Neck Pain

Neck stiffness or pain usually goes away within the week, if not sooner. If your neck pain lasts for a long time or seems to radiate along your arm, you might have a cervical spine injury in need of treatment at Florida Pain Management Institute in Delray Beach, Boynton Beach and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Adam Shestack, MD, Cy Blanco, MD, and the board-certified pain management team can evaluate your cervical spine and the structures around it for signs of damage before providing you with an individualized treatment plan.

What is neck pain?

Neck pain is common, and your first assumption might be that it comes from sleeping in an awkward position or hunching over your computer screen at work for hours at a time. 

These common occurrences do cause neck pain, and you might even need to take over-the-counter pain medications or use heat and ice therapy for relief. However, there are more serious conditions that can cause long-term neck pain needing more extensive treatment. 

The Florida Pain Management Institute team treats neck pain associated with:

• Cervical degenerative disc disease
• Cervical herniated disc
• Cervical osteoarthritis
• Bone spurs
• Spondylolisthesis
• Myofascial pain syndrome
• Muscle strains from overuse

Your risk for neck pain is especially high if you smoke, have a weak neck, or carry poor posture. To reduce your risk, you should take regular breaks from computer work, adjust your work setup to be more conducive to good posture, and practice improving your posture in your spare time. 

Which other symptoms come with neck pain?

Neck pain doesn’t always come alone, and evaluating your other symptoms can help the Florida Pain Management Institute team make their diagnosis. You should pay attention to how your pain feels and the ways it affects you from day to day. Symptoms and characteristics of neck pain can include:

• Stiffness
• Sharpness
• Soreness
• Headaches
• Weakness in the arms
• Referred pain in the arms
• Muscle spasms

After evaluating your symptoms and performing a brief exam, the Florida Pain Management Institute team might use imaging tests like X-rays or CT scans to look at the inner structures of your neck. Structural issues within the neck can also happen without any symptoms, so you might get a diagnosis that needs treatment during an unrelated scan. 

How is neck pain treated?

Florida Pain Management Institute treats neck pain with a variety of approaches, including various therapeutic injection procedures. Your treatment plan might involve medication management too. Recommended therapeutic injection procedures for pain in the cervical spine include:

Cervical epidural steroid injections

Epidural steroid injections deliver inflammation-reducing medications to the protective, fatty epidural space around your spinal cord. This takes the pressure off compressed nerves causing neck pain with or without referred pain or weakness in the arm. 

Trigger point injections

Trigger point injections don’t always use medication, but they sometimes involve a small dose of local anesthesia. The team inserts a fine needle into a tight bundle of muscle fibers to reduce irritation. 

Radiofrequency ablation

Radiofrequency ablation is a procedure used to heat and create controlled damage on the sensory nerve of a facet joint. The team performs this procedure using a needle and fluoroscope. 

Don’t ignore persistent neck pain, especially if it affects your sleep or overall wellness. To schedule a treatment consultation, call Florida Pain Management Institute or request an appointment online today.