Advanced Pain Solutions Neck Pain Specialist

There are many potential causes of neck pain. A proper diagnosis is crucial to ensuring you receive the most effective treatment for your condition.

Your neck, also known as the cervical spine, is highly susceptible to pain and limited range of motion from injury. This is because the neck, when functioning properly, bears the large load of your head while maintaining a wide range of motion. Neck pain can result from poor posture and muscle strains, or from chronic conditions such as osteoarthritis. At Advanced Pain Solutions, our highly trained team of providers are equipped to treat many causes of neck pain, some of which include the following:

Accidents: Neck injuries can result from contact sports, a severe fall, or from a motor vehicle accident. Whiplash is a neck trauma that occurs when the neck or head experiences a sudden forced movement followed by a rebound movement in the opposite direction. This can cause significant pain and soreness. Whiplash is the most common type of neck injury and generally occurs after a car collision. Whiplash can occur in a car accident as slow as 8 mph. Sometimes the affects of whiplash go unnoticed immediately after the accident and are only recognized days, weeks, or sometimes even months after the trauma. Accidents and other traumatic injuries may affect the muscles, discs, ligaments, nerves, and spinal cord of the neck.

Herniated Discs: This is a worsening of a bulging disc. This occurs when the inner portion of the disc pushes through, or herniates through the outer supportive layer of the disc. As with a bulging disc it may push on a nerve causing nerve compression, or push on the spinal cord creating neurological symptoms such as local pain, radiating pain, weakness and/or numbness in the neck, arms, or hands. In some cases, the herniation can be reabsorbed or reversed.

Degenerative Disorders and Aging: The ligaments, tissues, and spinal structure can sometimes deteriorate as we age. This deterioration can result a variety of conditions such as osteoarthritis (the wearing down of joint cartilage), degenerative disc disease (when the spinal discs between the vertebrae breakdown), and spinal stenosis (when the spaces within the spine narrow). Disorders such as these can cause bone spurs, bulging discs or herniated discs, which can put pressure on the nerves in your neck, thus resulting in pain.

Poor Posture: When your head is out of alignment with the rest of your body, your neck will compensate by pushing forward. This results in poor posture. When the neck pushes forward for extended periods of time, this can lead to spinal misalignments, pinched nerves, stiff muscles, and ultimately a variety of chronic degenerative disorders. It is important to consider your posture when spending long hours at a computer, mobile device, or when driving. Often times, poor posture isn’t recognized until the pain and stiffness set in. Once your cervical spine has begun compensating for forward head carriage, it is important to seek medical care to help retrain your muscles, ligaments, and spine to function in proper alignment.

Cervical Arthritis: When a joint stop moving due to scar tissue from a previous injury or from improper body mechanics, that joint begins to break down. This breakdown is known as arthritis or degeneration and causes thinning of the joint space, reduction of the cushioning and/or cartilage, and results in spondylosis and osteophyte (bone spur) formation. When joints break down, the body doesn’t function at its full potential and there is often pain associated with the arthritis. The nerves that leave the spine can be pinches when the arthritis goes untreated, causing many problems such as pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness.

Torticollis: Also known as cervical dystonia or wryneck, is a painful condition caused by involuntary muscle spasms which results in holding the head out of alignment with the body. The pain can make it unbearable to turn your head and often results from a spinal misalignment or herniated disc.

Neck pain itself is a common symptom of a variety of injuries and conditions such as those listed above.

While symptoms can vary in type and severity, radicular neck pain is most severe, requiring immediate attention. This occurs when you experience shooting pain or muscle weakness into your shoulders, arms, hands, or head.

Other symptoms of neck pain include the following in the neck and/or shoulder muscles:

• Dull ache
• Sharp pain
• Tingling
• Numbness
• Burning
• Muscle spasms
• Decreased range of motion
• Muscle weakness

At Advanced Pain Solutions, we are here to help you with your neck pain. When the pain cannot be overcome with simple postural modifications, or ice and heat packs, our providers are able to perform a thorough examination to determine the true cause of your pain and how it can be best resolved without the use of harmful medications or surgery.

Our goal is to help our Central Oregon community to find lasting relief, naturally. Our doctors will complete a comprehensive exam and diagnosis in order to create an individualized treatment plan designed to address the underlying cause of your neck pain. Our care protocols are uniquely prescribed based on the cause of your pain. Our goal is to work with you to restore proper function and range of motion to your neck while reducing your pain.

Treatment methods may include:

• Cervical traction
• Trigger point injections
• Targeted strengthening and stretching
• Postural alignment with Chiropractic BioPhysics
• Chiropractic adjustments
• Enriched plasma
• Regenerative treatment