It’s one thing to be called “a pain in the neck” and it’s quite another to suffer from neck pain. Maybe you’ve wondered about seeking a chiropractor for neck pain. Let’s explore neck pain, what causes it, and most importantly what chiropractic might be able to do about it.
According to the Neurological Surgeons Association the common causes of neck pain are arthritis, disc degeneration, narrowing of the spinal canal, muscle inflammation, strain, and trauma. Of course we know that their ‘bread and butter’ is surgery so they view things through those lenses.
Here’s a post of mine: What is the Meaning of Pain?
Neck Pain
Let’s start by looking at neck pain. We have a combative relationship with pain in our society. We tend to be very reactive when it comes to pain, doing whatever we can as soon as possible to relieve the pain.
While that’s an understandable reaction it ends up causing us more pain in the long run. When we simply shut down the message of pain we fail to explore the underlying cause. And, we assume that when the pain is gone so is the cause.
But, it’s not that simple and it’s more often than not just plain wrong.
Pain is an indication of a number of things and if you want to solve the challenge of neck pain then they should all be explored:
- Arthritis – most commonly osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease. This often develops many years post trauma that was never appropriately treated. A minor fender bender car collision will result in neck arthritis 15 to 20 years later.
- Disc Degeneration – goes hand in hand with arthritis as you will rarely if ever find a degenerated disc without accompanying arthritis. The degenerated disc narrows the space for the nerves to exit the spine.
- Upper Cervical Misalignment – the upper neck has to balance the 11 lb weight of the head. Any imbalance can easily double or triple the stress on the small muscles of the neck.
- Loss of Cervical Curve – this goes along with past trauma and causes the head to move forward, putting added stress to the neck muscles. As the curve straightens it causes the neck muscles to tighten up and spasm.
- Restriction of Neck Spinal Joints – the joints of the neck are there to allow for motion. When motion is restricted or lost it sets in motion nerve irritation, muscle spasm, and pain.
Only if you can identify the multitude of causes of neck pain is it possible to create a plan to correct those causes and solve the challenge of neck pain. As you can see from the above list, all of these primary causes of neck pain are mechanical in nature.
It’s foolish to attempt to apply a pharmaceutical solution to a mechanical problem. That’s a shortcoming of our healthcare system that has a heavy emphasis on the use of drugs, injections, radiation, and surgery. Unless there has been significant trauma or the pain has been neglected for a long time those should be final resorts, not first line treatment.
So, what are the steps to achieving victory over neck pain with chiropractic…
4 Steps to Victory Over Neck Pain with Chiropractic
The goal is twofold; to first identify the cause(s) and second to craft a treatment plan that addresses those causes. Here are the 4 steps I’ve used for years to help clients overcome neck pain.
- Restore Cervical Curve: the neck must have a curve or there will be constant added stress to the joints, muscles, and nerves of the cervical spine. When the neck loses its curve not only does it cause muscle tightness and spasm but it also causes tension to the brain stem which results in further increased muscle spasm and pain.
- Correct Upper Cervical Spine: the alignment and function of the joints between the occiput (skull), C1, and C2 are critical to the function of the neck. Proper movement of all these joints promotes relaxation of the neck muscles and removes tension from the delicate nerves of the upper neck.
- Joint Mobility of Mid Cervical to Upper Thoracic Spine: think about all the motion of your neck from turning right and left, looking up above you, and looking down to the floor. We want all the joints moving because when one joints loses some of its motion it passes the stress onto other joints and this sets the stage for pain.
- Postural and Movement Strategies: Our modern lifestyle is full of positions that significantly add stress to the neck. Next time you are out observe people on their phones and notice how many of them have their head bent forward. Every inch that the ear moves in front of the shoulder is like adding another 11 lbs that the muscles of the neck have to support.
We can learn simple strategies that avoid building up tension in the neck and allow us to move more freely.
I didn’t discuss the issues of disc degeneration or arthritis in the steps to overcoming neck pain. There is little that can be done for either of them directly. But, since they are the result of long term stress from loss of curve, joint restriction, and misalignment; when we address those imbalances we take tremendous stress off of the degenerated discs and joints.
In the absence of recent trauma pain is a sign of irritation, inflammation, and imbalance. The common approach is to simply address the inflammation with anti-inflammatory medications. But, that approach fails to appreciate that the inflammation is the effect of other imbalances and not the underlying cause of neck pain.
Our goal in overcoming neck pain and supporting every aspect of health should first be to support the body in returning to balance. Once in balance the body is much more capable of overcoming whatever is causing the issue.
Chiropractic care that is corrective and balancing removes neck pain by restoring normal function and balance to the joints, nerves, and muscles of the cervical and upper thoracic spine.
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