Chiropractic is very effective in the diagnosis and treatment of over 95% of most neck pain.
The first and most important thing in the treatment of any ailment, is proper diagnosis, correctly
and accurately identifying what the problem is and what caused the problem in the first place.
A Chiropractic Physician is one of the most highly qualified doctors to do just that examine and
accurately diagnose your condition. With the proper diagnosis, planning the best treatment for
you so that you are on the road to a quick and complete recovery is much easier.
Your neck
contains muscles, tendons, ligaments as well as a portion of your spine otherwise known as the
cervical spine. The neck begins at the base of the skull and contains the seven small vertebrae
known as Cervical one through Cervical seven. Incredibly, the cervical spine supports the full
weight of your head, which is on average about 12 pounds. While the cervical spine can move
your head in nearly every direction, this flexibility makes the neck very susceptible to pain and injury.
The neck's susceptibility to injury is due in part to what is known as biomechanics.
Activities and events that affect cervical biomechanics include extended sitting,
repetitive movement, accidents, falls and blows to the body or head, normal aging, and
everyday wear and tear. Neck pain can be very bothersome, and it can have a variety of causes.
Neck pain can result from a variety of causes, ranging from overuse injuries and
whiplash to diseases such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, disc pain and
inflammation, infection and meningitis.
Overuse, such as too many hours hunched over a steering wheel, often triggers
muscle strains. Neck muscles, particularly those in the back of your neck, become
fatigued and eventually strained. When you overuse your neck muscles repeatedly,
chronic pain can develop. Even such minor things as reading in bed or gritting
your teeth can strain neck muscles. Properly identifying this condition and the
causes in your specific case leads your doctor to choose the right treatment,
therapies, exercise and ergonomic recommendations for you.
Just like all the other joints in your body, your neck joints tend to
experience wear and tear. These conditions can vary with age, occupation,
past history of injuries, all which can cause osteoarthritis in your neck.
These conditions tend to affect two main types of joints in the neck.
Facet joints and disc joints are both possible sources of your neck pain.
Proper treatment including correct postural training and positioning, stretching,
Chiropractic adjustment including soft tissue treatments and physiotherapy are all
very effective in treating the vast majority of these conditions.
A variety of problems in your neck's vertebrae can reduce the amount of space
available for nerves to branch out from the spinal cord. Examples include:
- Stiffened disks. The cushioning disks between your vertebrae may be injured
or become dry and stiff, narrowing the spaces in your spinal column where the
nerves exit. Proper treatments to enhance improved range of motion and decrease
pain and spasm all go a long way in treating this chronic condtion. Gentle
traction or spinal decompression therapy can both be quite helpful in treating this as well.
- Herniated disks. This occurs when the inner gel-like material of a disk
protrudes through the disk's tougher outer covering. The protrusion can press
on nerves exiting the spinal column. This could cause arm pain and weakness as
well as pain in the muscles and neck itself. Traction and Spinal Decompression
Therapy again can actually improve the spacing and flexibility of discs as well
as help discs heal and reduce the protrusion without surgery.
- Bone spurs. Arthritic joints in your neck can develop bony growths that may
press on nerves. Spurs generally develop as part of the process or condition, osteoarthritis.
- Spinal stenosis causes the small nerve passageways in the vertebrae to narrow,
compressing and trapping nerve roots. Stenosis may cause neck, shoulder, and arm
pain, as well as numbness, when these nerves are unable to function normally.
Motor vehicle accidents, particularly, Rear-end collisions often result in whiplash
injuries, which occur when the head is jerked forward and then backward, overstretching
and tearing the soft tissues of the neck beyond their limits. The sudden forced
movement of the head or neck in any direction and the resulting rebound in the opposite
direction is again known as whiplash. The sudden whipping motion injures the surrounding
and supporting tissues of the neck and head. Muscles react by tightening and contracting,
creating muscle fatigue, which can result in pain and stiffness. Severe whiplash can also
be associated with injury to the intervertebral joints, discs, ligaments, muscles, and
nerve roots. Car accidents are the most common cause of whiplash
Neck pain can sometimes be caused by diseases, such as:
- Rheumatoid arthritis. After the joints in the hands and the feet, the joints in
the neck are the next most commonly affected by rheumatoid arthritis.
- Meningitis. This infectious disease causes the lining of the brain and spinal
cord to swell. One of the most common symptoms of meningitis is neck pain and stiffness.
- Cancer. Rarely, neck pain can be caused by cancerous tumors in the spine. The
cancer may have traveled to the spine from other parts of your body.
Again, it is important to see a physician in order to obtain a proper examination
and diagnosis of your neck pain. A Chiropractic Physician is a well trained specialist
and may be consulted to help get you started on the path back to pain reduction and improved health.
During your visit, we will perform an examination in order to locate the source and
cause of your pain. We will ask you questions about your current symptoms and remedies
you may have already tried. It is a very important step to obtain answers to the following questions:
- When did the pain start?
- What have you done for your neck pain?
- Does the pain radiate or travel to other parts of your body?
- Does anything reduce the pain or make it worse?
We will also perform a physical and neurological exams. In the physical exam, your
doctor will observe your posture, range of motion, and physical condition, noting movement
that causes pain. We also will palpate or feel the area of your neck that is in pain. We
will note the features including neck curvature and alignment, and feel for muscle spasm.
A check of your shoulder area is also in order. During the neurological exam, your doctor
will test your reflexes, muscle strength, other nerve changes, and pain spread.
In some instances, we will advise and order that certain tests be performed in order to
help diagnose your condition. We may also suggest and take an x-ray that could can show narrowed
disc space, fractures, bone spurs, or arthritis. A computerized axial tomography scan (a CT or
CAT scan) or a magnetic resonance imaging test (an MRI) can show bulging discs and herniations.
If nerve damage is suspected, your doctor may order a special test called electromyography
(an EMG) to measure how quickly your nerves respond.
As Chiropractic Physicians, we are generally considered conservative care doctors; Our
scope of practice does not include the direct use of drugs or surgery. If we determine as
your chiropractor that your diagnoses is in our professional opinion a condition outside
of our conservative scope, we will consult with you and refer you to the appropriate medical
physician or specialist. We may also ask for permission to inform your family physician of the
care you are receiving to ensure that your chiropractic care and medical care are properly coordinated.
A neck adjustment (also known as a cervical manipulation) is a precise procedure applied to
the joints of the neck, usually by hand. A neck adjustment works to improve the mobility of
the spine and to restore range of motion; it can also increase movement of the adjoining muscles.
Patients typically notice an improved ability to turn and tilt the head, and a reduction of pain,
soreness, and stiffness.
As your treating Chiropractic doctor, we will develop a program of care that may combine more
than one type of treatment, depending on your personal needs. In addition to manipulation, the
treatment plan may include mobilization, massage or rehabilitative exercises, Physiotherapy or something else.
One of the most recent reviews of scientific literature found evidence that patients with
chronic neck pain enrolled in clinical trials reported significant improvement following
chiropractic spinal manipulation.
As part of the literature review, published in the March/April 2007 issue of the Journal of
Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, the researchers reviewed nine previously published
trials and found high-quality evidence that patients with chronic neck pain showed significant
pain-level improvements following spinal manipulation. No trial group was reported as having
remained unchanged, and all groups showed positive changes up to 12 weeks post-treatment.
