How Neuropathy Affects Your Feet
Do your feet feel funny? Perhaps they tingle or feel numb, or maybe there’s pain that feels like needles sticking into your feet. These are signs of neuropathy, the medical name for nerve damage, in your feet.
5 Common Causes of Chronic Neck Pain
Virtually everyone experiences neck pain from time to time. It may stem from a day of exertion or the pressure of a work deadline, but it disappears with rest and time.
Chronic neck pain — pain that lasts for three months or longer — is a bigger problem. While not a medical emergency, constant neck pain can upset your life, creating a distraction that interferes with daily living.
Family nurse practitioner Savitri Gopaul, FNP-BC, of Commonwealth Pain Management and Wellness in Richmond, Virginia, specializes in treating neck and shoulder pain. She can help you get past the burden of chronic neck pain.
Solving the problem starts with knowing the cause of your neck pain. Today, we look at five of the more common reasons for persistent, long-lasting neck pain to help you better understand your condition.
Arthritis
It’s normal for aches and pains to increase as you get older. Daily wear-and-tear can affect any joint of your body, and your neck is no exception. The cervical spine can deteriorate from osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis.
Cartilage starts to wear down, interfering with the ability of facet joints in the spine to move freely. As the joint deteriorates, pain can become a chronic issue. Rheumatoid and other forms of arthritis can affect the spine as well, causing similar problems.
Chronic bad posture
In contemporary life, digital devices are ubiquitous. So many people spend time with their heads bent forward and down to view screens on smartphones and tablets. That’s just one of the postural challenges affecting your neck.
Unbalanced postures force your musculoskeletal system to strain to correct imbalances. This strain can cause pain originating in the soft tissues supporting the spine.
Herniated discs
When the soft inner gel of a spinal disc breaks through the tough outer shell, it can trigger pain from nerves in the disc itself, or it may compress a nerve root branching from the spinal cord. Pain from herniated discs can be local and also referred through your arms and hands.
Spinal stenosis
Nerve tissue branching from the spine passes through spaces in the complex anatomy of the spine. Any condition that reduces the size of these spaces can irritate or compress nerve tissue, causing chronic pain. The abnormal narrowing of a passageway in your body is called stenosis.
Chronic stress
Stress is a twofold problem, both chemical and physical. Stress releases the hormone cortisol to help you extract yourself from a stressful situation. This fight-or-flight response is meant as a temporary response to a dangerous situation.
Chronic stress presents a persistent level of cortisol that can take a toll on the soft tissues of your body. Combined with physical tension in your neck and shoulders, it’s a recipe for chronic pain.
The primary approach to any pain situation targets the root cause, but neck pain includes some degenerative conditions that require pain management.
Contact us at Commonwealth Pain Management and Wellness to build a plan to manage your pain. Call or click to book your neck pain consultation today.
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