Neck Nerve Pain

The pain that you feel on either side of the neck is called neck nerve pain. It may be due to an injury or a muscular problem, or due to a trapped nerve that is usually caused by a bulge in one of the discs between the vertebrae. It may also be caused due to arthritis of the neck. The pain can range from mild and minor discomfort to acute and severe burning pain. If the pain is acute, sudden and intense, it is known as a crick in the neck. This condition is also called facet syndrome or muscular rheumatism. Pain in the neck that lasts for more than 3 hours is termed as chronic neck pain, which is more often seen in women than in men.

Nerve Pain in the Neck Symptoms

• General mild pain near the neck area and a feeling of stiffness in the neck muscles.
• The general neck pain may shift down to shoulders or near/between the two shoulder blades, causing shoulder, and neck pain.
• Muscles in your neck region might feel sore, tense and hard to touch.
• If the neck pain is acute, it may result in abnormal posture, which forces the head to turn to one side always. This condition is called torticollis.
• Sometimes, the neck pain may even shift to the arms, the hand or up into the head, which may cause either a one-sided or a double-sided headache.
• The pain which can be felt at the base of your skull may be followed or accompanied by a feeling of weakness in shoulders and arms.
• You might as well feel a tingling sensation or a prickly feeling in the arms and the fingers.

Basically, there are three types of spinal nerves which connect the spine to the rest of your body. These three nerves are, sensory nerves, motor nerves and autonomic nerves. Sensory nerves send feelings like temperature, pain and texture to your brain. Motor nerves send impulses for any kind of movement or motion to different parts of the body, while autonomic nerves are meant to control involuntary activities like heartbeat, digestion, blood flow, etc. If you are getting confused between the relation of general neck pain with nerve damage, let me tell you that these are two different things. In case of nerve damage, there can be a wide range of symptoms. How to know which nerves might be affected, depends on the location and intensity of your neck pain. The nerves in your brain and in the spinal cord may get affected by the nerve damage. Even the peripheral nerves that are located throughout your body, are also likely to get affected and damaged.

The following symptoms indicate damage to autonomic nerves.

• Inability to sense and recognize chest pain, such as angina or heart attack.
• Lightheadedness
• Heavy sweating (known as hyperhidrosis) or too little sweating (known as anhidrosis).
• Sexual dysfunction
• Constipation
• Bladder dysfunction
• Dry eyes and mouth

If the motor nerves have been affected or damaged, you may experience the following symptoms:

• Weakness
• Twitching, also known as fasciculation.
• Muscle atrophy twitching, also known as fasciculation.
• Paralysis

Sensory nerve damage may cause the following symptoms:

• Sensitivity
• Burning
• Sharp Tingling or prickling
• Pain
• Problems with positional awareness.
• Numbness

These are all the symptoms related to neck pain caused by nerve damage.

Causes of Neck Pain

• Poor posture
• Muscle strain
• Trauma
• Abnormalities in the bone or joints
• Tumors
• Degenerative diseases
• Osteoarthritis
• Spondylitis

If you have been experiencing neck pain near the shoulder region, the causes could be:

• Dislocation
• Strains from overexertion
• Shoulder joint instability
• Frozen shoulder
• Tendonitis from overuse
• Collar or upper arm bone fractures
• Pinched nerves (also known as radiculopathy)

You should know that your shoulder is a ball and socket joint, that has a wide range of movement. A joint in your body which is so mobile tends to be more prone to injury.

The treatment for any kind of neck pain depends on the location, intensity and the cause of pain. There are several other factors involved as part of treatment. The pain in one's neck is also associated with neuralgia. The medication for a general neck pain will involve non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen and naproxen to control and reduce inflammation and relieve pain. If you are experiencing spasms, a muscle relaxant is generally prescribed by the doctors for a short time, usually 3 to 4 days. If the pain is acute and severe, an analgesic that can be taken with the NSAIDs (Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) or a muscle relaxant may be advised. Other treatments might include:

• Nerve blocks
• Local injections for pain relief (anesthetic drugs)
• Surgical procedures like ablation using radio frequency, heat, balloon compression, or injection of chemicals to reduce stabbing feeling in the nerve.

But these procedures and treatments do not fully guarantee recovery and may cause loss of feeling and abnormal sensations. When these other treatments fail to succeed, the doctors may attempt motor cortex stimulation (MCS). Physical therapy and exercises may also help the patient relieve some of the neck pain. In fact, you can return to full normal activity with the help of proper physical therapy. It is advised to take this training from a well qualified and experienced physical therapists. He can guide you with a few neck exercises that are related to appropriate posture, lifting, various walking techniques and he will work with you so as to strengthen your neck and arm region and chest muscles as well. Ultrasound heat, massages and traction maneuvers may also help in diminishing neck pain.

If you experience any of these symptoms, I would strongly insist on getting a medical check up done from your family doctor. And most importantly, exercise should become a part of your daily life to avoid even the minutest cause of health problems. Healthy food habits and daily exercise are the only key to a healthy life. Prevention is better than cure is rightly said.