Neck Pain
Neck pain - Cervical pain can occur from 3 structures in the neck. The most common source of neck pain is the disc. Degenerative disc disease occurs in many individuals and many of these patients can develop neck pain. Since the disc is responsible for shock absorption, impact activities and sports can aggrevate this pain. The facets can also cause neck pain. These structures in the back of the neck are real joints like a hip or knee joint and develop the same degenerative changes that all other joints can. The last structure that can cause neck pain is the nerve root. More commonly, nerve root compression causes shoulder and arm pain but if it is only mildly compressed, it will cause only neck pain. Spinal cord compression normally does not cause neck pain as there are no pain nerve receptors in the spinal cord that will cause pain.
