The reason why neck pain is so common is because it affects the main structure of our body. The spine, which is made up of bones, discs, and ligaments that connect to the skull at the base of the neck. The neck connects everything from your head down to below your shoulder blades. It houses muscles that allow you to move, as well as many blood vessels and nerves.
Many people that deal with chronic pain in their necks are also dealing with a secondary issue such as stress or arthritis. This is usually caused by poor postural habits such as sitting for long periods in one position or sleeping incorrectly on a pillow. Neck pain can be treated by visiting a chiropractor for corrective alignment and manipulation of the joints in your neck, all done without the use of medication.
There are several reasons why a neck injury or neck strain can cause pain and stiffness in the neck, shoulders, and upper back. These injuries usually occur when you lift something incorrectly with your arms instead of using your legs, which is the correct way to lift a heavy object. Neck injuries can also occur when you are reaching overhead or when someone or something falls down upon your neck.
Inflammation is a normal response to an injury. Unfortunately, while necessary and beneficial, inflammation can hurt. Swelling and inflammation around damaged muscles will cause even more stiffness in the area, which can limit range of motion overall. All together, these factors lead to a pretty uncomfortable situation which can limit mobility over time if left untreated.
Cause of Neck Pain Injuries
The cause of neck pain injuries can be very complicated. The first consideration is the most obvious, that is head position. This type of neck pain can be caused by sleeping in an awkward position (i.e. stomach sleeping) or spending too much time on a computer or smartphone. Bad posture and overuse injury can also be the culprit.
The second most common cause of neck pain is an accident or trauma. This type of injury often involves whiplash, but can occur without any physical signs of significant trauma. Studies have shown that whiplash and neck injury can occur in a rear-end collision as low as five miles per hour.
Other accidents could be sports or recreational events that lead to an impact on your head and/or spine, such as skateboarding, or surfing.
Injuries can also occur in the workplace; often from an awkward positioning of your head or spine while working at a computer terminal or doing some other type of job that requires prolonged and repetitive tasks.
Another cause for neck pain injuries is physiological diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, degenerative disc disease, tumors, blood clots, high cholesterol levels, thyroid problems and spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal over time). With neck pain injuries caused by underlying medical issues there may be other symptoms involved like headaches, trouble walking and/or numbness in limbs. If you experience any of those symptoms related to physiological diseases, your chiropractor will likely refer you to your medical doctor to co-manage your symptoms.
Since the neck contains many nerves and blood vessels, the slightest injury can be a serious matter. Symptoms include headache, stiff neck, pain down the arm or back pain, shoulder pain and muscle spasms.
Ligaments are elastic tissues in your joints that connect the bones together to provide stability for all movements. When these ligaments become weak or injured they will often heal in an irregular manner so that movements will cause irritation and inflammation of those same structures. This is how overuse injuries happen.
The most common cause of a neck injury is poor posture. Sitting at a computer terminal for hours may also damage your neck over time if the setup is not ergonomically correct.
Another common problem that occurs with neck pain injuries is irritated nerves. These are caused by various things like impact or repetitive movements that we mentioned above. Because so many nerves travel through your neck area, any kind of trauma can lead to problems with other areas of the body including chest pain, numbness, tingling and pain down the arms.
One of the best ways to prevent neck injuries (because many are often unavoidable) is to find out what you can do in your daily routine that will contribute to better posture. Your chiropractor may be able to suggest certain exercises that will help with this as well. Chiropractors have the knowledge to help relieve joint stiffness and pain related to tight muscles.
If your neck pain is the result of something more serious, such as an injury from a car accident, then you will want to be examined by a chiropractor. They have the expertise to deal with muscles and joints that are injured.
In some cases, neck injuries can cause long term or permanent problems if they are not addressed in a timely manner. This is why it is so important to find the right care for your condition as soon as possible and don’t leave your condition untreated. If you believe you may be dealing with a chronic issue, it would be wise to speak to a qualified chiropractor for proper diagnoses, tests, etc., that is experienced in dealing with neck injuries.
How Chiropractors Treat Neck Injuries
Treatment can include functional movement tips to help keep your body aligned while sleeping, sitting, or standing. Your chiropractor may also have you stretch out your neck and lower back before they start with treatment since this will loosen up any tight muscles. The chiropractor may provide you with at-home exercises to help reduce the tension in the muscles around your spine and increase your range of motion.
Chiropractors often provide their patients with information on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle along with a series of treatments until you find the one that best fits your needs. Some people go back to their chiropractor on a regular basis to help with maintaining their progress.
We hope that this blog post has helped you to learn about how chiropractors can treat neck pain. We also hope that this post has inspired you to look into other ways that can be used in order to alleviate your pain issues. Some of the items listed above may have been discussed before, but we wanted to make sure that they were covered here as well. We do not want anyone leaving out important information when it comes to resolving their neck problems.
Our mission is to help educate people who are suffering from neck pain or injuries by providing them with good quality information so they can get better without putting too much stress on themselves. If you’re interested in learning more about chiropractors and how they treat patients, shoot us a quick message or give us a call!