Neck Pain

The cervical spine, commonly known as the neck, includes seven vertebrae. With age, the gel-like center of cervical discs become more dried out, which means the discs provide less cushioning between the vertebrae causing bone-on-bone contact. Additionally, the discs can crack, develop bone spurs, or the ligaments in the neck can become thicker which makes it harder to move the neck.

Symptoms of cervical arthritis are typically worse in the morning and include neck pain, headaches, grinding or popping sensations when moving the neck, muscle spasms in the neck and shoulders, or difficulty turning the neck which can affect driving.

If cervical spondylosis is putting pressure on the spinal cord, it can also cause issues such as difficulty walking and balancing, tingling in the arms or legs and even loss of bladder or bowel control.

Sometimes, people with cervical spinal stenosis have no symptoms. As time goes by and the condition evolves, symptoms include neck pain, numbness or weakness or tingling in one hand, foot, arm, or leg, and difficulty balancing.

• Freezing – any shoulder movement is painful and range of motion is limited
• Frozen – pain actually decreases, but the shoulder becomes stiffer and more difficult to move
• Thawing – range of motion in the shoulder improves

Frozen shoulder is most common in people with diabetes, or those who have had their shoulder immobilized due to a recent surgery or arm break. The symptoms of frozen shoulder include shoulder pain, stiffness, and loss of range of shoulder motion. These symptoms can also cause extreme discomfort and make it difficult to sleep.

Because there are seven vertebrae in the cervical spine, you may experience different symptoms based on which discs are herniated. For most people, depending on which disc(s) are affected, there will be arm pain, weakness and/or tingling. The area of the arm that’s experiencing the pain or weakness can be different based on which disc is herniated. For some, shoulder pain may also occur.