Neck pain can result from muscle sprain, ligament strain, facet joint pain or slipped discs (discogenic pain). Facet joints are the small joints between the bones in the spine. Besides causing neck pain and headaches, slipped discs can also press onto nerves and lead to pain and numbness that radiate into the arms.
Whiplash injury and age-related degeneration are the common causes for neck pain. Poor workplace ergonomics and bad sleeping posture perpetuate the condition.

In general, painkillers, exercises, physiotherapy and correction of poor posture are all that is necessary. Patients who do not recover despite conservative management may require interventional pain therapy.

These include muscle trigger point injections, epidural steroid injections, nerve root blocks, facet joint injections, disc decompression (nucleoplasty) as well as radiofrequency ablation. Depending on the source of your pain, your doctor will advise you on the appropriate therapy.