Chronic Neck Pain With Bilateral Variation

Chronic neck pain with bilateral variation is often a result of whiplash trauma. It can also be the result of a degenerative disc disease, pinched nerve or herniated disc, though these generally don't have pain moving from the left to the right (bilateral variation) as frequently as whiplash. While the pain is often a dull aching pain, it can increase with movement and may create difficulty in eating because swallowing becomes more difficult.

Anatomy

• Within the neck are cervical vertebrae that protect the spinal cord and are the top of the spinal column, starting at the base of the skull. Near the vertebrae are important arteries, veins and glands (lymph and thyroid) that can become inflamed with disease.

Symptoms

• Chronic neck pain is a stiff neck that won't go away, one ranges on the pain scale from mild to extreme. The tissue in the neck may be tender and swollen. With bilateral variation, the pain is not localized on either the right or left side of the vertebrae.

Diagnosis

• Doctors will take a history of symptoms from the patient and take them through a range of motion to find positions that relieve the pain. If there is no obvious cause for the bilateral neck pain, nerve testing, CAT scan, MRI or other internal viewing of the bone structure and its surrounding anatomy may be utilized.

Treatment

• Any one or a combination of the following may be used to help alleviate the pain: heat/ice, traction, ultrasound, massage, cortisone injections or a soft collar along with muscle relaxers and pain medication. Treatment for severe conditions may involve surgery.

When to See a Doctor

• Get a doctor's exam after a car accident or any other trauma where the neck was impacted directly or jerked suddenly. If symptoms persist or worsen for more than 10 days, see a doctor as this may be an indication a serious medical condition.