There are numerous structures in your spine that can cause neck and/or shoulder pain. The facet joints are a frequent cause of neck pain. Facet joints are small joints at each segment of the spine that provide stability and help guide motion. The facet joints can become painful due to arthritis of the spine, a back injury, or mechanical stress to the back. Cervical facet joints are located on the back or side of the neck. Pain caused by cervical facet joints (in the neck) is usually felt in the head, neck, shoulder, and/or arm.

Neck or head pain resulting from suspected arthritis of the small joints (facet joints) of your spinal column. These are the joints in your spine that allow you to twist and bend forward, backward and sideways. They take a lot of stress and loading over the course of our lives. They may become arthritic enough so that we can even see the degeneration on X-rays or MRI. However, many times we cannot see an abnormality on radiographic studies, although we still believe that these joints are generating all or some of your neck and/or arm pain.
Treatment Method:

Facet joint injections usually have two goals: to help diagnose the cause and location of pain and also to provide pain relief

Facet joint injection – In this approach a needle is placed directly inside the joint, dye is injected in the joint to confirm placement, and then local and steroid is injected within the joint. The local anesthetic provides some temporary relief and the steroid reduces inflammation in the area, hopefully providing long term relief.

Facet mapping – In this situation, the nerves that innervate the joint are blocked with local anesthetic to see if there is a change in symptoms (and typically steroid is added to try and achieve a prolonged effect by reducing the inflammation in the area). This approach frequently provides extended relief similar or better than intra-articular joint injections. A mapping procedure must always be performed prior to performing a more long lasting treatment to the facet joints, radiofrequency ablation. This provides confirmation that the nerves causing the patient’s pain are correctly identified before they are blocked on a more long term basis. Today most facet blocks are done via a mapping approach.

You should call us immediately at 732-800-7246 if you experience any of the following after the injection:

Severe neck pain that is not relieved with medication and ice
New numbness or weakness of the arms
Signs of infection in the area of injection

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What causes neck pain?
Causes of neck pain include abnormalities in the bone or joints, trauma, poor posture, degenerative diseases, and tumors. Pain in the soft tissues (muscles, tendons, and ligaments) is the most common cause of neck pain and usually occurs as a result of an acute or a chronic muscle strain. The neck is very mobile, which means it is less stable than other areas of the body and more easily injured.

What causes shoulder pain?
The shoulder is a ball and socket joint with a large range of movement. Such a mobile joint tends to be more susceptible to injury. Shoulder pain can stem from one or more of the following causes:
Strains from overexertion
Tendinitis from overuse
Shoulder joint instability
Dislocation
Collar or upper arm bone fractures
“Frozen” shoulder
Pinched nerves

How are neck and shoulder pain diagnosed?
X-rays can be helpful in diagnosing neck and shoulder pain. Plain X-rays can reveal disc space narrowing, rheumatologic disease, destructive lesions, slippage, stenosis, fractures, and instability with flexion-extension views.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive procedure that can reveal the detail of neural (nerve-related) elements.
Myelography/CT scanning is sometimes used as an alternative to MRI.
Electrodiagnostic studies—electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction velocity (NCV)—also might aid in the diagnosis of neck and shoulder pain, arm pain, numbness, and tingling.

How are neck and shoulder pain treated?
The treatment of soft tissue neck and shoulder pain includes the use of anti-inflammatory medicine and/or acetaminophen (such as Tylenol®). Pain also might be treated with a local application of moist heat or ice. Alocal corticosteroid injection is often helpful for arthritis of the shoulder. For both neck and shoulder pain movement exercises can have positive results. For cases in which nerve roots or the spinal cord are involved, surgical procedures might be necessary.

4 ways to relieve pain from a shoulder problem
Resting from activities that aggravate pain
Physical therapy exercises
Icing the shoulder, especially at night
Anti-inflammatory medications

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There are numerous structures in your spine that can cause neck and/or shoulder pain. The facet joints are a frequent cause of neck pain. Facet joints are small joints at each segment of the spine that provide stability and help guide motion.

Is Your Bag Causing Back Pain?

In earlier days, handbags were exactly designed to be carried in your hands for smaller items like money or trinkets. It wasn’t until the 20th century, with more women becoming employed, that purses grew in size and began being slung over the shoulder…

Knee joint injections

The knee is essentially composed of four bones: the femur, tibia, fibula, and patella. All four of these bones work in concert to aid the knee during movement. There are also muscles involved during flexion and extension of the knee.

The knee is essentially composed of four bones: the femur, tibia, fibula, and patella. All four of these bones work in concert to aid the knee during movement. There are also muscles involved during flexion and extension of the knee. The muscles include the hamstrings, which support the back of the knee, and the quadriceps, which support the front of the knee.

Knee osteoarthritis, a leading cause of pain and disability in older adults, occurs when flexible tissue at the ends of bones wears down. While it can’t be cured, physical therapy or anti-inflammatory medications are often prescribed to relieve pain and improve mobility.

