Neck Pain
Your neck, also called the cervical spine, begins at the base of the skull and contains seven small vertebrae. The cervical spine supports the full weight of your head, which is on average about 10-12 pounds. The flexibility of the cervical spine allows for you to turn your neck in every direction, but also makes it susceptible to pain and injury. Activities such as extended sitting, repetitive movement, accidents, falls and blows to the body or head, normal aging, and everyday wear and tear can all contribute to cumulative strain on the system.
Cervicogenic Dizziness
Dizziness can be extremely frustrating for patients to cope with. This condition may show up with neck pain, or without. Patients may describe their symptoms as feelings of spinning, headache, trouble reading among others. In order to successfully treat dizziness as a chiropractor, there must be some of the associated symptoms present: limited range of motion (or stiffness), cervical pain, radicular (sharp-shooting) pain into the upper extremities, headache, balance complaints, nausea, visual sensitivity, anxiety, fatigue, and/or jaw pain. The episodic dizziness or disequilibrium lasts minutes to hours, and is clearly related to head posture. Oftentimes muscle tension in the Upper Trapezius and Levator Scapulae are involved. Another condition to consider and rule out is Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV), which can be treated with an Epley Maneuver, a safe and effective protocol to eliminating this benign type of vertigo.
Degenerative Disk Disease
This refers to the destruction of the inner spongey layers between the vertebra, which means the disks lose their elasticity and height, and less of a cushion between the bones. Over time, a disk may tear, bulge or herniate, causing tingling, numbness, and pain that runs into the arm.
Osteoarthritis
This is a common joint disorder which causes progressive deterioration of joint cartilage. The body reacts by forming bone spurs that affect joint motion and can create an overall sense of stiffness.
Spinal Stenosis
This often occurs in conjunction with osteoarthritis by causing 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.
Torticollis
This condition, also known as “wry neck” often occurs due to spontaneous muscle spasm and facet imbrication (locking) which causes an intense chemical reaction and localized inflammation in the spine and surrounding soft tissues that can be very painful. Some people will find that they wake up this way and can’t turn their neck. Infants also present with torticollis, a result of a traumatic birth, or position en-utero. In addition, sometimes chronic positioning in swings, carseats and carriers with improper positioning of the neck has been thought to promote this type of onset.
Pain occurs in the neck and sometimes into the shoulder. Localized swelling is often felt over affected facet joint. Lack of full range of motion is evident and patient will often present with a head tilt.
Whiplash
Whiplash takes place when a person’s spine, usually their head and neck, is thrown very quickly in one direction and then rebounded in the opposite direction. It may also happen from side-to-side or when the neck is rotated. This sudden and unnatural movement can lead to nerve, joint, ligament, tendon, muscle, and disc stress, irritation, or damage. What’s worse is that these vertebral subluxations can persist in the spine for many years before the patient even feels any pain.
Treatment For Neck Pain?
Treatment may include massage, gentle mobilization, chiropractic manipulation, soft tissue release, rest, epsom salt soaks, ice, heat, vibracussion and cellular repair aids will help calm the soft tissues down and provide much needed pain relief.