Cervicalgia
Cervicalgia
Cervicalgia is neck pain that does not radiate outward to the upper extremities or shoulders. Its symptoms can be chronic or acute and can include neck stiffness, aching, tenderness, pain upon movement and headaches. It can be treated with application of ice when caused by an injury, heat when the pain is muscular in nature, temporary use of a cervical collar, anti-inflammatory medications and physical therapy. If left untreated, cervicalgia can progress to radiculopathy, and the neck muscle instability can cause osteoarthritis and cervical spinal stenosis.
See also: Laser Therapy Treatment
RELATED CONDITIONS
The bones of the spine are connected by facet joints. Each facet joint is no larger than a thumbnail and has two medial nerves, located in bony grooves in the spine, which carry the sensation of pain to your brain. When the facet joints become inflamed, soreness, stiffness, and neck pain can result and can be felt from the first level of the cervical spine at the top the lower neck. There can be pain on up-and-down movement of the head, neck stiffness, headaches and shoulder and arm pain as a result of cervical facet disease. Treatment of cervical facet disease can range from conservative measures such as physical therapy and medications to facet injections and medial branch blocks designed to inject local anesthetic and a longer-acting steroid medication into the source of the pain to cervical surgery in extreme cases.
A sprain injury results when the ligament in a joint is stretched beyond its capacity. Symptoms involve swelling of the affected joint, tenderness, instability and decrease range of motion. Sprains range in severity from Grade I to Grade III, and both Grade I (mild) and II (moderate) sprains can be treated conservatively by rest, ice, compression and elevation (RICE) and range of motion and stretching exercises. Grade III (severe) sprains involve a complete tear of the ligament and can also be treated by conservative measures but occasionally require surgical reconstruction.