Neck Pain

Your neck is comprised of the bones of your upper spine — also called the cervical spine — as well as muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissue. The neck is the first stop on the long train of nerve pathways that eventually end in every area of your body. Within your spine, the spinal cord is the nerve center of your body, connecting your brain to every spot from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. It’s through those first spinal joints in your neck that nerves reach out to other parts of your body.

Neck pain can be very painful. Emergency, same-day appointments are available at the Midtown Manhattan doctor’s office.

Your neck is designed for flexibility, strength, and stability. Any number of conditions can cause neck pain, and relief is in order when it strikes. Everything from arthritis to a severe blow to your neck can cause pain. Our sports and pain management medical team make the diagnosis so that you can start neck pain treatment as soon as possible.

Neck Pain Sources

While the source of pain in the neck is often obvious, your doctor sometimes has to play detective to find the culprit. An irritation high up in your cervical spine can lead to discomfort anywhere from your head, shoulders, arms, or wrists down to your hips, legs, or feet.

Chronic neck pain may result from poor ergonomics, bad sleeping patterns, spinal cord deformities, or tumors. Compressed nerves, also referred to as pinched nerves, usually develop over time. But a trauma caused by a car accident or sports injury can trigger a pre-existing neck dysfunction or create new problems. Figuring out how to relieve neck pain requires specific diagnostics, a thorough history, and experience you can only find by making an appointment with a physician at our pain treatment center.

Make sure you tell our pain specialists about any:

• Stiffness in your neck
• Difficulty turning your head
• Sharp, shooting pains
• Pain that radiates upward to your head
• Radiating pain down your arms
• Tingling in your arms, hands, or fingers
• Tenderness in your neck
• Difficulty holding objects in one hand or the other
• Loss of total bladder control
• Balance, walking, or coordination problems
• Headaches

Types of Neck Pain We Treat

Not all neck pain is the same. Here are some of the most common causes we see in our office:

• Tech neck – Looking down at your phone or computer for hours strains the muscles in your neck. This is one of the most frequent causes of daily neck stiffness and soreness.
• Poor posture – Slouching at your desk, driving with your head pushed forward, or even sleeping without the right pillow can all lead to chronic muscle tension.
• Herniated disc – A disc in your cervical spine can bulge or slip, pressing on nearby nerves. This often causes sharp pain that may shoot into your shoulder or arm.
• Whiplash and injuries – Car accidents, sports injuries, or sudden falls can stretch or tear soft tissue in the neck. You may not feel the pain right away, but it often worsens over the next few days.
• Arthritis – Wear-and-tear over time can break down the joints in your neck, leading to stiffness, aching, and reduced range of motion — especially in the morning.
• Pinched nerve – When surrounding tissue puts pressure on a nerve, it can cause pain, tingling, or weakness that travels down your arm or into your hand.

If your neck pain is lasting more than a few days or interfering with sleep, driving, or your daily routine, don’t wait it out. We’ll help you get to the root of it and create a treatment plan that actually works for your lifestyle.

The first round of treatment involves home care, but if that initial treatment doesn’t do the trick, our doctors may need further testing that could consist of:

• X-rays
• Myelogram
• CT Scan
• MRI
• Bone scan
• Nerve conduction study
• Blood tests

If you don’t find quick relief at home, seek medical care, and consult a physician like Dr. Melepura to relieve your neck pain and avoid further complications.

How to Relieve Neck Pain

Most neck pain treatment consists of rest and a few simple lifestyle changes.

At your center, you also may receive instructions for:

• Massage
• Ice or heat therapy
• Improving your posture
• Work modifications
• Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pain medicine

If your pain in the neck doesn’t respond within three to four weeks, you may need a little more aggressive neck pain relief.

Treatments by our doctors may include:

• Physical therapy
• Cervical spine facet injections
• Cervical epidural steroid injections
• Prescription pain medications
• Nerve block injections

Your doctor provides you with all the information you need to make an informed decision about how to treat neck pain. Returning you to your normal activities, sports, and fitness routines, pain-free always is the goal at our pain treatment center.

Febin Melepura, MD is a top rated, best in class interventional pain management doctor. He is a nationally recognized pain relief specialist and is among the top pain care doctors in New York City and the country. He is an award winning expert and contributor to a prominent media outlets.

Dr. Febin Melepura has been recognized for his thoughtful, thorough, modern approach to treating chronic pain and, among other accolades, has been named a “top pain management doctor in New York”, and one of “America’s Top Doctors™” for an advanced sports injury treatments.