samedi 9 janvier 2016

Ways Of Dealing With Neck And Shoulder Pain Edmonton Residents Will Find Helpful

By Michael Watson


By virtue of being very close to each other on the body, the neck and the shoulders are related both anatomically and in their functionality. There are a number of structures that connect the shoulders to the cervical region. These include muscles, bones, ligaments, nerves and blood vessels. This is the main reason as to why pain originating from the cervical region may also be felt on the neck. There are a number of important things relating to neck and shoulder pain Edmonton residents should know.

Pain is described as being acute or chronic. In the acute type, the symptoms have lasted for less than two weeks. The most common causes in this case include trauma and infections. The pain will be termed as being chronic if it has existed for more than two weeks. Causes of the chronic type include persistent infections (such as osteomyelitis and tuberculosis), trauma, degenerative conditions and fibromyalgia among others.

A majority of the cases that are seen in hospital are those that affect the soft tissues in the neck, the shoulder or both. Whiplash injury, which may be seen following motor vehicle accidents, affects both the neck and the regions. Most of the other cases are mainly due to muscle and ligament strains. Home remedies are usually sufficient to relive the symptoms in 24 to 48 hours.

One of the things that you need to do is to have a rest and to elevate the injured area. This serves to reduce further injury and to initiate the process of healing. Self made remedies that can be considered include the use of cold packs, heat therapy, pain medications and massage therapy. Cold packs are useful in reducing the inflammatory response and the warm compressions help in improving blood flow to the area.

If symptoms do not respond to over the counter analgesic agents and other home remedies, you need to consider making a visit to the hospital so that the exact cause can be identified. The doctor will usually take a clinical history of your problem and examine the affected area so as to determine the character of the pain and whether or not other parts of the body are affected. Investigations such as the MRI and CT scan will most likely be needed.

One of the conditions that imaging studies help diagnose is degenerative arthritis in the cervical region. Degenerative changes in the cervical vertebra become increasingly common as we advance in age. The intervertebral disc space is progressively narrowed by bone spikes known as osteophytes. The nerves that leaving the spine through these spaces may be pinched and this causes pain both in the neck and the shoulders. This is known as cervical radiculopathy.

Some of the other conditions that may be seen include dislocated joints, fractures, tumors and bursitis among others. The management is dependent on the exact cause of the problem. Many of them tend to respond to drugs with just a small proportion requiring surgical management. Persons that are at a high risk of these injuries should ensure that they put on protective gear whenever possible.

The nerve supply of the shoulder is the same as that of some abdominal structures. Whenever these structures are irritated or injured, symptoms are referred to the shoulders. This is frequently seen in cases of gall bladder disease. However, these cases are rather rare and establishing such a cause usually takes quite long.




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