Cervical Pain Treatment / Cervical Spondylosis

The symptoms of cervical pain or cervical spondylosis include:

• Pain and stiffness of the neck
• Numbness, tingling, feeling of pins and needles, crawling of insect or loss of feeling of touch from neck till both hands, shooting pain like current flow or burning sensation from neck till hands
• Difficulty in performing daily activities like
• Combing of hairs
• Holding objects like a phone or book
• Using a computer mouse and keyboard
• Writing
• Driving
• Dizziness or vertigo
• Difficulty in walking
• In very severe cases, loss of bladder and bowel control
• In severe cases, muscle weakness

Risk factors include:

• Usually, it occurs in 5th decade of life
• Earlier injury to the neck
• Stress to the neck like heavy weight lifting, manual work, abnormal sleep posture
• Looking at a particular point for a long time, like computer work, painting, reading, or mobile use for long hours without maintaining proper position.
• Driving for very long hours

Physical examination with a detailed history to find the cause of neck pain. It include:

• X-rays of the neck
• Computed tomography (CT) scans.
• MRI
• EMG
• NCV
• Myelogram (type of CT scan)

Cervical pain/ neck pain can arise because of a number of causes and can occur at any age. Usually, symptoms are mild, with lower chances of nerve involvement. It can be prevented in following ways:

• Maintain Good Posture. Place computers and phones so there is no pressure on your neck while using them. Keep back straight when seated, and use the armrest. While driving, maintain good posture. Keep your elbow, wrist, and hand straight. Use a mouse for computers instead of the touchpad and keep the screen at the level of eyes.
• Sleep correctly so as not to strain the neck. Use a pillow for head support; the head and neck should all be aligned. Place a pillow below the knees. It removes pressure from the low back.
• Take frequent breaks, move around, and stretch your body. If working for a long time in a sitting position, stretch your neck every hour.
• Avoid heavy weight lifting on the head and shoulders.
• Exercise regularly, do yoga or join physiotherapy sessions to strengthen neck muscles.

The treatment for cervical pain/ cervical spondylosis include:

• Rest
• Physiotherapy
• Hot and cold massage treatment
• Painkillers and muscle relaxants
• Soft collar support use or hard collar brace.

Many patients will only be treated with this; consult your surgeon and follow the advice.

In cases where the patient has taken treatment for more than three months, it is called chronic pain.

The surgery is done in the following cases:

• After taking treatment for a long time, the problem is still there.
• The patient is not able to perform daily activities because of pain
• Problems like weakness of arms or legs, loss sensation of touch, unable to control bladder or bowel, thinning of muscles of arms or legs.
• Difficulty in maintaining balance or walking

A final decision has to be taken in consultation with a surgeon.

Many surgical options are present; the patient, in consultation with the surgeon, should know what surgery is to be done and the risks of surgery.

• The role of surgery is to fuse the bone of the neck called vertebrae.
• Commonly done surgery is ACDF (anterior cervical discectomy and fusion)
• It involves the fusion of the vertebrae or bones of the neck. How many fusion levels are done depends on the problem present and the levels involved.
• Bone grafts, plates, screws, cages and artificial discs are used to fuse the bones.

Usually, a patient has to stay for 2-3 days in the hospital.

ACDF (anterior cervical discectomy and fusion) surgery with new technologies and a better understanding of the problem and the use of the best plates and screws is routinely performed surgery worldwide with a reasonable success rate. Final results depend on the patient's condition, so consult with the surgeon.

Recovery usually takes 4-6 weeks, after which the patient will join light duties. For complete recovery, it will take 3- 4 months.

Very next day, with the help of some assistance and after a review with the doctor and physiotherapist, the patient will be allowed to walk.

The problems after cervical spondylosis/ cervical pain include:

• Presence of tubes in the neck, urinary tract for 1-2 days
• Difficulty in swallowing food for the initial few weeks
• Hoarseness of voice for the initial few weeks
• Use of collar of the neck for a few weeks to a month.

The surgery complications for cervical pain/ cervical spondylosis include:

• Infection
• Injury to blood vessels and nerves
• Damage to the dura
• Bleeding
• Injury to the spinal cord
• Failure to correct problems for which surgery was done
• Failure of the graft to heal/ non-union

It is determined by the hospital category selected by the patient as well as the type of implant discussed with the surgeon. Simpainortho.com has attempted to decrease the cost of surgery and hospital charges while also including complete after-surgery services that patients need following surgery. This is done as we understand that treatment does not finish with the patient's discharge. To ensure a patient's speedy recovery at simpainortho.com, we believe that a patient needs expert treatment in the most comfortable conditions until he or she can resume ordinary activities. As a result, we have created various packages for various patients based on their needs, all at the most affordable pricing.

Yes, most insurances have included cervical spondylosis/ cervical pain surgery.