Neck pain complaint is frequently encountered in daily life. Neck pain is often severe. Neck muscles can be stretched in case of bending forward while working at the computer or doing housework depending on the position. Neck pain is frequently encountered in various rheumatic diseases. But sometimes neck pain can be severe enough to require medical treatment.
Consult your doctor for medical treatment in the following cases:
If your neck pain radiates to the shoulders and fingers,
If you have numbness, tingling or weakness in the hand or arm,
In cases of urinary-fecal incontinence,
If there is a problem in moving the chin to the chest,
Findings
The localization and severity of neck pain determine what causes the pain. shows important clues. Let your doctor know in which position your head and neck are comfortable or in which position you find relief from pain.
When to see a doctor?
If your neck pain radiates to the shoulder and fingers,
If you have numbness, tingling or weakness in the hand or arm,
In cases of urinary-fecal incontinence,
If there is a problem in bending the neck,
Causes of neck pain
Neck pain can be caused by straining the neck, or it can occur due to more important diseases such as neck hernia or spinal tumors.
Muscle strain
Staying bent in the car, on the desk and in front of the computer for a long time causes muscle tension and strain. Especially the muscles at the back of the neck are overtired and are forced as a result. If the neck muscles are forced too much in a short time, chronic neck pain may occur. Small movements such as reading a book in bed or grinding the teeth can also strain the neck muscles.
Joint wear
Joints in the neck, such as joints in other parts of the body, can wear and tear over time. As a result, osteoarthritis develops in the neck joints.
Pressure on the nerves
Some diseases in the neck vertebrae can cause neck pain by causing narrowing of the space through which the nerves exiting the spinal cord pass.
For example:
Hardened disc: As we age, the discs between the vertebrae lose their water and the distance between the vertebrae narrows. The resulting nerve is crushed.
Disc herniations: Disc herniations occur when the hard outer layers of the discs between the vertebrae are torn, and the gelatinous material inside the disc comes out. The protruding protrusion can compress the nerves protruding from the spine and cause pain and weakness in the arms.
Bone spurs: Bone spurs formed in the arthritic joints of the neck may compress the nerves coming out of the spinal cord.
Accidents
In traffic accidents caused by a rear impact, the head can move forward and backward quickly, making a whip motion, and as a result, the soft tissues of the neck can be stretched by moving over their limits.
Diseases
Rheumatoid arthritis: After hand and foot joints, neck joints are the most frequently affected joint group in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Meningitis: In this type of infectious disease, swelling occurs throughout the brain and spinal cord, and patients develop severe neck pain and stiffness in the neck.
Cancer: Sometimes neck pain can also be seen in spinal cord cancers. Cancer tissue can come to the spinal cord from other parts of the body.
Risk factors
Age: As age increases, arthritic changes are often seen in the neck as a result of wear.
Occupation: The risk of neck pain is higher if your job requires bending the neck for long periods of time. For example: Jobs related to driving and computer use…
Diagnostic tests
After hearing your story in general, your doctor will ask questions about the type, origin and extent of your neck pain. By asking questions, he will be able to determine the cause of the pain and give the treatment. However, he may sometimes perform diagnostic tests and request various imaging methods.
*X-ray: The X-ray will be able to show a bony prominence or disc in your neck that is compressing the nerve or spinal cord. However, in many people over the age of 60, although changes in the bones can be seen in the films, it does not cause any findings.
*Computed Tomography (CT): Detailed information about the bone structures in the neck can be obtained with computed tomography.
*Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): Magnetic resonance imaging is an advanced imaging technique that allows us to obtain detailed information about bones, spinal cord and nerves obtained by using magnetic waves.
*Nerve tests: If your doctor suspects that your pain is caused by crushing the nerve, he may order a test such as electromyography (EMG). The EMG test is a test that shows the functions of the nerves applied by advancing sharp needles from the skin into the muscles.
*Laboratory tests: Blood tests: Blood tests sometimes help us detect conditions related to rheumatism or infection that cause neck pain. Lumbar puncture: When an infection in the brain or spinal cord is suspected, it may be necessary to take spinal fluid from the waist for diagnostic purposes.
Treatments and medications
Medication:
*Painkillers: Your doctor may prescribe stronger painkillers than you have ever encountered. Opioid pain relievers can sometimes quickly relieve your pain. Muscle relaxants or tricyclic antidepressants are other groups of drugs that can be prescribed specifically for pain.
*Injections: Injections also reduce neck pain. Your doctor may inject cotrichosteroid drugs near nerves, into your facet joint, or into your neck muscles. In addition, local anesthetic agents such as lidocaine can be injected into the neck to relieve your pain.
Surgical treatment:
Neck pain may rarely require surgical treatment. Arm pain that does not decrease with painkillers, weakness in the arms-shoulder that does not improve with drug therapy, and signs of compression on the spinal cord reveal the necessity for surgical treatment.
Surgical approaches to cervical disc herniation can be done from anterior (anterior) and posterior (posterior).
Anterior cervical discectomy
Without prosthesis for fusion
With prosthesis
Without anterior plate
With anterior plate
Disc Prosthesis used
Posterior approaches
Cervical laminectomy
Keyhole laminotomy
Patients are mobilized at the 6th hour postoperatively and discharged the next day. Frontal surgeries are performed through a small incision in the neck of the patients.
