This is the one condition in this group where the answer leans positive. Most people with cervical radiculopathy recover completely without surgery, often within several weeks to a few months, so full recovery is the expected outcome rather than the exception. What cannot be promised is that it will never return, since the underlying wear in the neck remains.
This is the one condition in this group where the answer leans positive. Most people with cervical radiculopathy recover completely without surgery, often within several weeks to a few months, so full recovery is the expected outcome rather than the exception. What cannot be promised is that it will never return, since the underlying wear in the neck remains.
The pain, tingling and weakness come from a nerve root being compressed or inflamed where it leaves the spine, usually by a disc protrusion or by bony overgrowth. Disc material shrinks over time and inflammation subsides, and the root stops being irritated. That is why the natural history is favourable and why the first phase of treatment is aimed at getting you through the painful weeks rather than at fixing an image. Anti-inflammatory medication, a short period of relative rest followed by movement, physical therapy and neuropathic pain medication where the pain is severe are the usual components.
MRI shows the anatomy and is arranged at an imaging centre, since this practice operates no imaging suite. EMG and nerve conduction studies answer a different question: which root is actually affected, how badly, and whether the problem is in the neck at all rather than a carpal tunnel or ulnar nerve entrapment producing similar symptoms. That distinction matters because MRI in adults commonly shows changes at several levels, and treating the wrong one is a real risk. Both offices run AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratories.
Weakness that is getting worse rather than better, weakness affecting more than one root, or pain that has not improved at all after a reasonable trial of conservative treatment all shift the conversation toward injection or surgery. Signs of spinal cord involvement rather than root involvement are more urgent: a change in walking, clumsy hands, dropping objects, or bladder and bowel changes. Those need prompt assessment, not another six weeks of patience.
Since the degenerative changes stay, recurrence is possible. Screen and monitor height, sustained neck flexion looking down at a phone, sleeping positions that crane the neck, and deconditioned neck and shoulder girdle muscles are the modifiable factors. Smoking accelerates disc degeneration. None of this guarantees immunity, and framing it as a habit change rather than a promise is the honest way to put it.
Clinical Neurology Specialists has been physician-owned since 1998, when Leo Germin, M.D., FAANEM founded it. Five board-certified neurologists and four advanced practice providers see patients at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices, each with its own AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratory.
Clinical Neurology Specialists is an adult outpatient neurology practice for patients 18 and older. The practice performs no surgery and operates no imaging suite, infusion suite or interventional pain programme, and provides no emergency or inpatient care.
Physician-reviewed. Reviewed by the physicians of Clinical Neurology Specialists — board-certified neurologists, AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratories, physician-owned since 1998. Reviewed 1 August 2026. This article is general education for adults 18 and older and is not a substitute for a consultation.
Sources and further reading: MedlinePlus: neck injuries and disorders; MedlinePlus: peripheral nerve disorders; National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Adults 18 and older, at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices. Call 702-804-1212 or request an appointment online.