What causes neck pain?
There are many causes of neck pain, and the pain itself can be divided into the categories of: mechanical, coming from the joint or the disc; radicular, coming from a nerve or nerve root; or myelopathic, coming from the spinal cord. The spine is composed of segments that have essentially three joints, the disc in the front and two facet joints in the back. These structures are very resistant to wear-and-tear for the first two decades of life but often during our twenties, these tissues start to wear out. This mechanical pain is called degenerative disease and is the most common reason for neck pain. Radicular pain is usually sharp, electrical type pain that goes down the upper extremity in a particular pattern. It may be associated with numbness or weakness. It can be aggravated, or relieved by different motion or positions of the head or neck. Myelopathic pain refers to the symptoms coming from compression of the spinal cord. This type of pain is usually in both arms and can go down i
Neck pain, like back pain, can result from a number of causes, including trauma, infections or inflammatory disease and age-related degenerative disease in the cervical spine. Symptoms can include pain, tingling and numbness in your neck, shoulders, arms and/or hands. As with all disease, it is important to provide your doctor all the information he/she will need to determine the cause and appropriate treatment. Helpful tests, in addition to a physical exam, can include MRI and CT scans.
Neck pain has a variety of causes. Poor body mechanics, herniated discs, spinal fracture, muscle spasms, spinal deformity, and osteoarthritis are a few reasons. Your physician will determine if the pain is mechanical, (coming from the joint or the disc); radicular, (coming from a nerve or nerve root); or myelopathic, (coming from the spinal cord) and determine a treatment plan.
