The Park West Pain Management is located on 1 West 85th Street in Manhattan, New York as well as 2348 Richmond Road, Staten Island, NY. The pain treatment doctor at these centers is considered to be a pain care leader in interventional pain management of the cervical spine.
The cervical spine is a cause of severe but treatable pain for many people, with the annual incidence being as high as 15%. The incidence of cervical spine degeneration is actually higher than in the lumbar spine based on MRI findings and happens at an earlier age. Symptoms you may be experiencing from neck pain are: Pain in your neck, headaches, pain shooting/radiating into your shoulder, arm, or hand, reduced range of motion in your neck, numbness, weakness, and slower reflexes in your arms, hands, legs, or feet, muscle weakness in your legs
Neck pain can come from several sources. The mildest form, which usually improves in several days to weeks, is most often caused by muscle strain. The other, more severe or longer lasting forms of pain can be caused by:
1. The cervical facet joints, also known as zygophoseal joints. These joints can be strained/sprained/or get arthritis just as any other joint in the body.
2. The intervertebral disc. Disc degeneration occurs over time or with sudden stress such as an accident. The normal disc tissue, which does not contain nerve endings, changes as the normal anatomy changes. With disc rupture or degeneration, nerve fibers and blood vessels can now be found within the disc themselves. The ‘cushioning’ effect of the discs to the sensitive endplates of the vertebral body is now also a potential cause of pain.
3. Degeneration often results from small injuries that may not cause neck pain at the time that the injuries actually occur. Over time, these injuries add up and the abnormal wear and tear can weaken the connective tissue that makes up the disc of the neck. Once the connective tissue is weak, sudden stress, such as a whiplash type movement or heavy lifting, may injure the cervical disc more easily. The entire process of disc degeneration is sometimes referred to as spondylosis. You may hear your doctor refer to your neck problem as spondylosis of the cervical spine- he is referring to generalized degeneration and possibly arthritis.
4. Herniated disc or osteophytes- can produce cervical radiculopathy, where pain is felt in the upper extremity, sometimes described as an ‘electric’ or ‘shooting’ sensation.
Many pain physicians do not treat painful neck conditions because they do not feel comfortable or lack the training in cervical procedures. If you need your neck pain condition diagnosed, or are seeking a neck pain management specialist, the pain management doctors of Park West Pain Management of Manhattan, New York and Staten Island, NY would be happy to see you for a consultation and help you learn about the treatment options available to you for your neck pain.