Injuries and knee pain can manifest in any one of the aforementioned anatomical structures. For example, a rapid twist of the knee during sports or other activity could cause tendon injury, while degeneration of the cartilage over time may be the cause of inflammation and associated pain.

A proper diagnosis through patient assessments and imaging studies will help physicians govern which underlying condition is present prior to the knee joint injection. An alternative medicine approach to joint pain that typically uses injections of sugar or sodium may be worth trying for knee osteoarthritis after traditional approaches fail.

IS KNEE INJECTION HELPFUL?

It is helpful in the diagnosis and treatment of your pain, which is likely due to a disorder of your knee joint. Two medications are used for the injection a shorter-acting local anesthetic numbing agent and a longer-acting anti-inflammatory steroid agent. You will likely experience temporary pain relief after the injection due to the shorter-acting local anesthetic numbing agent. Then, you will likely experience longer pain relief after the injection due to the longer-acting anti-inflammatory steroid agent.

AFTER KNEE JOINT INJECTION

You will be observed for your response to the injection. You may become a little sore at the soft tissues of the procedure site, which is normal and to be expected. You may apply an ice-pack to the sore area of the procedure site. The soreness at the procedure site should go away in a couple of days. It usually takes 48 to 72 hours to experience relief of your knee pain from the longer-acting anti-inflammatory steroid agent. A follow-up appointment will be made for you.

NEXT DAY AFTER PROCEDURE

You can return to work next day and you can your routine easily.

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Is Your Bag Causing Back Pain?

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NJPSSA is a leading pain treatment clinic located in central New Jersey. We are committed to providing each patient the most comprehensive and exceptional level of treatment. We handle all personal, work-related, sports and motor-vehicle injuries as well as acute and chronic pain.
Our center uses advanced diagnostic testing to investigate the source of your pain.

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Neck and Shoulder Pain Causes and ways to relieve pain

What causes neck pain? Causes of neck pain include abnormalities in the bone or joints, trauma, poor posture, degenerative diseases, and tumors.

What is Cervical Facet Block & Treatment Method?

There are numerous structures in your spine that can cause neck and/or shoulder pain. The facet joints are a frequent cause of neck pain. Facet joints are small joints at each segment of the spine that provide stability and help guide motion.

Is Your Bag Causing Back Pain?

In earlier days, handbags were exactly designed to be carried in your hands for smaller items like money or trinkets. It wasn’t until the 20th century, with more women becoming employed, that purses grew in size and began being slung over the shoulder…

Knee joint injections

The knee is essentially composed of four bones: the femur, tibia, fibula, and patella. All four of these bones work in concert to aid the knee during movement. There are also muscles involved during flexion and extension of the knee.

In earlier days, handbags were exactly designed to be carried in your hands for smaller items like money or trinkets. It wasn’t until the 20th century, with more women becoming employed, that purses grew in size and began being slung over the shoulder for evening use or going to the office. Fast forward to the present day and many of us are hauling around Mary Poppins-sized totes. But carting a heavy purse all day is more harmful to our health than we may realize.

Experts suggest that you shouldn’t carry more than 10% of your body weight in a bag – it creates an imbalance in your posture, straining the muscles in your back and neck. If you’re experiencing shoulder, back, buttock, and arm pain or tingling in your hands — unhealthy handbag habits could be to blame. Let’s look at some of the culprits and how you can avoid causing serious injury to your spine.

Being prepared for a possible Walking Dead scenario has its advantages, but it’s also putting endless stress on your hips and shoulders. The continued off-kilter angle that you subject your body to could also result in your gait becoming unbalanced.

Lightening your load is the best way to ensure that your muscles and shoulders stay healthy. “Simply reduce the weight of your handbag to the point where you don’t feel any noticeable strain from carrying it.

For men, be aware of how heavy your wallet is – carrying it in your back pocket disrupts the balance of your pelvis and spine, which in time can contribute to arthritis. Aim to keep the thickness of your wallet under 0.5cm – get rid of accumulated receipts, only carry the cards you need and avoid having wads of small bills.
Strategies for a Back Pain-Friendly Bag

Experts suggest that you shouldn’t carry more than 10% of your body weight in a bag – it creates an imbalance in your posture, straining the muscles in your back and neck. If you’re experiencing shoulder, back, buttock, and arm pain or tingling in your hands — unhealthy handbag habits could be to blame. Let’s look at some of the culprits and how you can avoid causing serious injury to your spine.

Pick the smallest bag you can. The bigger the bag, the more you put in it, Do yourself a favor and carry the smallest bag filled with only what you really need and leave the rest at home. Keep in mind that it’s usually not one single item that leads to back pain symptoms. More likely, it’s the accumulation of smaller items, such as loads of loose change that causes pain.

Putting extra weight on one side of your body is one of the biggest back pain causes. Any time you carry weight on one side of your body for an extended period of time, it causes your spine to curve, and that leads to back pain symptoms. It’s better to choose a messenger bag that you wear diagonally across your body rather than a single-strap bag that rests on one shoulder.

When you can’t avoid using a single-strap bag, be conscious of changing the sides you use to carry it. If it’s a short strap that you carry with your hand, regularly move it from your left hand to your right hand. If it’s a shoulder strap, try changing it from your left shoulder to your right shoulder.

