A bad night’s sleep can certainly leave you feeling cranky and tired but it also has a significant effect on recovery from injury and illness. New research even suggests that neck pain is less likely to improve in people with poor quality of sleep, regardless of how they are being treated for neck pain. Read more
States in the US that allow access to medical marijuana have lower rates of fatal opioid overdoses than those where cannabis is still illegal, according to new research looking at the use of the herb for chronic pain. Writing in the JAMA Internal Medicine, Marcus Bachhuber, MD, noted that many people report dissatisfaction with opioids for chronic pain but that medical marijuana is effective at relieving that pain. Read more
There are few natural remedies for neck pain that are backed by a good amount of quality clinical trial data but Celadrin is one such product. This cetylated fatty acid supplement can be taken in capsule form or used topically and results from human studies suggest that it can start relieving pain within just 30 minutes of application, so what is Celadrin and how could it help your neck pain? Read more
Diabetes could increase your risk of head and neck cancer by 50% according to a newly published retrospective cohort study carried out in Taiwan. The research, published in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology looked at data from 89,089 patients with diabetes and found that compared to closely matched people without diabetes they were 47% more likely to develop head and neck cancer. Read more
Differentiating multiple sclerosis and cervical symptoms of spinal stenosis can be challenging and new research suggests that for patients with both conditions preoperative MRI results may not offer a clear indication of the likely success of spine surgery. Typically, people with cervical spinal stenosis can be given a pretty good idea of the benefits they could see after neck surgery, but evaluating patients with concurrent MS and cervical stenosis causing myelopathy appears to offer little indication of its usefulness. Read more
People with chronic neck pain could better manage their condition by improving their overall physical fitness, according to a new study published in the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases. The authors of this study also recommended that physicians assess their patients’ levels of anxiety and depression, in addition to physical fitness, when working out how best to manage chronic neck pain. Read more
Cervical spondylotic myelopathy accounts for the majority of cases of spinal cord dysfunction in older adults. This common cause of neck pain results from degenerative changes in the cervical spine, including age-related damage to the joints, discs, ligaments, and connective tissue in the neck, that results in spinal cord compression. The treatment for this condition will depend on the extent of the degeneration and symptoms but typically involves laminectomy and spinal fusion. Read more
There are so many common causes of neck pain, most of which are non-life threatening, that few stop to consider that a pain in the neck could have a cancerous root.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the cervical spine can be a cause of spinal cord compression and neck pain but these serious underlying causes may be overlooked, especially in the elderly where weakness and falls are attributed to other conditions. Read more
If you’re involved in a car crash and are overweight or obese then your risk of persistent neck pain is higher than for someone who is not overweight, according to a new study presented at the 63rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society (APS).
The results of this study showed that the risk of neck pain lasting at least six months after an accident almost doubles if the person is morbidly obese, so what is it that makes those who are overweight more vulnerable to chronic pain? Read more
When headaches and neck pain occur together there can be a variety of explanations ranging from concussion after a serious fall, head and neck tumours causing obstructed circulation or nerve activity, stress and muscle tension and even, it seems, overuse of NSAIDs for neck pain leading to medication-related headaches.
Around 1% of the US population is thought to experience medication overuse headaches and while these are more common in those with primary headaches it may be that neck pain is also a trigger. Read more