Chronic neck pain treatment When neck pain won’t go away, and what helps

Neck pain that lasts longer than about three months is chronic. It often comes and goes, and it can spread into the shoulder blade, shoulder or arm. Good chronic neck pain treatment targets the cause, not just the sore spot. For an overview of neck problems we treat, see our neck pain treatment page.

Pain in your shoulder or arm may start in your neck

In the first video above, our clinician explains that pain you feel elsewhere “might actually be coming from your neck.” When a nerve in the neck is irritated, the pain can show up away from the neck itself. The video goes on: “A cervical epidural injection helps reduce inflammation around irritated nerves, relieving pain and making it easier to stay active and work toward long-term recovery.”

Common causes of chronic neck pain

• Muscle tension and posture strain from desks, driving or looking down at a phone
• Arthritis in the small joints of the neck
• A herniated or bulging disc pressing on a nerve, often with arm pain, numbness or tingling; see herniated disc in neck
• Whiplash or another old injury that never fully healed (see whiplash after a car accident)

When arm symptoms are part of the picture, an EMG and nerve conduction test can show whether a nerve is involved and where (see what to expect from an EMG test).

Chronic neck pain treatment options

Physical therapy

Strengthening the deep neck and upper back muscles, improving posture and mobility, and hands-on manual therapy are the base of most plans. Our physical therapists also use cervical traction when it fits; here is how mechanical traction works. Spinal traction and decompression are offered at both our Brooklyn and Staten Island offices.

Trigger point injections

For tight, painful muscle knots that keep coming back, trigger point injections can relax the muscle so stretching and strengthening are easier.

Cervical epidural steroid injection

When a disc or narrowing irritates a nerve root, a physician may place anti-inflammatory medicine near the nerve with X-ray guidance. It does not fix the disc. It lowers pain and inflammation so you can do the therapy that does. See cervical epidural steroid injection for what to expect. Learn more about epidural steroid injections and read what an epidural injection can and cannot do.

What you can do at home

• Keep moving. Short, frequent movement breaks help more than long rest
• Raise your phone and screen toward eye level
• Use heat for tight muscles, 15 to 20 minutes at a time
• Keep up the exercises your therapist gives you, even on good days

When to see a neck pain doctor

See a physician if neck pain lasts more than a few weeks, keeps returning, or comes with numbness, tingling or weakness in an arm or hand, or with frequent headaches. If you have headaches on most days of the month, see our guide to chronic migraine treatment. Go to an emergency room or call 911 for neck pain with a fever and severe headache, trouble walking or loss of balance, loss of bladder or bowel control, or chest pain or pain spreading into the jaw or left arm.

Related care at Precision Care Medical & Sports Performance

Chronic neck pain treatment near you

For physical therapy for chronic neck pain, our Brooklyn office, serving patients from Sheepshead Bay, Bensonhurst and Gravesend, has physical therapists Zoya Reznik, DPT, OCS and Maggie (Yi) Zhang, DPT, with physical therapist assistants Dennis Furman, PTA and Leila Nahmoud, PTA. Our Staten Island office, serving patients from Eltingville, Midland Beach and Todt Hill, has physical therapists Victoria Lynn Kain, DPT and Nicholas “Nick” Ursini, DPT. Physical therapy is not offered at the Midtown Manhattan office.

For neck pain treatment in Brooklyn, on Staten Island or near Midtown East, our pain management physicians can help. If you need a neck pain doctor, Ashley Marcus, MD sees patients in Brooklyn, Jake Stephen, DO on Staten Island, and Yuri Gordin, MD at the Precision Care Spine & Pain Center in Midtown Manhattan, convenient to Midtown East, Turtle Bay, Spanish Harlem and Washington Heights. The physician at each office evaluates and treats neck pain. Injections and procedures are planned by a physician after an exam; call to confirm which office offers the procedure you need. Request an appointment or call the office closest to you.

Questions patients ask

Educational only, not medical advice. These videos and this article explain common problems and treatments in general terms. They are not a diagnosis or a treatment plan for you. Results vary from person to person. See a qualified clinician about your own symptoms, and call 911 or go to an emergency room for an emergency.

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