If you’ve ever woken up with a kink in your neck, you know how painful it can be. Typically, with time and an over-the-counter pain reliever, that feeling goes away. But, for those individuals who suffer from chronic neck pain, the problem can be much more debilitating.
However, there are options for finding relief. “When patients eventually come to see us, it’s usually because just the normal types of things like Advil, heat and cold, and stretching hasn’t helped,” states Wendy Towers, Nurse Practitioner at University of Maryland Shore Medical Group Neurosurgery in Easton, Maryland.
Primary Culprits in Chronic Neck Pain
While age is a contributing factor to neck pain, one additional factor has increased in the digital age—the use of computers and mobile devices.
“It seems a lot of people are constantly looking down, or they have their computer screens up too high. We’re lost without our mobile devices. We’re looking down, we’re not being very mobile with our necks, and that really causes our muscles to not like us very much,” explains Towers.
Neck pain is also associated with the pervasive tension affecting Americans. “We are a society, especially in the United States, where we’re always on the go. We always need to be in the know. So, we just build up a lot of tension, and that causes a lot of neck pain,” she adds.
Treatment Options
The goal in addressing neck pain is to increase mobility. But, many people are fearful of moving their neck too much—especially when doing so creates cracking, snapping, and popping sensations. By not being mobile, the stiffness compounds upon itself.
“I really encourage patients to do a lot of neck rolls and move their head back and forth, side to side, and really roll the neck. Doing things like yoga, acupuncture and acupressure, applying heat and cold, and stretching can really help,” shares Towers. “It seems counterintuitive, sometimes, but moving your neck is an important piece of good neck health.”
Enlisting the expertise of a physical therapist is also beneficial, as they can design specific exercises for each individual patient. If seeking out alternative options like CBD, Towers suggests finding a reputable source in your community—such as an herbalist or pharmacist who is knowledgeable about CBD therapies.
Might You Need Surgery?
While many neck-pain cases do not require surgery, sometimes that is the best option for relief. Towers notes that neurological symptoms are typically a signal of potential surgical intervention—including radiating pain down the arm, numbness or tingling in the hands or feet, having difficulty walking or picking items up, and loss of muscle strength.
“Those are all the things where we start saying, okay, something else is going on and we can help with relieving the neurological pressure of anything that’s been compressed… whether it’s just the spinal cord in general or a specific nerve root, like from a herniated disc or a severe degenerative disc disease. But, in general, neck pain alone doesn’t lend itself to surgical intervention,” she assures.
For more information, please visit the “Spine Care” page on the UMMS website.
Listen to a Podcast
Listen to an in-depth conversation on this topic with Wendy Towers, Nurse Practitioner at University of Maryland Shore Medical Group Neurosurgery in Easton, Maryland, below or at umms.org/podcast.
