People at any age may acquire neck pain. Besides a direct injury to the neck, there are several other reasons, which produce neck pain. The intensity of neck pain varies from one person to the other depending upon the condition and circumstances. A patient remains in discomfort and restlessness, and he could not take part in his daily activities easily. The first and prime concern in the treatment of neck problems is the reduction of pain. There are different modalities via which pain is controlled.

Before prescribing any painkiller to the patient, he is strictly advised to take the rest as per requirement. It has usually been seen that the pain reduces considerably, if the appropriate rest is taken. Besides taking rest for the whole body, patients are also advised to wear a cervical or neck collar in order to provide rest to the muscles of the neck. Patients are also advised to apply cold packs at the neck muscles so that the inflammation and swelling over there could be reduced considerably. Once the swelling is declined, patients are advised to apply hot packs to the muscles of the neck so that the blood circulation to that area would be increased. These measures reduce neck pain considerably and a patient comes out easily from his state of distress and discomfort.

Painkillers are necessary in the management of neck pain. Initially, the easily available painkillers like acetaminophen are prescribed, which possess least side effects. However; every patient doesn’t get better results from these painkillers. Therefore; majority of the patients is required to get Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs). If the pain does not settle with NSAIDs, then high potency steroidal painkillers are given in the form of injections. These injections are directly applied at the muscles of the neck. Via virtue of these injections, the pain and inflammation settle promptly. If the pain still persists, patients are given narcotic analgesics in different potencies. In some forms, these narcotic analgesics are given directly into the spinal cord. Epidural analgesia is a form of pain management in which a catheter is placed in the outer layer (epidural) of spinal cord. The drugs then injected by means of these catheters directly into the spinal cord.

The application of TENS machine is considered when the conventional painkillers remain unsuccessful in the provision of relief from pain. Interferential pain machine could be used instead of TENS machine and it is also marvelous in the provision of relief from pain. Surgical denervation is the other option which is adopted in those cases where pain does not settle with all non-surgical methods. In general, the application of surgical method is not required since the majority of the patients get relief from conventional medications.

This article is provided for information purposes only. Please consult a doctor for treatment options. This article is not written by a doctor or checked for accuracy by a physician.

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