If a person in his/her forties or fifties experiences neck pain, and routine pain killers aren’t helping, than the doctor would typically check for radiating symptoms. Radiating symptoms occur when pain travels to the shoulder or arm, or there is any associated numbness, tingling, weakness in the arms. This is an important symptom as there might be a problem with nerve (s), such as a pinched nerve.
If the patient only has neck pain minus the radiating symptoms, then the doctor, based on whether the pain occurs during night or morning and the patient’s social history, will determine the cause of the problem, taking into consideration their lifestyle and work pattern, including posture. The reflexes, muscle power, sensation in the neck and surrounding areas such as shoulder, elbow and wrist are also checked.
If the pain is constant at night or weakens the person in the middle of the night, it can be a cause of concern as it might be linked to any systemic illness, such as diabetes, cancer or other such illnesses.
Some of the common neck pain treatment methods include:
- non-surgical neck pain treatment
- conservative neck pain treatment
- neck immobilisation
- supplemental treatment for conservative neck pain management
Since neck pains are usually caused by sudden trauma like muscle strains or sprains, treatment usually begins with conservative care in the form of medications, physical therapy, heat/ice therapy and muscle conditioning. Degenerative issues, lack of exercise and improper posture are also causes of neck pain.
