The type of treatment recommended by your physician will depend on the type of arthritis you have (osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis), the severity of your neck pain, the limits of your mobility, how far the degeneration has progressed and other similar factors.
The most common forms of conservative treatment include:
Physical therapy — Exercise to strengthen the neck muscles
Hot or cold therapy — Heat pads to increase circulation and flexibility, or cold pads to reduce swelling and pain
Behavior modification — Avoiding activity that might exacerbate neck arthritis symptoms
Anti-inflammatory injections — Cortisone or other steroidal solutions to reduce swelling
Pain medicine — Over-the-counter drugs like acetaminophen or ibuprofen, as well as prescription pain killers
Chiropractic therapy — Including traction or nonsurgical spinal decompression therapy
Others — Acupuncture, massage, cervical pillows
Often, conservative therapies can be combined to increase your pain relief. You should always consult your medical specialist before changing your treatment routine. You should also inform your physician or spine care specialist if you are not experiencing any pain relief after several months of conservative treatment.
If you have already completed several months of conservative treatment and you are still suffering from chronic pain, you may be a candidate for the minimally invasive procedures at Laser Spine Institute.
Our surgeons offer a minimally invasive approach to address neck arthritis. Before consenting to spine surgery for your cervical arthritis, please consider our safer, effective treatment alternative. Our minimally invasive decompression surgery and minimally invasive stabilization surgery provide better results and shorter recovery times^ than traditional open back surgery.
If you experience persistent symptoms associated with cervical arthritis, contact us to learn how one of our minimally invasive, outpatient procedures could help you find relief from neck pain.