In the United States, 10 to 20% of adults suffer from neck pain every day. Some face acute and debilitating problems; others live with chronic pain that stops them from staying active. If you need help with neck pain, it is time to see the specialists at Source Healthcare in Santa Monica, California. We have experience providing treatments that get to the source of your problem, using innovative techniques like stem cell therapy and radiofrequency ablation to achieve results. To schedule your evaluation, use online booking or call our office today.
Put Neck Pain in the Past
What Symptoms Accompany Neck Pain?
In most cases, neck pain severely limits your movement. You may notice that you’re unable to move your neck as far as you normally do. Your neck muscles may feel tight and you may experience pain when you move your neck. The pain may worsen when you hold your head in one position for extended periods such as working on the computer or driving your car.
Many patients also develop headaches and, in severe cases, dizziness.
Pinched nerves cause symptoms beyond the neck pain. When a nerve is pinched, you can experience tingling, numbness, and weakness along the nerve. These symptoms may radiate through your shoulder, down your arm, and into your hand.
What Causes Neck Pain?
The delicate structures in your neck must support the weight of your head while allowing for your full range of motion — this a combination that makes your neck susceptible to painful injuries. Whiplash is one of the most common acute neck problems, but poor posture and many daily activities lead to painful soft tissue injuries.
Frequent causes of neck pain include:
- Sprains and strains
- Herniated discs
- Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Spinal stenosis
- Degenerative disc disease
- Radiculopathy (pinched nerves)
You can also develop a painful neck strain from spending an extended time with your head bent down while using computers, smartphones, and other electronic devices.
Whiplash
This is a common neck injury. It happens when your neck jerks back and forth quickly and violently. Your spine bends past its normal range of motion. This can injure the vertebrae of your cervical spine. It can damage the supporting ligaments and muscles in your neck.
Trigger Point Injections
This outpatient procedure is designed to reduce or relieve the pain of trigger points. These small, tender knots can form in muscles or in the fascia (the soft, stretchy connective tissue that surrounds muscles and organs). The trigger point injection procedure takes only a few minutes to complete.
Cervical Stenosis
This problem affects the spinal nerves in your neck. It’s a narrowing of the spinal canal. That’s the space your spinal nerves travel through. In a healthy spine, the spinal canal protects these nerves. It keeps them free from injury. But with spinal stenosis, the spinal canal is too narrow, and your nerves get compressed.
Cervical Epidural Steroid Injection
This injection relieves pain in the neck, shoulders, and arms caused by a pinched nerve (or nerves) in the cervical spine. Conditions such as herniated discs, spinal stenosis, or radiculopathy can compress nerves, causing inflammation and pain. The medication injected helps decrease the swelling of nerves.
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Cervical Facet Syndrome
This condition is a deterioration of the facet joints, which help stabilize the spine and limit excessive motion. The facet joints are lined with cartilage and are surrounded by a lubricating capsule that enables the vertebrae to bend and twist.
Cervical Facet Blocks
These injections help your doctor find or treat pain in the facet joints of your neck. Facet joints are found on both sides of your spine. Your vertebrae connect at these joints.
Cervical Facet Radiofrequency Neurotomy
This procedure uses heat from radio waves to treat painful facet joints in your neck. It eases pain that isn’t helped by medications or physical therapy.
When to See a Doctor
Neck pain typically does not indicate a serious underlying disease. However, if your neck pain or stiffness comes quickly and you have trouble lifting your arms over your head, it could indicate a condition called polymyalgia rheumatica. This is a chronic inflammatory disorder that develops in elderly individuals over the age of 65. If you believe you have polymyalgia rheumatica, please talk to your doctor as the condition can cause an inflammation of the arteries, increasing the risk of stroke or permanent vision loss.
Consult a doctor immediately if the pain sets in after a fall or accident. Quick medical attention is also recommended if your neck pain is intense, does not improve with home treatment, persists for many days, radiates to your arms or legs, or if it co-exists with symptoms such as numbness, tingling, and weakness.
How is Neck Pain Treated?
The team of specialists at Source Healthcare has the expertise you need to obtain optimal relief for your neck pain. Your treatment is always individualized, so these are just a few examples of the innovative treatments available:
Interventional treatments
Interventional medicine targets the source of your pain: inflamed and injured nerves sending pain messages to your brain. Examples of treatments include epidural steroid injections and facet joint injections; these produce quick and long-lasting relief by injecting a local anesthetic and steroids.
Another type of interventional treatment uses radiofrequency ablation to wound the nerve; this blocks the pain signals. Radiofrequency ablation provides nine months to two years of pain relief for many patients.
Regenerative medicine
The team at Source Healthcare are specialists in stem cell treatments. In addition to providing stem cell injections for neck pain, they actively participate in clinical research testing stem cell therapies for various conditions.
Stem cells can continuously divide, producing a new cell that develops into different types of musculoskeletal tissues. After extracting stem cells from your own body, your doctor at Source Healthcare injects them into the injured area in your neck. Then the cells go to work, reducing inflammation and regenerating new cells to restore damaged tissues.
You can also receive platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections at Source Healthcare. The growth factors in platelets are essential for triggering healing and new tissue growth.
Don't Suffer with Neck Pain Any Longer
If you’re suffering from neck pain, call Source Healthcare or schedule an appointment online today.
