Cervicalgia and cervical radiculopathy can cause acute or chronic pain depending of the severity of the underlying pathology. Both conditions can exhibit a waxing a waning pattern predicated on the patient’s activities.
Cervicalgia is a term that encompasses pain that could be associated with the cervical discs, cervical facet joints, and/or muscles and soft tissues of the neck. At times, cervicalgia can cause severe neck stiffness, headaches, and/or referred pain into the shoulders or upper back.
Cervical radiculopathy is a term delineating that the pain syndrome has nerve root involvement. Cervical radiculopathy can be caused by muscle spasm, herniated disc, cervical spondylosis, bulging disc, or cervical spinal stenosis (i.e., narrowing of the neural foramen where the neve exits the spinal canal).
For either syndrome, the most common treatments are anti-inflammatories (such as Naprosyn or ibuprofen), rest, and physical therapy.
Failure of such therapies warrants further studies such as MRI of the cervical spine, or EMG/NCS. Predicated on the results, further treatment such as CESI, CMBB or RFA of the cervical medial branches by an interventional pain physician could be considered. In more severe or intractable cases, referral to a spine surgeon for consideration of discectomy or fusion may be warranted.
Both of the above disease states, like all chronic pain, can cause sleep disturbance and thus cause the patient to feel exhausted.
Cervicalgia and cervical radiculopathy medical expert witness specialties include neurology, anesthesiology, neurosurgery, and neuroradiology.