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I Have Chronic Pain With My Neck.. I Have Been
Question: I have chronic pain with my neck.. I have been diagnosed with degenerative disc disease .. I have tried some pt but it was expensive so I have been trying to do the exercises myself..I do not want to take drugs.. could this be caused from inflammation in the body? My crp was completelynnormal but my hs crp was high at 2...does the X-ray show whether the pain is stemming from a tumor or growth? Thanks so h much
Brief Answer:
won't help in the long run
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
degenerative disc disease is a chronic disorder that won't go away with drugs. You may experience flares of pain (and remissions afterwards) but it won't ever be completely 'healed'. Various inflammatory disorders and growths may indeed cause neck pain (like rheumatoid arthritis and tumors of the area) but they are far less frequently encountered than the slipped disc.
The x-ray may be negative sometimes even when a tumor is the underlying etiology. An MRI is a more precise way to determine the cause as it may demonstrate pressure on the spinal cord and the structure that applies the pressure (slipped disc, tumor, inflammatory processes).
The CRP and hsCRP are not indicative of anything for neck pain. If you've found relief in hysiotherapy then perhaps you should keep on doing the exercises. Healthy neck muscles may reduce the symptoms. I wouldn't recommend taking non-steroid-anti-inflammatory drugs for more than a few days because they have many potential side effects and their efficacy in treating anything besides the pain is minimal.
I hope I've answered your question. Please let me know if you need further assistance.
Kind Regards!
won't help in the long run
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
degenerative disc disease is a chronic disorder that won't go away with drugs. You may experience flares of pain (and remissions afterwards) but it won't ever be completely 'healed'. Various inflammatory disorders and growths may indeed cause neck pain (like rheumatoid arthritis and tumors of the area) but they are far less frequently encountered than the slipped disc.
The x-ray may be negative sometimes even when a tumor is the underlying etiology. An MRI is a more precise way to determine the cause as it may demonstrate pressure on the spinal cord and the structure that applies the pressure (slipped disc, tumor, inflammatory processes).
The CRP and hsCRP are not indicative of anything for neck pain. If you've found relief in hysiotherapy then perhaps you should keep on doing the exercises. Healthy neck muscles may reduce the symptoms. I wouldn't recommend taking non-steroid-anti-inflammatory drugs for more than a few days because they have many potential side effects and their efficacy in treating anything besides the pain is minimal.
I hope I've answered your question. Please let me know if you need further assistance.
Kind Regards!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Brief Answer:
you shouldn't worry too much
Detailed Answer:
You're welcome!
First of all the most common causes of neck pain are benign. Therefore worrying about tumors is not justified although no diagnosis can be excluded. Degenerative disc disease (is this what you mean by ddd?) should improve with time and is not expected to last longer than one month. In many patients the discs loose water and they become less bulky and less likely to exert pressure on the nerves.
Degerative disc disease is one of the most common causes of neck and back pain. Tumors may occur but they are more likely to patients with an already diagnosed metastatic malignancy.
The hsCRP is not very useful clinically. It has been associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease but this is not a clinically proven tool, so I wouldn't take it very seriously.
Kind Regards!
you shouldn't worry too much
Detailed Answer:
You're welcome!
First of all the most common causes of neck pain are benign. Therefore worrying about tumors is not justified although no diagnosis can be excluded. Degenerative disc disease (is this what you mean by ddd?) should improve with time and is not expected to last longer than one month. In many patients the discs loose water and they become less bulky and less likely to exert pressure on the nerves.
Degerative disc disease is one of the most common causes of neck and back pain. Tumors may occur but they are more likely to patients with an already diagnosed metastatic malignancy.
The hsCRP is not very useful clinically. It has been associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease but this is not a clinically proven tool, so I wouldn't take it very seriously.
Kind Regards!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
It is just hurting on one side ..I find the range of motion is more limited to one side..so should I get an mri.. I am worried that it is a tumor or something else because it came on so suddenly..I have had tightness in my neck before but never pain..if it is ddd will it continue to get worse with the pain ? Do you see this a lot with my age group 60? Should I be worried about my hs crp? My other crp is normal..what does the sensitive test indicate? Thanks so much!!!!
So what else does a person do for this condition? Live with the chronic pain and discomfort? Mine is not really bad but I do not want it to get worse.
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