Usually not. Most cervical radiculopathy improves over weeks to months and a large proportion resolves completely without surgery. The important exception is compression of the spinal cord itself, which is a different problem with different warning signs and needs prompt assessment rather than patience.
Usually not. Most cervical radiculopathy improves over weeks to months and a large proportion resolves completely without surgery. The important exception is compression of the spinal cord itself, which is a different problem with different warning signs and needs prompt assessment rather than patience.
Cervical radiculopathy is irritation or compression of a nerve root as it leaves the neck, most often from a disc protrusion or from narrowing of the bony canal the root passes through. The pain typically runs from the neck into the shoulder blade and down the arm in a pattern that follows the root involved, with numbness, tingling and sometimes weakness in the same distribution. The natural history is favourable. Arm pain tends to settle first, often within weeks; numbness and any weakness take longer and may lag behind the pain by months.
The situation that alters the approach entirely is myelopathy, meaning pressure on the spinal cord rather than on a single root. Suggestive features include clumsiness of the hands with dropping objects or difficulty with buttons, a change in walking or balance, symptoms affecting both arms or the legs, new bladder or bowel disturbance, and a band-like sensation around the trunk. These warrant prompt assessment rather than a period of watching, because outcomes relate to how long the cord has been compressed.
Electrodiagnostic testing answers questions imaging cannot. It identifies which root is affected physiologically, which matters when a scan shows changes at several levels and the clinical picture must be matched to one of them. It separates radiculopathy from nerve entrapment at the elbow or wrist and from a brachial plexus lesion, all of which can look similar. It also grades how much axon loss has occurred, which informs the expected pace of recovery. Both offices have an AANEM-accredited laboratory.
Relative rest from provoking activities rather than immobility, since prolonged stillness stiffens the neck without speeding nerve recovery. Physiotherapy, once the acute pain allows, with attention to posture and workstation setup. Medication chosen by class for neuropathic pain, used for a defined period. Image-guided injection is considered in selected cases and arranged with the appropriate service. Surgery is reserved mainly for significant or progressive weakness, cord compression, or pain that has not settled; this practice performs no surgery and refers when it is indicated.
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.
Adults 18 and older, at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices. Call 702-804-1212 or request an appointment online.