your neck pain.
Facet joint injections
If your provider suspects a facet joint is the source of your neck pain, he may use injections to deliver anesthetic and numb a suspect joint.
If your pain goes away after these injections, it confirms the source of your neck pain, and your provider can prescribe a treatment accordingly.
How do you treat neck pain?
Piedmont Interventional Spine & Pain Center addresses neck pain with pain management tools as well as physical therapy to improve the strength, flexibility, and mobility of your neck. Based on your diagnostic results, your provider can suggest different types of spinal injections that can provide pain relief.
Epidural injections and facet joint injections deliver anesthetics and steroid medication to your epidural space or directly into the facet joints in your neck to help with the pain. These injections can reduce inflammation around sensitive nerves or joints and significantly improve pain and function.
Along with anti-inflammatory injections for pain management, your provider refers you to a trusted physical therapist who can teach you exercises that target your neck muscles and improve their strength and flexibility. This helps your recovery process and prevents additional injuries or chronic pain issues from developing in the future. Your provider may also recommend minimally-invasive radiofrequency ablation treatments to help lessen the pain.
To learn about other treatments available for neck pain, call Piedmont Interventional Spine & Pain Center, or use the online scheduling tool to book an appointment today.
