Severe neck pain relief can be achieved in a variety of ways, but the first course of action is to receive a proper diagnosis from a doctor. When neck pain is bad enough to interfere with your daily activities, a trip to the doctor can set into motion the program you need to regain your life. A series of questions and tests should reveal the source of your pain, after which treatment will be prescribed.
Most likely, the diagnosis will reveal that your neck pain is a result of a soft tissue injury – a muscle strain or ligament sprain. This is the most common cause of neck pain and, while certainly uncomfortable, most strains or sprains will heal on their own over time and can be managed by over-the-counter analgesics or anti-inflammatory medicine.
Occasionally, chronic neck pain is the result of a compressed nerve root in the cervical spine, usually associated with a condition like herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, bulging disc or osteoarthritis. When this is the case, a doctor will work with you to develop a plan for pain management that usually starts with conservative treatment, including physical therapy, rest, prescription pain medicine, behavior modification, exercise, or massage therapy. If you remain incapacitated even after weeks or months of conservative treatment, a doctor might suggest surgery as an option for severe neck pain relief.
Traditional neck surgery often requires vertebral fusion or disc replacement, using bone grafts and metal rods to stabilize the spine. This typically involves a long hospital stay and lengthy recuperation. Laser Spine Institute (LSI) offers an alternative to traditional surgery. The surgeons at LSI use gentle, endoscopic techniques to perform minimally invasive, outpatient procedures that have helped tens of thousands of people achieve back and neck pain relief. Contact LSI to learn more, or for a free MRI or CT scan review.
