Immediate medical attention should be sought if other symptoms occur, such as numbness or shooting pains in the arms. These symptoms may indicate a larger problem that requires urgent intervention. Symptoms usually go away within a couple of weeks. However, some cases may require medical treatment if the pain persists beyond a few weeks or if a more serious condition is suspected.
Cervical radiculopathy is a condition caused by the pinching or compression of the root of a spinal nerve in the neck. It can cause pain and weakness, especially in the head, neck, shoulders, and arms. Cervicalgia causes localized pain ranging from a “stiff neck” to the inability to turn the head or bend the neck without sharp pain or tense muscles. Cervicalgia causes localized pain, so it rarely radiates outward.
You may experience something as light as a “stiff neck” or as severe as the inability to turn your head due to severe pain or tight muscles. You may refer to your cervicalgia as “a crunch in the neck. The most common symptom of cervicalgia is neck pain. However, the specific type of neck pain may differ from patient to patient.
That said, the neck pain that you may experience due to a herniated disc, either alone or in addition to the irradiated symptoms, can be called cervicalgia. The cervical spine houses sensory organs and nerves, which means that cervicalgia can also be accompanied by other types of symptoms. Researchers commented that moving towards symptom relief is easier when cervicalgia is not also accompanied by anxiety or depression. However, if the pain doesn’t respond to home treatments or is severe, cervicalgia could be a symptom of a more serious condition, such as meningitis, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and more, that could have serious side effects if left untreated.
For example, cervicalgia is one of the symptoms of osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis that mainly affects older adults.
