Multiple parts form part of the neck, including bones, ligaments, nerves and muscles. These collectively allow you to feel and move. Most of us subject our bodies to its fair share of wear and tear during our everyday lives. Driving or sitting are two examples of daily tasks we engage in that can exacerbate neck and back trauma, causing us to develop any number of debilitating conditions that can affect our quality of life.
It’s not uncommon for individuals to develop a compression of their spinal cord. A condition like this often develops due to structural changes in a patient’s back and neck, such as disc and bone expansion, something that can put pressure on your spinal cord. Another is spinal compression along the central canal, the housing around this important neurological pathway. Individuals who receive this diagnosis may experience difficulties in getting messages to efficiently travel from one end of the body to the other, thus resulting in delayed functionality.
Two other common neck disorders are arthritis and degenerative disc disease. These conditions often emerge as we age, but can also result from repetitive use and trauma. These disorders often damage the neck’s underlying structures and cause chronic headaches and localized pain. While medication can often temporarily alleviate a patient’s symptoms, there are little (if any) widely-accepted, long-term interventions that individuals can use to help manage this condition.
Individuals who suffer from other ligament or muscular injuries along the neck tend to experience headaches that may start at the skull’s base and spread, causing a debilitating pressure sensation throughout the entire head. Individuals with these disorders may also experience neck pain that radiates into the shoulders and down their arms or even muscle spasms. Severe ligament or muscular injuries may result in muscle tightness, spasms, circulatory issues and nerve pressure pain.
When we decide to do something, our brain sends messages down our spinal cord to other parts of the body to perform those tasks. If there’s some impediment to those messages getting to those other areas, then this may impact your ability to live up to the full capacity you’ve grown accustomed to living. A Social Security Disability attorney who has experience providing qualified help for disabled people can assist you in preparing an application for benefits if your condition affects your ability to work.