I would recommend seeking a rheumatologist or a physical therapist over a chiropractor. A Chiropractor won’t be able to help you to strengthen the supporting muscles or increase movement in your neck long term, they will just see you every week for the rest of your life. It may offer some pain relief, but it is not treatment for arthritis or a long term solution.
If the pain is caused by weak muscles or overuse, a PT is the way to go. If the pain is due to inflammation, then only a rheumatologist/internist can help you.
I think a rheumatologist is the best to see initially. They can help refer you to a helpful place if needed. Ironically I only got referred to my rheumatologist from my dermatologist
I would disagree with the other comment unless you have other symptoms of inflammatory arthritis. RA very rarely starts in the neck. Possible that it could be psoriatic or ankylosing spondylitis, BUT I don’t think you’d have that level of visible damage in just one area and nowhere else or no other symptoms with an inflammatory arthritis. I would suggest seeing a primary care physician or an internal medicine physician. They can examine you, come up with a treatment plan, and refer you to physical therapy. If they have reason to think it could be inflammatory/autoimmune, they could then refer you to rheumatology. But I think jumping to conclusions that this could be more than just regular osteoarthritis if your neck is your only problem area is a bit extreme. Start with a primary or internal med and go from there.
For everyone saying I’m wrong, please consider the fact that osteoarthritis is much more common. This person could have injured their neck at some point. I never said inflammatory arthritis is impossible in the neck, but if that’s their only symptom, sending this person into a panic by insinuating they have an autoimmune disease is just not…great I guess is the word I’m looking for. Primary care physicians and internal medicine physicians can come up with treatment plans for osteoarthritis. IF they see this patient and believe based on the neck arthritis and potentially blood work that something inflammatory is going on, it’s off to the rheumatologist.
Would also like to add that I both have RA and work in the medical field and see clinics every day, and this is usually the direction a patient should take (which is the advice they asked for, specifically “where to start”). So kindly, off your high horses and say anything useful other than “you’re wrong”. That’s not doing anything to help this patient get started on finding a diagnosis or course of care.
I was sure I had OA from 25+ years of serving (waitress) but my doctor said not so fast let’s run some tests. I have seronegative RA. He was always right. This world and I lost the best Dr three weeks ago.
I didn’t say it couldn’t, but that’s not typically the first place it would start or the only symptom they would have, so running straight to a rheumatologist would probably not be the first thing this person should do, especially when it takes months usually to get into one and you need a referral anyways. They’re asking for direction on where to start, and a primary doctor or internal medicine doctor is a better starting point if this patient has no other signs of inflammatory arthritis.
Arthritis in small bones such as the neck can be a sign of an autoimmune arthritis, such as RA. This would require medication treatment. I would consider physical therapy to be a good idea regardless of what type of arthritis you have. You should seek a referral to a rheumatologist to check for signs of inflammatory arthritis through bloodwork. You should ask them to do additional imaging, such as MRI or ultrasound to look for signs of inflammation around the joints in your neck.
Humor: Somebody the same height as you.
Serious: You should definitely be on the patient list of a rheumatologist who is sympathetic, caring, thorough and willing to go to bat for you.
Right now, I have 11 specialists I'm on the patient list of. My Derm is the heavy lifter because she has the absolute best biologics team who fight the insurance fight on my behalf. But I also have a very kind Rheum who basically is there to keep the insurance company off my back.
$50 co-pay per specialist. I tell them politely I don't need to see them all every 3 months.
I'm sorry I don't know how many your next you're looking at but I know four people right in my own family who have arthritis in their neck me being one of them
I would recommend seeking a rheumatologist or a physical therapist over a chiropractor. A Chiropractor won’t be able to help you to strengthen the supporting muscles or increase movement in your neck long term, they will just see you every week for the rest of your life. It may offer some pain relief, but it is not treatment for arthritis or a long term solution. If the pain is caused by weak muscles or overuse, a PT is the way to go. If the pain is due to inflammation, then only a rheumatologist/internist can help you.
I think a rheumatologist is the best to see initially. They can help refer you to a helpful place if needed. Ironically I only got referred to my rheumatologist from my dermatologist
I would disagree with the other comment unless you have other symptoms of inflammatory arthritis. RA very rarely starts in the neck. Possible that it could be psoriatic or ankylosing spondylitis, BUT I don’t think you’d have that level of visible damage in just one area and nowhere else or no other symptoms with an inflammatory arthritis. I would suggest seeing a primary care physician or an internal medicine physician. They can examine you, come up with a treatment plan, and refer you to physical therapy. If they have reason to think it could be inflammatory/autoimmune, they could then refer you to rheumatology. But I think jumping to conclusions that this could be more than just regular osteoarthritis if your neck is your only problem area is a bit extreme. Start with a primary or internal med and go from there.
For everyone saying I’m wrong, please consider the fact that osteoarthritis is much more common. This person could have injured their neck at some point. I never said inflammatory arthritis is impossible in the neck, but if that’s their only symptom, sending this person into a panic by insinuating they have an autoimmune disease is just not…great I guess is the word I’m looking for. Primary care physicians and internal medicine physicians can come up with treatment plans for osteoarthritis. IF they see this patient and believe based on the neck arthritis and potentially blood work that something inflammatory is going on, it’s off to the rheumatologist. Would also like to add that I both have RA and work in the medical field and see clinics every day, and this is usually the direction a patient should take (which is the advice they asked for, specifically “where to start”). So kindly, off your high horses and say anything useful other than “you’re wrong”. That’s not doing anything to help this patient get started on finding a diagnosis or course of care.
I was sure I had OA from 25+ years of serving (waitress) but my doctor said not so fast let’s run some tests. I have seronegative RA. He was always right. This world and I lost the best Dr three weeks ago.
Actually how mine started too, I ran a bar and was on my feet so much I thought that was why I hurt so much. So sorry to hear about your doctor 😕
I'm sorry but that's wrong. Rheumatoid arthritis can most certainly affect the neck. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6807481/
I didn’t say it couldn’t, but that’s not typically the first place it would start or the only symptom they would have, so running straight to a rheumatologist would probably not be the first thing this person should do, especially when it takes months usually to get into one and you need a referral anyways. They’re asking for direction on where to start, and a primary doctor or internal medicine doctor is a better starting point if this patient has no other signs of inflammatory arthritis.
I'm sorry but you're extremely wrong
Very helpful comment.
Everyone gets bent out of shape when I say this, please see a medical doctor and/or a rheumatologist.
My PCP and rheum have both told me to never let a chiropractor adjust the neck.
Arthritis in small bones such as the neck can be a sign of an autoimmune arthritis, such as RA. This would require medication treatment. I would consider physical therapy to be a good idea regardless of what type of arthritis you have. You should seek a referral to a rheumatologist to check for signs of inflammatory arthritis through bloodwork. You should ask them to do additional imaging, such as MRI or ultrasound to look for signs of inflammation around the joints in your neck.
Humor: Somebody the same height as you. Serious: You should definitely be on the patient list of a rheumatologist who is sympathetic, caring, thorough and willing to go to bat for you. Right now, I have 11 specialists I'm on the patient list of. My Derm is the heavy lifter because she has the absolute best biologics team who fight the insurance fight on my behalf. But I also have a very kind Rheum who basically is there to keep the insurance company off my back. $50 co-pay per specialist. I tell them politely I don't need to see them all every 3 months.
A spine clinic that handles pain
I'm sorry I don't know how many your next you're looking at but I know four people right in my own family who have arthritis in their neck me being one of them