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Swollen Lymph Nodes in the Neck

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Swollen lymph nodes in the neck are a common source of neck pain. Most often they are a sign of infection and, once treated or resolved, the lymph nodes will return to normal and the neck pain symptoms will also disappear. Usually, it is difficult to feel the lymph nodes in the neck unless they are enlarged (more than a centimeter across or so) but careful exploration with the fingers can locate the chain of lymph nodes down each side of the back of the neck, on either side of the anterior neck, and on both sides of the neck. Read more

Can Statins Cause Neck Pain?

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statins and neck pain coq10 myopathyMillions of people worldwide take statins in an attempt to lower their cholesterol levels and reduce their risk of heart attack. The sad irony is that by blocking endogenous cholesterol production, which is how statin drugs work, these medications also block production of coenzyme Q10, a nutrient needed for the production of energy, especially in muscles and particularly in the heart. As such, statin drugs may cause side effects including fatigue, muscle weakness, and neck pain which clinicians refer to as statin-induced myopathy. Read more

Concussion and Cervicalgia Headaches

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concussion and cervicalgia headachesMore than 1.7 million people in the US are affected annually by concussion, also known as mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), and often concussion and cervicalgia headaches go hand in hand. Around 15% of people with concussion have symptoms that persist for three months or more, and sometimes patients don’t realize that neck and head pain are related to the earlier injury. This is especially true of people who have a minor bump or experience of whiplash on top of earlier head injuries. Read more

Unique Brain Activity in Fibromyalgia – A Cause of Neck Pain

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fibromyalgia brain activity pain neck

Fibromyalgia - all in your head? Perhaps, but it isn't imaginary.

Fibromyalgia patients may be used to having people tell them that their condition is all in their head, but new research offers more weight to the theory that people with this condition have a unique response to pain due to altered brain function.

The research, published in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatology, involved 35 patients with fibromyalgia, a condition that frequently involves symptoms such as neck pain, back pain, fatigue, muscle tenderness, sleep disturbance, altered mood and cognitive dysfunction. Read more

Occipital Neuralgia – What is it?

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occipital-neuralgia head and neck pain nerve blockHead and neck pain could be caused by occipital neuralgia, a non-fatal condition that involves nerve irritation or injury from a variety of causes. The prefix ‘neuro’ means nerve and ‘algia’ means pain, while ‘occipital’ describes a region of the head running from the spinal column in the neck up to the scalp at the back of the head.

There are numerous possible causes of this kind of spreading neck pain and headache resulting from injury or compression of the greater and lesser occipital nerves. Read more

TMJ, Ear and Neck Pain

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jaw, ear and neck painNeck pain may occur in isolation, but often neck pain, ear pain and jaw pain co-exist, leading to pain when eating, speaking, moving the head, and even when lying down to sleep. Sometimes, this triad is a result of temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ), where the jaw joint and related bones, ligaments, and cartilage are typically swollen and painful, making it hard to open the jaw. Read more

Neck Pain as a Heart Attack Symptom in Women

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heart attack symptoms in women neck pain

Is this what a heart attack feels like for women?

Men and women experience heart attacks differently, meaning that it is important to be able to recognize which symptoms of a heart attack you are likely to encounter. For women, neck pain can indicate a heart attack, but this symptom is often ignored or dismissed as a result of muscle strain. Read more

Neck Pain and Nausea – Signs of Flu?

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neck pain nausea flu 2014 15According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the 2014/15 flu season is especially bad, with about half of the US experiencing high flu activity. This is expected to increase over January and spread to states where flu has remained relatively less active. December to February is typically the worst time for flu cases in the US, with symptoms including neck pain and stiffness, sore throat, nausea, fever, chills, and fatigue causing many to stay away from work and school. Read more

Parkinson's Drug Could Help Relieve Neck Pain from Fibromyalgia

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memantine for fibromyalgiaMemantine is a drug typically used to treat people with Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, but a new study has found it can also help with pain relief in fibromyalgia, a condition that can be a cause of neck pain. Fibromyalgia is characterised by an increased sensitivity to pain, with specific tender points, in addition to fatigue and cognitive symptoms. Read more

Bone Spurs in the Neck – Where are they most common?

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bone-spur-neck-cervical-mriThe most common sites of bone spur formation in the neck are levels C6-C7 as this is the segment of the spine where the intervertebral discs tends to degenerate faster with age. A combination of shocks to the discs and the general wear and tear of compression can cause the disc to collapse, leading to a loss of vertebral height and reduced mobility of that spinal segment.

When one area of the spine becomes less mobile, the areas nearby often compensate by becoming more mobile. In this case, the spinal segments C3-C5 show increased motion and the body then attempts to restore stability by remodelling bone at the outer edges of the vertebral body. Bone spurs typically indicate a loss of spinal stability, rather than simply arising out of nothing.

Causes of Bone Spurs in the Neck

Bone diseases also contribute to the development of osteophytes (bone spurs) though, as does smoking, poor nutrition, and genetic factors. In order to maintain strong bones the body needs sufficient amounts of calcium, but it also needs magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin D, and a range of other nutrients that work to create the collagen scaffold onto which these minerals are deposited in crystal form. Without adequate magnesium, for example, the bone crystals that are formed are poorly constructed and weak, leading to an increased likelihood of bones in the spine fracturing, compressing, and developing spurs.


Symptoms of Bone Spurs in the Neck

Bone spurs cause problems in the spine because they can impinge upon spinal nerves and nerve roots, as well as entering the disc space or even compressing the spinal cord itself. These bony growths may lead to symptoms such as paraesthesia, weakness, numbness, muscle wasting, and pain in the neck, back, down the arms, or even up into the jaw and head, depending on the location of the bone spurs and which nerves are pinched or section of spinal cord compressed.

Surgery for Bone Spurs in the Neck

To alleviate these symptoms, surgery is often necessary to remove bone spurs as this is a physical obstruction rather than one that can be managed with anti-inflammatory and analgesic medications. In addition to operating to remove the bone spurs in the neck, it is also important that the surgical team help a patient understand the potential factors contributing to the development of osteophytes, otherwise it may simply be a matter of time before the patient is back in for further surgery to remove more aberrant bone.