A thin strap resting on your shoulder can cut into your muscles and lead to problems.

The dual straps of a backpack are the best at evenly distributing weight on your body, and that’s leading more adults to use them. Frequent fliers are turning to carrying backpacks as a remedy for back pain.

If it’s too heavy, see if there’s anything you can do without. The best thing you can do for your back is to be a minimalist. Don’t carry what you don’t have to, but when you need to take a bag with you, choose the right one and wear it the proper way to eliminate back pain causes.

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5 ways to relieve pain from a shoulder problem
Our shoulders are the most mobile joint in the body, allowing us to carry out an endless list of motions. In fact, there are very few movements we make in the course of the day that don’t involve the shoulder joint.

Neck and Shoulder Pain Causes and ways to relieve pain

What causes neck pain? Causes of neck pain include abnormalities in the bone or joints, trauma, poor posture, degenerative diseases, and tumors.

What is Cervical Facet Block & Treatment Method?

There are numerous structures in your spine that can cause neck and/or shoulder pain. The facet joints are a frequent cause of neck pain. Facet joints are small joints at each segment of the spine that provide stability and help guide motion.

Knee joint injections

The knee is essentially composed of four bones: the femur, tibia, fibula, and patella. All four of these bones work in concert to aid the knee during movement. There are also muscles involved during flexion and extension of the knee.

Our shoulders are the most mobile joint in the body, allowing us to carry out an endless list of motions. In fact, there are very few movements we make in the course of the day that don’t involve the shoulder joint. That also means they’re highly vulnerable to injury and generally take a long time to heal. Luckily, there are ways to keep your shoulders strong and healthy — for the long haul. Try these expert-approved tips to stay injury-free.

1. Strengthen External Rotators
One of the most common injuries that occurs within the shoulder is a subacromial impingement, which causes pain during internal rotation — the same motion that lets you throw a ball. By strengthening the external rotators, Morey Kolber, PT, PhD, associate professor in the physical therapy department at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, says it reduces the chances of shoulder impingement and pain. Try adding some band- or cable-resisted external rotations to your warm-up to start galvanizing your shoulders.

2. Avoid Lateral Raises above 90 Degrees
A common cause of subacromial impingement is doing lateral raises too high. Some trainers instruct raising the arms to ear-level, therefore above 90 degrees, and many lifters listen for a simple reason — they work. However, as Kolber explains, “When we abduct our arms, or raise them out to the side, our shoulders need to externally rotate to prevent impingement.” Problem is, the most likely point of impingement is at 90 degrees, he says.

3. Fix Your Upright Row
Another move associated with impingement syndrome is the upright row. This is a safe and effective shoulder building exercise, as long as once again it is performed with good form and at a safe range. When doing an upright row, make sure your elbows never go above shoulder height. Or, opt for a different exercise altogether. “Try swapping it for a high pull instead to get some other muscles involved in the movement”.

4. High Five! Or Not…
You know that position you assume when going to give your partner a high five after a great set? Elbow bent 90 degrees, hand raised in the air? It is suggested that avoiding the 90/90 position during a dumbbell military press or behind-the-neck pull-down. This prevents anterior instability, a condition that has been linked to posterior tightness and several other shoulder injuries more serious than impingement syndrome. It is recommended that presses Shoulder with a neutral grip (elbows pointed towards the mirror), and performing let pull-downs in front of the neck to avoid vulnerable positions and reduce the risk of injury.

5. Slow Down
Many lifters and trainers know that eccentric muscle action, or “negatives” as they are commonly referred to, are great muscle-building moves. The science goes a little deeper than that, though. “Evidence suggests that eccentric training may offer a greater anabolic response at the tissue, which is needed for recovery and repair”. Try slowing down during the lowering phase of your lifts to see increases in size, strength and stability — and a decrease in risk of injury — in your shoulders.

Maybe your shoulders are bugging you already or maybe they’re just fine. Either way, these methods listed above are great ways to reduce your risk of injury (or further damage) or build ironclad shoulders that can stand up even to the worst positions you put them in.

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NJPSSA is a leading pain treatment clinic located in central New Jersey.

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Neck and Shoulder Pain Causes and ways to relieve pain

What causes neck pain? Causes of neck pain include abnormalities in the bone or joints, trauma, poor posture, degenerative diseases, and tumors.

What is Cervical Facet Block & Treatment Method?

There are numerous structures in your spine that can cause neck and/or shoulder pain. The facet joints are a frequent cause of neck pain. Facet joints are small joints at each segment of the spine that provide stability and help guide motion.

Is Your Bag Causing Back Pain?

In earlier days, handbags were exactly designed to be carried in your hands for smaller items like money or trinkets. It wasn’t until the 20th century, with more women becoming employed, that purses grew in size and began being slung over the shoulder…

Knee joint injections

The knee is essentially composed of four bones: the femur, tibia, fibula, and patella. All four of these bones work in concert to aid the knee during movement. There are also muscles involved during flexion and extension of the knee.