Your neck is a delicate and flexible part of your body — it’s easy to take its range of motion for granted. This flexibility, combined with the weight of your head, can put your neck at risk for pain.
At some point, most people have had neck pain, whether it’s from sleeping in a strange position or looking up at a movie screen in a theater for a couple hours. But neck pain can go beyond these simple aches. Chronic or ongoing neck pain can be a sign of illness or injury.
These illnesses cause neck pain
Causes of neck pain can include:
- Injury to the muscles, bones, ligaments or tendons
- Arthritis
- Herniated disc
- Degenerative spinal disease
- Spinal tumors
- Bone abnormalities, often present from birth
Orthopaedics at Main Line Health offers a team of orthopadic providers to quickly evaluate and diagnose your neck pain and help you find relief. To help figure out what’s causing your neck pain, your doctor will ask you questions about your pain and do a physical exam. You may also need imaging tests like an X-ray, MRI or CT scan.
In some cases, your provider may also want to take a blood sample or do a test called an electromyogram, which checks to see how well your nerves are working.
Treating neck pain
Once we’ve pinpointed the cause of your neck pain, our team will work with you to build a custom treatment plan. Depending on what’s causing your pain, your treatment may include the following:
- Medicines to relieve pain and reduce inflammation
- Rest
- A brace to keep your neck still
- Physical therapy
- Neck exercises
- Surgery
Our team of doctors, physical therapists and pain management specialists through Orthopaedics at Main Line Health will all work together to make sure you get the care you need.
