Your Neck Pain could be Cervical Radiculopathy

by Sam Walton Sr. Business Analyst

Your neck is a complicated structure, especially because it has many nerve roots that branch out from the spinal cord. If these nerves become damaged or inflamed, it results in a condition called cervical radiculopathy — changes in nerve function in your cervical spine, or neck.

A pain management doctor can diagnose the source of cervical radiculopathy and help you get relief from the resulting chronic, debilitating nerve pain.

Your neck

The spine is made up of 33 small bones called vertebrae, that are stacked one on top of one another to make the spinal column. The top part or your neck is called the cervical region. It contains the 8 top vertebrae of your spine.

The nerves that branch out from in between your cervical vertebrae give your extremities feeling and movement. An injury or an underlying condition, like degenerative disc disease, that puts pressure on these cervical nerves, can affect your neck, head, shoulders and arms.

Signs of cervical radiculopathy

Head and neck pain – If you experience pain when you bend your neck forward or backward, or flex to bend it side-to-side, you may have a damaged nerve in the upper three sections.

Shoulder pain – Pain in your neck, your shoulder (during upward movements such as shrugging and lifting) and your upper arms may be due to a damaged or inflamed nerve in your cervical spine.

Bicep, wrist, thumb, and index finger pain – The cervical nerves also affect the bicep muscles, your wrist, and the thumb side of your hand. Tingling or numbness in these areas may indicate cervical radiculopathy.

Triceps and middle finger pain – If you suffer from chronic pain in your triceps (large muscle on the back of your upper arm), it could be a sign of cervical radiculopathy. In fact, the cervical nerve responsible for triceps also runs all the way down to your middle finger, any pain in both these areas could be due to cervical radiculopathy.

Finger pain and weak grip – The last of the cervical nerves allows you to grasp things and flex your fist. A pins-and-needles sensation, weakness, or numbing in your fourth finger or little finger, or a loss of grip may indicate cervical radiculopathy.

Treatment for cervical radiculopathy

Once your pain doctor discovers the source of your nerve pain, they can design a completely customized treatment plan for you. The first step to relieve your pain could be medications to reduce inflammation.

Then the root cause of the nerve pain is addressed. Physical therapy can aid in strengthening your muscles and relieve pain. Other treatments include trigger point injections, epidural spinal injections, spinal cord stimulation, and surgery, in a few cases.

If you are looking for effective joint, back, neck, shoulder and abdominal pain management and treatment in Texas, call Lone Star Pain Clinic at 888.599.4901 Today. Lone Star Pain Clinic’s Board Certified, highly skilled, experienced and compassionate doctors and staff help you achieve pain relief using conservative and minimally invasive pain management.