Neck Pain Q & A
What are the most common causes of neck pain?
Sprains and strains are the most common causes of neck pain, often due to overextension and sports injuries. Whiplash following a car accident is a top injury leading to neck pain. Other underlying causes include disc herniation, repetitive motions, and degenerative disorders.
How is neck pain treated?
When you consult your Physician at FX Spine & Performance Center, you have access to treatments that are only available from physicians specializing in interventional pain medicine. They perform diverse procedures that deliver treatment directly to the affected area, providing immediate and significant pain relief. They also offer physical therapy and rehabilitation to rebuild strength and improve range of motion.
Your treatment plan may include one of the following injections:
Cervical transforaminal epidural steroid injection
Steroid medication injected into the space outside the spinal cord reduces swelling and inflammation. This injection is often used to treat nerves that are compressed, or pinched, due to disc damage, degeneration, or injury.
Cervical interlaminar epidural steroid injection
This injection is similar to the transforaminal epidural steroid injection, but it’s injected in an area where the steroid can reach multiple nerves.
Cervical facet block
The facet joints that connect the vertebrae in your spine can wear out, become degenerated, and develop bone spurs, which leads to inflammation and pain. A cervical facet block determines whether the facet joint is the source of pain, then the block is used to treat the pain.
Your Physician at FX Spine & Performance Center uses fluoroscopic X-ray to guide needle placement, then injects a numbing anesthetic and steroid. The local anesthetic provides immediate but temporary relief, while the steroid begins to reduce inflammation and pain in five to 10 days.
What other treatments effectively relieve neck pain?
Depending on the source of your neck pain, other treatment options include:
Cervical radiofrequency ablation
This is a highly effective treatment in which a needle is heated by radiofrequency energy then touched to the nerve, which stops pain signals from reaching the brain. Prior to ablation, a nerve block is performed to determine which nerves are causing your pain so the treatment is precisely applied to only the involved nerves.
Spinal cord stimulation
A medical device called a spinal cord stimulator is placed under your skin, where it sends a mild electrical current to nerves in the spine. The controlled electrical stimulation interferes with pain signals
Can FX Neuromuscular Therapy be used to treat neck pain?
FX Neuromuscular Therapy is non-invasive Neuromuscular Stimulation. It can be used to treat neck pain, function and performance. FX Performance offers individualized treatment programs to reprogram and re-educate connections in order to improve pain, movement & performance.
