Innovative Spine Surgery are experts in minimally-invasive neck pain surgery in NYC. Life can be, for so many people, literally a pain in the neck. Sometimes this is the result of a major injury or a severe herniation of a spinal disc in the neck. More often, however, it is from a “pinched nerve” – which, it turns out, is anything but a simple problem.
A pinched nerve in the neck is more correctly termed “cervical radiculopathy”. This simply means any pain or neurological symptoms that arise from nerve irritation in the cervical spine.
Cervical nerves exit the cervical spine between each vertebral body and these then branch out to supply function and sensation to the shoulders, arms, hands, and fingers. If any nerve root is compressed by a bone spur or disc, or irritated by inflammation in the neck, the symptoms of this will radiate along that nerve’s pathway and cause symptoms. These include pain that is sharp or dull, arm pain, shoulder pain, weakness, numbness, or a burning sensation.
The symptoms experienced depend entirely on which nerve is compromised and the degree to which it is irritated.
Causes of cervical radiculopathy include:
There are numerous cervical radiculopathy treatments available in NYC. These range from the medical (rest, anti-inflammatory pain medications, physical therapy, wearing a cervical collar, steroids) to surgical options when non-invasive methods have failed to alleviate symptoms.
If you experience severe unrelenting pain, increasing numbness or weakness, muscle deterioration, or spreading of symptoms, surgery may be recommended. The most common of surgical Cervical Radiculopathy Treatments in NYC is anterior cervical fusion.