Back and neck is pain that happens anywhere along your spine, including:

• Your cervical spine, made up of the 7 bones of your neck
• Your thoracic spine, made up of the 12 bones in the middle of your back
• Your lumbar spine, made up of the 5 large bones in your lower back

These bones connect to create a canal that protects your spinal cord and nerves. As part of this system, you also have:

• Discs of cartilage in between the bones
• Muscles and ligaments that connect and stabilize the bones of your spine
• Facet joints that help your spine move

The spine is a complicated structure, and problems can arise in any of its components, causing back or neck pain.

If your pain comes on suddenly, that’s called acute pain. Most acute pain resolves within a few weeks unless it’s related to a serious injury.

But pain related to wear and tear (like cartilage breaking down) can worsen over time. If your pain has lasted 3 months or more, it’s called chronic pain.

There are a handful of common causes behind most back and neck pain.

• Ligament sprains: A sprain is a stretch of a ligament that usually happens because of a sudden motion. In your neck, this can be whiplash; in your back, it could be bending, twisting or lifting. Sprains can be painful, but usually heal with the right treatment.
• Muscle strains: Like ligament sprains, muscle sprains often happen from sudden motion. Overuse can also cause back or neck strain, like holding your neck or body in one position too long. Many strains will heal on their own with rest.
• Disc issues: Your spinal discs sit between your vertebrae and act as shock absorbers. With age or because of injury, your discs can wear out, leading to degenerative disc disease. A bulging or herniated disc can press on nerves, causing pain, including sciatica.
• Joint pain: Your spinal joints can wear out over time, the same way knee joints do. Joint pain from arthritis can cause chronic pain.
• Stenosis: Stenosis is the narrowing of your spinal canal, which can cause pressure on your nerves. Age, genetics and disc problems can all cause stenosis. Stenosis in your back can cause leg weakness. Stenosis in your neck can cause arm weakness.
• Compression fractures: This type of fracture often happens because of ​​osteoporosis. The vertebrae weaken, causing them to collapse or “compress.”
• ​​Spinal curve problems: You can be born with spinal issues or develop them later (like scoliosis). We usually treat these spinal curve problems with observation, bracing and sometimes corrective surgery.

Back and neck pain symptoms

Back and neck pain symptoms vary greatly and depend on the root cause.

Back pain can show up in many ways:

• You may feel pain in your mid or low back
• It may feel sharp and shooting or dull and burning
• It can be only on one side or radiate across your back
• Your back can feel stiff, leaving you unable to twist, bend or move in specific ways
• You can have leg numbness or tingling (spinal nerves reach all the way to your toes)
• You may have shooting pain from your butt down the back of your thigh (this is often sciatic nerve pain)

Ways that neck pain can show up:

• You may feel sharp, shooting, dull or aching pain in your neck
• Your arm may tingle or feel numb or weak (usually on one side, but it could be both)
• You may be unable to move your neck normally, such as twisting side to side
• The upper part of your shoulder may have shooting or aching pain
• You may have a headache that feels concentrated at the back of your head

For severe injuries to the back or neck from a fall or accident, you’ll need emergency care. As a Level I Trauma Center, Carilion can provide that care for even the most severe spinal injuries.

For non-emergencies, you can see a Carilion orthopaedic surgeon, sports medicine doctor or neurosurgeon for back or neck pain.

We’ll do a medical exam and take a complete history. We’ll test your range of motion and may use imaging to help us diagnose your spinal problem.

Non-surgical treatments for back and neck pain

Mild neck or back sprains and strains can improve with rest and home care. Ice the area that hurts to reduce swelling and take ibuprofen (Advil) or naproxen (Aleve). 

For pain that doesn’t improve with home care or has become chronic, schedule a visit with us.  

Depending on your diagnosis, we may prescribe:

• Lifestyle changes: We can discuss habits or activities that might be contributing to your back and neck pain and help you make changes, such as starting an exercise program or quitting smoking.
• Medicine: We may have you take over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medicine. In some cases, we’ll prescribe stronger anti-inflammatories.
• Pain injections: Steroid injections directly at the point of pain can provide pain relief for weeks or months. Nerve blocks can help block pain signals from certain nerves.
• Physical therapy: Your doctor may give you a series of spine-strengthening exercises to do on your own. Your doctor may also refer you to work with a physical therapist, who will design a specific program to treat your back or neck pain.
• Acupuncture: Acupuncture uses tiny, thin needles to stimulate your nerves and muscles. It can release natural pain-relieving chemicals in your body.
• Chiropractic care: Chiropractors perform hands-on techniques called adjustments. When done safely and correctly, this manipulation can help reduce pain and improve your mobility.
• Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation machine: This machine uses electrical stimulation to reduce pain signals and release pain-relieving chemicals. To use it, you put small electrodes on your skin, which deliver mild electrical pulses.

Surgery for your back and neck pain

If you’ve tried various treatments and your pain hasn’t improved, your doctor may talk to you about surgery. We only do surgery when the benefit is clear, and other treatments haven’t worked.

At Carilion, we perform the most advanced spine surgeries. Many of these procedures are minimally invasive, which means the recovery times are quicker than with a typical surgery.

We use surgery to:

• Repair or replace spinal discs
• Widen the spinal canal to reduce nerve pain
• Correct spinal curve problems
• Fuse vertebrae to stabilize the spine