Cervical Radiculopathy Treatment
What is Cervical Radiculopathy?
A condition not to be taken lightly, cervical radiculopathy is the pain, numbness, and even loss of movement throughout much of the upper body. But how does this happen? The underlying cause of cervical radiculopathy is the irritation or inflammation of a nerve in the cervical spine (or the neck). The cervical nerve roots, named C1-C8, come out of the cervical spine above the vertebral level it corresponds to. These cervical nerves are an incredibly important part of your body as they branch out from the spine and connect to the muscles that are responsible for the function and sensation of the shoulders, arms, hands and fingers.
Therefore, much of your overall ability to move and feel will be affected. Over time (or as a result of disease), you will start to notice signs such as compression or inflammation, pain, numbness, a tingling sensation or general weakness occurring along the nerve pathways. This causes severe discomfort in patients and cervical radiculopathy treatment is recommended for relief.
The Most Common Causes
How does the cervical spine get irritated in the first place? Compression or irritation of the nerve is most often caused by the following:
- Cervical Spinal Stenosis: Sometimes the culprit is simply age. The cervical spine degenerates over time. This is natural. As changes in the spinal joints occur, this can lead to tightening between them, thus causing the space in the spinal canal to diminish as well. And as you can imagine, this is not very comfortable. This resulting compression leads to cervical radiculopathy.
- Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease: Other times, a certain disease or condition causes cervical radiculopathy. If you have a cervical spine disc that is degenerating, the disc will flatten and stiffen. This change causes the spine to lack the support it is accustomed to, leading to inflammation and impingement of the nerve root. This type of problem can most commonly be found in the elderly (over 50 years of age).
- Cervical Herniated Discs: Though cervical radiculopathy causes pain to all who suffer from it, this condition in particular can be quite painful for anyone who experiences it. This occurs when you have a cervical disc that is leaking its inner material and it inflames or impinges the adjacent nerve. This can easily lead to cervical radiculopathy.
We Can Treat Your Cervical Radiculopathy At Innovative Pain Solutions
Suffer no longer. After conservative treatments like rest, physical therapy, massage, pain medications, etc. have failed, our expert pain specialist at Innovative Pain Solutions is here to help you gain your life back through cervical radiculopathy treatment. Dr. Kalia will listen to your symptoms with patience, and then work diligently to alleviate your ailments through interventions like cervical epidural steroid injection.
Contact us using the form below to speak with one of our friendly staff members and schedule an appointment at our office. We’ve helped plenty of Orlando area patients, and we’re ready to help you too. We look forward to helping you be free of your pain once and for all.
