Neck pain has a 30% annual prevalence rate among US adults and nearly 50% will continue to experience some degree of chronic neck pain or frequent occurrences (Mayo Clinic Proceedings (2015;2). In my experience as a PT, the most coming diagnoses I’ve treated in the neck are cervical strain or sprain, cervical disc herniation, cervical spondylosis, cervical degenerative disc disease, and cervicogenic headaches.

Cervical Sprain or Strain – is an injury to the soft tissue and can be the result of a whiplash injury where the head moves backward and then forward quickly. The sudden force of movement can cause injury, but symptoms don’t also have immediate onset and can take a few days to manifest. Whiplash commonly occurs following a motor-vehicle accident, but can also occur from a fall, sports injuries, abuse, or amusement park rides. The severity of symptoms can vary, but can become chronic in nature if not addressed. Common symptoms experienced include neck pain and stiffness, painful neck range of motion, loss of range of motion, headaches at the base of the skull, pain and tenderness of neck and upper back musculature, and occasionally numbness or tingling into arms, fatigue, and dizziness.

Cervical Disc Herniation – most commonly occurs in the lower cervical spine due to the protective bony structures, called the uncinate joint (u-joint) which are almost vertical in the upper cervical spine and flatten with each successive level. The intervertebral disc is located between vertebral bodies and acts as a shock absorber. It’s composed of an inner nucleus pulposus, outer annulus fibrosus, and endplates which attach to the vertebrae. It’s important to remember you can have a disc herniation and not have symptoms which is why we don’t recommend patients rush out and get an MRI because you are not your imaging. Discs will naturally become lose their water content as we age and become less flexible which makes them more prone to injury. Most disc herniations aren’t exactly the result of a specific injury or trauma. Patients will commonly experience pain into their upper back, shoulder blade region, and into arm and hand which can be sharp, shooting, burning, or electrical, weakness of lower extremity muscles, and numbness and tingling.

Cervical Spondylosis & Degenerative Disc Disease - Spondylosis is a common, age-related change of the vertebrae and discs also known as osteoarthritis and degenerative disc disease. The discs will stiffen and may lose disc height and break down; the vertebrae may develop bone spurs and lose height as well. Patients can have spondylosis without symptoms, but it commonly presents as pain and stiffness which are usually worse in the morning. The degenerative changes of the disc and vertebrae can result in nerve root compression which may cause numbness, tingling, weakness, achy or shooting pain into upper back, shoulder blade, and arm.

Cervicogenic Headaches – are the result of some type of dysfunction in the upper cervical spine structures including the bone, disc, or soft tissue. Patients will commonly feel the pain at the base of the skull and it may wrap around the top or side of the head to the forehead. We’ll go into further detail on cervicogenic headaches in a later blog post this month so be on the lookout for it.

If you are interested in learning more or about treatment options, don’t hesitate to call/text 701-318-4731 or email alison@pinnalcetherapywellness.com to learn how we can help. Don’t forget to follow on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on the happenings at Pinnacle Therapy & Wellness.