There can be many causes of neck pain, and not all require medical attention. Rest and being mindful of your posture while at the desk, looking down at a mobile device or talking on a telephone often can help.

If numbness, weakness in your arms or hands, or shooting pains down your arm accompany your neck pain, it’s time to talk to your health care provider. There could be pressure on the nerve roots or the cervical portion of your spinal cord if you experience tingling and weakness.

Neck pain can affect every aspect of life, from driving, sleeping and maintaining employment to mental health. Patients may experience the following symptoms:

• Pain localized to the sides of the neck and the back muscles
• Pain in the muscles that extend over the back of the neck and shoulders
• A sharp pain between the shoulder blades and down the arm
• Headaches that start in the back and at the base of the skull

Treating neck pain and restoring normal activity starts with diagnosing the underlying cause. The combined team of orthopedic spine and neuroscience specialists at Norton Leatherman spine has extensive experience treating neck pain and its underlying conditions.

Common causes of neck pain include:

• Arthritis
• Deformity
• Fracture
• Muscle strain
• Spinal cord compression
• Tumor

Neck Pain Relief

The combined team of orthopedic spine and neuroscience specialists at Norton Leatherman spine has surgical and nonsurgical expertise in all neck disorders that may cause pain. We treat adults and children in Louisville, Southern Indiana and beyond.

If your neck pain isn’t getting worse or causing significant difficulties, your physician likely will monitor your condition at regular intervals.

Treatment for neck pain begins with physical therapy to strengthen and condition the muscles and improve range of motion. Patients also may receive anti-inflammatory or pain medication to help with faster relief of symptoms.

Other nonsurgical neck pain treatments may provide additional relief. These include:

• Dry needling: A needle inserted into areas of the muscle to relieve pain and restore movement
• Electrostimulation: Uses an electrical charge to treat muscle pain and spasms
• Acupuncture: Pricking the skin with needles can reduce pain
• Injections: Therapeutic injections to reduce pain and swelling, and diagnostic injections to identify and isolate a patient’s pain generator
• Radiofrequency ablations: Procedure in which an electrical current produced by a radio wave heats a small area of nerve tissue, reducing pain signals

Your physician may recommend surgical treatment of severe neck pain that causes weakness, or if it worsens.

When surgery is needed, the combined team of orthopedic spine and neuroscience specialists at Norton Leatherman spine has expertise in minimally invasive and motion-preservation procedures:

• Minimally invasive posterior fusions: This procedure fuses two neck bones together. The minimally invasive technique creates a small incision of less than a quarter inch.
• Cervical disc arthroplasty: This procedure replaces a damaged or degenerated disc with an artificial disc.
• Cervical disc laminoplasty: This procedure can remove pressure from the spinal cord in the neck.

Robotic- and computer-assisted techniques allow for greater precision and can help reduce pain and shorten your recovery.

Spine Care From World-renowned Specialists

Norton Leatherman Spine is a world-renowned program delivering groundbreaking care and treatment for back, neck and spine conditions and procedures.

• Nationally recognized spine surgery fellowship program with over 150 trained fellows
• First in the world to perform robotic spine surgery using the Medtronic Mazor X Stealth Edition, demonstrating leadership in surgical innovations
• First health system in the nation to be recognized as an Advanced Orthopedic & Spine Center of Excellence by DNV
• First in the state of Kentucky to use the EOS Imaging system, a high-resolution image system with 50% to 85% less radiation exposure than traditional X-rays and CT scans
• More than 4,000 surgeries performed each year
• Recognized as a national benchmark for patient-reported outcome measures against spine surgeons across the nation, ensuring high-quality, data-driven care
• A team of 45 highly regarded specialists, including orthopedic spine surgeons, neurosurgeons and pain management specialists
• Internationally recognized leaders in clinical research of spinal disease, injury and deformity, opioid management, spine surgical innovations, scoliosis and more
• Specialists who have served in senior positions in the Scoliosis Research Society, the prestigious organization for scoliosis surgeons around the world
• Kenton D. Leatherman, M.D., the program namesake, was the first doctor in Kentucky to repair scoliosis surgically