How to diagnose and treat cervicalgia?

Cervicalgia is a medical term that refers to pain in and around the neck. Given the number of structures that make up and support the neck, there is a long list of possibilities. Common causes of neck pain are muscle strain, muscle spasm, degenerative disc disease and arthritis. For these conditions, conservative measures should be tried first unless there is evidence of ongoing nerve dysfunction causing extreme pain or muscle weakness. Treatment might be warm or cold compresses, temporary intermittent use of a soft cervical collar, physical therapy, anti-inflammatory drugs and pain relievers.