How Chiropractors treat neck pain.
Neck pain is a common pain that affects people of all ages and lifestyles. Whether it's due to poor posture, stress, injury, or a medical condition, neck pain significantly impacts your daily life. One effective treatment option that is gaining in popularity is chiropractic care. Chiropractors use non-invasive treatments to alleviate pain, improve mobility, and address the root causes of neck pain. In this article, I’ll explain how chiropractic care can help!
What is Chiropractic Care?
Chiropractic care is a natural, drug-free approach to treating musculoskeletal conditions, particularly those affecting the spine. Chiropractors focus on diagnosing and treating disorders of the musculoskeletal and nervous system, using spinal manipulation or “adjustments” of the spine and joints to restore proper function. One of the primary goals of chiropractic care is not only to reduce pain, but improve the health of your joints.
Common Causes of Neck Pain
Before understanding how chiropractic care helps with neck pain, it’s important to recognize the common causes of neck pain. Some of the most frequent contributors to neck pain include:
Poor Posture: Sitting for long periods with poor posture, such as slouching or craning the neck forward, can strain the muscles and joints in the neck, leading to pain.
Whiplash Injury: A sudden, forceful movement of the neck, typically seen from car accidents, can cause the soft tissues in the neck to stretch, resulting in pain and stiffness.
Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease: As we age, the discs in the cervical spine wear down, leading to reduced flexibility, disc herniations, or nerve compression.
Muscle Strain: Overuse, poor sleeping positions, or carrying heavy loads can strain the muscles in the neck, causing discomfort and limited movement.
Pinched Nerves: Compression of the nerves in the cervical spine can cause sharp pain, numbness, or tingling in the neck, shoulders, or arms.
How Chiropractic Care Helps Treat Neck Pain
Chiropractic care offers several benefits when it comes to treating neck pain. Chiropractors focus on identifying the underlying causes of pain and use targeted treatments to provide relief. Here are several ways chiropractic care can help alleviate neck pain:
1. Spinal Manipulation/Adjustments
The cornerstone of chiropractic care is spinal manipulation, also known as spinal adjustments. This technique involves applying controlled, gentle pressure to specific areas of the spine to restore proper motion. Poor movement in the cervical spine (the neck region) can irritate muscles and nerves leading to pain, stiffness, and decreased range of motion. Chiropractic adjustments help to restore proper joint motion of the vertebrae, reduce nerve irritation, and improve mobility in the neck.
2. Improves Range of Motion
Neck pain often comes with reduced range of motion, making it difficult to turn your head or perform everyday activities. Ever woke up with a stiff neck and cannot turn it? Chiropractic care can help improve that.
3. Muscle Relaxation and Tension Relief
Many people with neck pain experience tight, tense muscles in the neck and upper back. Chiropractors use a combination of spinal adjustments, massage therapy, stretching techniques, and rehab exercises to relax these muscles, reduce tension, and promote healing. Regular chiropractic care can help prevent muscle stiffness from reoccurring, allowing for long-term relief from neck pain.
4. Less Medication!
One of the major benefits of chiropractic care is that it offers a natural, drug-free solution to neck pain. Many people with chronic neck pain turn to pain medications or muscle relaxants, but these can come with side effects and rarely help treat your neck pain long term. Chiropractic focuses on improving spinal motion, which in effect positively effects the nervous system and reduces pain symptoms.
5. Correction of Posture
Poor posture is a leading cause of neck pain, especially for individuals who spend long hours at desks or use smartphones frequently. Nowadays this is called “text neck”. Chiropractors can identify postural issues and provide guidance on how to improve posture, which can significantly reduce strain on the neck muscles and joints.
6. Personalized Treatment Plans
Chiropractors think holistically when it comes to treating neck pain by evaluating not only the physical symptoms but also lifestyle factors that contribute to neck pain. After an examination, Chiropractors create a personalized treatment plan specific to you. It should NOT be a cookie cutter one size fits all approach, because we know that doesn’t work.
7. Nerve Pain
When nerves in the cervical spine are compressed or irritated, it can lead to radiating pain, numbness, or tingling in the neck, shoulders, arms, or hands. Nerve pain in the arm or leg is typically due to disc bulging. Chiropractors can help alleviate nerve pain by spinal adjustments, physical therapy, and soft tissue treatment. This can significantly reduce symptoms of conditions like cervical radiculopathy, a common cause of neck-related nerve pain.
Is Chiropractic Care Right for You?
Chiropractic care can be highly effective for many individuals dealing with neck pain, but it may not be suitable for everyone. If you’re unsure, simply give us a call. We offer a FREE discovery call for people wanting to speak to us further about what pain they are experiencing and if we may be of help.
Chiropractors provides safe, effective, and non-invasive treatments for neck pain. Whether your discomfort is due to poor posture, an injury, or a degenerative condition, chiropractic adjustments and other therapeutic techniques can help restore proper joint movement, reduce pain, and improve mobility. If you're tired of relying on pain medication or want to explore a more natural treatment option for neck pain, chiropractic care may be a beneficial choice to consider. By addressing the root causes of pain and offering personalized treatment plans, chiropractors can help you get back to living a pain-free, active life.