CONDITIONS

Neck Pain

Overview
Lower back pain is one of the most prevalent conditions affecting millions worldwide. It can be triggered by prolonged poor posture or bending awkwardly and lifting incorrectly. Hence muscles, ligaments, facet joints and disc can be twisted or overly stretched by rapid movements.

Chronic back pain can significantly impact your quality of life such as ability to do house chores, chronic tiredness as well as difficulty sleeping due to pain.

Low for repetitive injuries are also amongst the common neck pain triggers as the longer we are confined to a work position, in turn it becomes a work hazard as our neck joints are having lack of motion and eventually complications such as accelerated forms of degeneration can then take place

Causes of neck pain

Muscle or ligament strains from sudden twisting movements, placing heavy objects on neck region or from the nature of your job of prolonged desk-bound position/heavy & unnatural carrying of heavy things/children causing symptoms such as pain, stiffness, joint swelling and jamming of neck.

Cervical Spondylosis. Commonly seen in degeneration of the cervical spine, can involve cervical degenerative disc or osteoarthritis of the facet joints of endplates of vertebrae. This can be due to accidents, injuries from falls and left untreated. As the spine accelerates in degeneration, one or more intervertebral foramen may become stenosed(smaller). Nerves becomes irritated as a result and pain may radiate from neck down into the arm

Poor posture – Failing to maintain a good up right posture, especially sitting on a desk all day can take a toll on the neck and shoulder health. Rounded shoulders are common occurrence as the shoulder slump forward followed by neck anterior shifts forward. This puts more stress on the base of the neck at C7/T1 region where most of the weight of the head sits and it gets heavier for the base of the neck the worst our posture becomes!

Other causes:

Frequent self manipulating – often times multiple times a day of ones own neck or overstretching the neck beyond its normal range of motion as a way to self relief the pain. This tends to lead to further injuries

Symptoms of Neck Pain

  • Stiffness: A reduced range of motion, or difficulty turning the head side to side or nodding up and down.
  • Muscle tightness and spasms: These can be uncomfortable and limit movement.
  • Sharp pain: This might be located in a specific spot, and might worsen with movement or certain activities.
  • General soreness: This tends to be a more diffuse discomfort, often described as aching or throbbing.
  • Headaches: These often occur along with neck pain. They can be the result of neck muscles being tight or from a pinched nerve in your neck.
  • Radiating pain: Pain might spread into the shoulder or arm, and in cases of nerve impingement, it may extend to the hands or fingers causing numbness or tingling.
  • Difficulty sleeping due to pain or discomfort.

How can Chiropractic care help with neck pain?
Regular chiropractic treatment by a trained chiropractor will benefit you by experiencing more effective relief rather than the use of pain killers or other drugs. Chiropractic adjustment will loosen the joints of the cervical vertebrae and this in turn help reduce pain caused by joint dysfunction, muscle stiffness or even nerve irritation

Prognosis (each case is different)
Depending on factors such as your age, the length of time you have experienced your lower back pain, other signs and symptoms you have neglected for example your posture, muscle imbalances, joint tightening and blocking over a period of time and the severity shown on your x-rays are vital factors.
Other components to gauge your progress would depend on your general health and well being, your exercise habits (under, over or improper exercising movements), your level of commitment towards your recommended care-plan by the Doctor of Chiropractic(DC)
Physical Therapy will be used to help prevent bad habits as well as strengthen and stabilize neck musculatures

Other Conditions