The neck is an area of the body that can easily become painful for many different reasons.
While the neck pain that you experience is likely temporary and shouldn’t be a cause for concern, there are times when neck pain can be the sign of a more serious health problem, which could require surgery to correct. If you find that surgery is necessary for your neck pain, make sure that you obtain the procedure from a top head and neck surgeon in Los Angeles.
What Causes Neck Pain?
While the neck is a very flexible area of the body, it’s also required to support the weight of your head, which makes it somewhat vulnerable to being injured. An injury to the neck that causes pain will also likely restrict the motion in your neck. Some of the more common causes of neck pain include muscle strains and nerve compression. Muscle strains are very common when you overuse the neck muscles by looking down at a smartphone or computer. Even gritting your teeth may lead to strained muscles and eventual pain. As for nerve compression, the presence of a bone spur or herniated disc in your neck can add pressure to the surrounding nerves, which will cause you to experience pain.
Some of the other causes of neck pain that you might be affected by include worn joints and injuries like whiplash. There are also certain types of diseases that can cause you to experience neck pain, which include cancer, meningitis, and rheumatoid arthritis. For some of the more serious conditions, surgery may be required from a head and neck surgeon in Los Angeles.
Serious Symptoms of Neck Pain
Mild forms of neck pain are oftentimes harmless, which means that treatment likely won’t be necessary for the neck to heal. You should seek treatment for your neck pain if you begin to experience more serious symptoms like:
- Severe pain
- Pain that spreads down to the arms or legs
- Pain that lasts for a week or more without diminishing
- Pain that’s accompanied by additional symptoms like weakness, tingling, headaches, or numbness
How to Prevent Neck Pain From Developing
Since poor posture commonly leads to the development of neck pain, the best way to lessen your chances of suffering from this pain is by improving your posture. Whenever you’re sitting or standing, make sure that your shoulders are in a direct line above your hips. Your ears should also be positioned just above the shoulders. Some additional methods for preventing neck pain include quitting smoking, sleeping in the correct position, and taking regular breaks from sitting down.
Surgical Treatments Provided By a Head and Neck Surgeon in Los Angeles
While rest and pain medications are usually enough to get rid of neck pain, surgery may be necessary if the pain is being caused by a herniated disc around the upper portion of your spine. The surgical procedures that can be administered by a head and neck surgeon in Los Angeles include a laminectomy, an anterior cervical discectomy, and cervical spinal fusion.