Neck pain and back pain tend to develop either slowly, so you hardly realize it, or suddenly from an acute injury that never seems to get better. Either way, you want to find relief from the pain, because it can interfere with your ability to enjoy life or to engage in your favorite and everyday activities.
Let’s talk about some of the most common reasons why people develop back pain and neck pain, and where you can go to tamp down your pain with long-lasting results.
Reasons for Chronic Pain in Your Back and Neck
Arthritis
One of the ways in which neck and back pain can develop slowly is osteoarthritis, which is often called just “arthritis.” This is wear-and-tear arthritis in the joints in your spine, and it can cause swelling, pain, and limited mobility in the affected area of the spine. The topmost part of the spine is in your neck, and this region and the lower back are the two areas of the spine that are most frequently affected by arthritis pain.
Disc Degeneration
Disc degeneration occurs when the cushiony discs in your back slowly wear out and become less supple. They lose hydration and become dry, and are thereby unable to cushion your vertebrae as well as before. Each set of two adjacent vertebrae have a disc in between them so that the vertebrae do not rub together when you move your back and neck – so their integrity is important in order to prevent chronic pain.
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a disorder that can cause widespread pain in the bones and muscles throughout your body. Therefore, it can cause pain in your neck and back as well.
Injury
Neck and back pain may stem from a car accident, a sports injury, a fall, or repetitive stress on the joints in the back.
Types of Treatment for Your Pain
Interventional pain management involves your medical practitioner using minimally invasive or noninvasive treatments to relieve your pain. One popular treatment involves a simple injection into your spine to relieve your pain, which is usually a corticosteroid injection. This natural hormone helps to relieve swelling and to lessen your pain, and the injection must be performed by a medical practitioner.
Another type of pain-relief injection is a nerve block. This is a medication that “blocks” the nerve signals in the painful area, so pain is no longer felt there. A nerve block consists of an anesthetic and possibly steroids.
Radiofrequency ablation is another option your doctor may recommend for neck and back pain. This treatment harnesses radio waves that heat up a nerve, ultimately preventing the nerve from signaling pain.
If your neck pain or back pain is due to tight areas in the muscles surrounding the painful area, your physician may recommend and perform trigger-point injections. This treatment relaxes the muscle where you’re experiencing problems.
Neck and Back Pain Treatment in Melbourne, FL
If you are suffering from chronic pain in your neck or back, there is no need to tolerate the discomfort any longer. Contact us at Central Florida Spine & Pain today by calling us at (321) 802-5021 or by filling out our appointment request form online now. We look forward to being your healthcare partner for a pain-free life!
