A disc in the neck pressing on a nearby nerve — causing neck pain that can shoot into the shoulder, arm or hand.
Neck
You will usually feel this in the neck and the top of the shoulders, often with stiffness when you turn your head or look up. It can radiate into the upper back, down an arm, or up into the back of the head. Long stretches at a desk, sleeping awkwardly, or driving tend to make it worse.
Wherever possible, we start with the least invasive option that has good evidence — and we use live image guidance (ultrasound or fluoroscopy) for any injection so the medication goes exactly where it needs to. Many of the procedures we offer for this condition are OHIP-covered when ordered for an appropriate clinical reason; we will be straight with you about what is and what is not before you book.
These are the procedures we most commonly use for the neck area. The right one depends on your imaging, history, and what has helped before.
A regenerative injection using concentrated cells and growth factors drawn from your own bone marrow. We typically consider this for advanced joint arthritis or stubborn tendon and cartilage problems when other treatments have not held.
Botox can quiet overactive nerves and muscles that drive chronic migraine, post-traumatic headache, or muscle-related neck and jaw pain. Effect builds over 1 to 2 weeks and typically lasts about 3 months.
A fluoroscopy-guided steroid injection into the epidural space of the neck. Used when neck pain travels down the arm (cervical radiculopathy) — calms the inflamed nerve root, typically 4–12 weeks of relief.
A fluoroscopy-guided steroid injection into the small facet joints at the back of the neck. Used for arthritic or post-whiplash neck pain — both confirms the source and relieves it, typically 4–12 weeks.
A diagnostic injection that numbs the small nerves supplying the cervical facet joints. If your neck pain quiets, we know the facets are the source — and you become a candidate for radiofrequency ablation.
An injection that targets a specific nerve outside the spine — for example, the occipital nerve at the base of the skull, or the suprascapular nerve at the shoulder. Calms the nerve that is feeding your pain.
A regenerative injection using a processed form of your own platelets in which the healing growth factors are released up front. We typically consider this for nerve-related and tendon pain where a gentler regenerative option is preferred.
A regenerative injection using the healing factors from your own blood. We typically offer this for chronic tendon problems or arthritis when other injections have lost their effect.
Using a fine probe, we gently heat the specific nerve carrying the pain signal from a spinal facet joint. When that nerve quiets down, relief typically lasts 6 to 12 months.
A small injection of local anaesthetic into the tight, painful muscle knots that come with myofascial pain. Releases the muscle on the spot, easing tension and referred pain.
If Herniated or bulging disc — neck has been getting in the way for more than a few weeks, ask your family doctor for a referral. We will take it from there.
