Arthritis Neck Pain
Arthritis neck pain is the second most commonly diagnosed source of cervical symptoms, bested only by
herniated discs.
Arthritis is a normal and expected part of the aging process and the
cervical spine
is one of the locations where arthritis tends to be the most visible. Although many arthritic processes work on the spinal structures, there are a few which are most often implicated in sourcing symptoms in the neck, shoulder, arms, hands and fingers.The scope of this article will explore arthritic activity in the neck and how it may cause pain is some patients. Additionally, the article will also explain why many neck pain syndromes are mistakenly linked to normal and universal spinal degeneration which is caused by osteoarthritis. Arthritis Neck Pain ConditionsForaminal stenosis can cause pinched nerves when osteophytes build up around the neuroforamen, occasionally compressing the nerve root as it tries to leave the spinal column. This diagnosis is speculative in many cases and often turns out to be incorrect, despite the actual existence of the bone spurs. I see a great number where symptoms expressed do not correlate to the diagnosed nerve in any way, yet the diagnosis is accepted nonetheless. Arthritis is also a major cause of central spinal stenosis, especially in elderly patients. This process is normal, expected and generally asymptomatic, although it can induce serious pain and neurological difficulty in rare instances. In these cases, the arthritic activity narrows the spinal canal and compresses the spinal cord. Another typical osteoarthritis related diagnosis is facet joint syndrome. This is a mechanical back ache diagnosis involving arthritic activity inside the small facet joints which link vertebrae to one another. Pain is usually enacted upon movement. It should be noted that there are no conservative noninvasive treatments which can resolve any of these conditions. This is strange, since the majority of all arthritic treatment is indeed nonsurgical in nature. If you consider the profitability of blaming pain on arthritis and then treating it conservatively longterm, the whole puzzling scenario makes far more sense… Think economics here people. Facts about Neck Pain from ArthritisOsteoarthritis is normal in the spine. The older we get, the greater the degree of arthritic change. However, the majority of pain blamed on arthritis occurs in patients aged 30 to 55. This is certainly NOT the demographic which suffers the greatest arthritic degeneration.This fact supports the theory of common
misdiagnosis
of the various arthritic processes as the actual sources of pain in most instances. In patients where the diagnosis of foraminal or spinal stenosis is correct, treatment may be required and occasionally the case may even need surgical intervention in order to fully resolve. However, these circumstances are rare and represent the minority of patients diagnosed with arthritic back or
neck pain. Arthritis Neck Pain AdviceSpinal arthritis is generally nothing to fear. In some cases, a particular osteophyte may cause trouble, but even these issues often resolve on their own or with targeted care. Facet joint syndrome is a very controversial diagnosis, since the condition should enact mechanical back pain, but in many cases, is blamed for causing widespread arthritis neck pain and neurological concerns, which is basically nonsensical. Foraminal stenosis and spinal stenosis can be shown on diagnostic imaging, such as spinal MRI, but typically also serve as little more than back pain scapegoats. Be very careful pursuing treatment for suspected arthritis-based diagnoses, since many turn out to be incorrect and can lead the patient into surgery when no treatment may be required at all.Arthritis Neck Pain to Back Pain 5/26/10 Revised 12/12/11 |
Sensei Adam Rostocki
Mission Statement
Editorial Board
Legal
Privacy Policy
Site Funding Disclosure
Source Material