What will urgent care do for neck pain?

What will urgent care do for neck pain?

Neck pain or stiffness is a very common symptom that most people experience at the some point in their lives. In fact, a CDC survey found that 13.9% of men and 17.4% of women surveyed reported having neck pain in just the last three months.

Neck pain can be mild or severe, sudden or gradual, short or long term, and the causes can vary widely from mild to severe. Whether you need a doctor or can treat your pain at home depends on what happened before the pain started and what other symptoms you have.

Common causes of neck pain

The neck is the area where most of the vital muscles, bones, blood vessels, and nerves are closely connected. Therefore, neck pain can be caused by any injury or disease that affects one or more of these systems.

Some common causes of neck pain include:

• Muscle pressure due to heavy loading
• Keeping the head at a bad angle, especially when sleeping, working or using the phone.
• Emotional stress or pressure headaches
• Nerve swelling due to spinal stenosis, cervical spondylosis, or herniated disc
• Trauma from an injury or fall
• Fibromyalgia
• The Osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis involving the cervical spine
• Whiplash

In some cases, a painful or hard neck can also be caused by a serious or life-threatening medical condition, such as a heart attack, meningitis, or Lyme disease.

What will urgent care do for neck pain?

See the doctor

See a doctor right away if your neck pain occurs after a traumatic accident or fall, such as a car accident, drowning accident, or head injury. While some pain and stiffness is expected after an event like this, it is important to determine if these symptoms are related to a more serious condition, such as a broken bone. If your pain is not related to a traumatic injury, look for other symptoms. While most cases of neck pain or stiffness are not a cause for concern, some of the underlying causes of pain may be more serious.

See a doctor in case of pain:

• It is so bad that it interferes with normal activities or sleep
• Home remedies either get worse or last for several weeks
• It comes with ringing in every part of your body
• Comes with urinary or bowel disorders

Go to the emergency room immediately if your neck pain occurs with symptoms such as:

• Fever and cold
• Severe, persistent headache
• Inflammation and vomiting
• Rish
• Sensitivity to light
• Heartbeat or irregular running
• Difficulty breathing
• Muscle weakness
• Pain or numbness spreads under the hands
• Chest or jaw pain

Someone should look for neck pain

If your neck pain comes with the above mentioned emergency signs, seek immediate medical attention. If you have no immediate symptoms, see your primary care doctor, orthopedist, or neurologist. An orthopedist is a doctor who specializes in muscular conditions, including those that affect the spine. A neurologist is a doctor who specializes in neurological conditions.

Check with your primary care physician if:

• You have no symptoms other than neck pain.
• You don’t remember a particular event that caused the pain.
• Your insurance requires you to see your primary care physician for referral to a specialist.

See an orthopedist if:

• You may feel or hear cracking, cracking or popping in the bones of your neck.
• Applying heat or ice gives temporary relief, but the pain returns.
• You may remember a particular event when the pain started, such as stepping out of the closet, lifting something, or lowering the head.

See a neurologist if:

• You feel itchy.
• You experience chaos.
• You experience fatigue or “mental deception”.
• You feel the pain or numbness of the shot and you already have another doctor to rule out a potential heart problem.

Once you and your doctor have identified the problem, you may want to consider seeing a massage therapist or chiropractor as part of your treatment plan. Be prepared to answer questions about the type of pain you are experiencing, what it brings, what medications you have already tried, and other questions that will help the doctor fully understand your condition. This type of treatment may require several sessions, but may be effective in giving you relief.