Have you ever woken up with a kink in your neck? Do you experience neck pain while you are sitting at the computer working on a daily basis? Or even holding a phone to your ear? Do you ever find it difficult to turn your head just to check the blind spot in your mirror or back out of your driveway? If you said ‘yes’ to any one of these questions, likely you are suffering from neck pain that could be on a scale anywhere from pure annoyance to debilitating.
But this is an extremely common concern that can be addressed in multiple different ways. You see, research demonstrates that 15% of people experience debilitating neck pain throughout the United States. This is due, many times, to the stresses and strains that we put on ourselves daily. Whether that be, repetitive stresses like reading at our desks all day long, working at a computer or doing repetitive motions over and over again- these daily stresses can lead to common health concerns and multiple symptoms in the body.
But the problem with neck pain is the source is not always easy to figure out. You see, there are many different causes for neck pain that range from the muscles in the spine, the discs, the joints, or the combination of all of these. If you are experiencing neck pain due to muscles, it will be a different kind of pain then what you would experience coming from the disc or the joint. Neck pain originating from a disc pain is (most likely) going to be a sharp and radiating pain. Whereas, a joint pain can be more of a dull, nagging or even dull but occasionally sharp pain that can cause the surrounding muscles to feel achy, tight and/or sore.
The problem with the many different causes of neck pain is that it takes a physical examination to figure out exactly what needs to be done in order to correct the problem. But all too often, we turn straight to “treating” the problem (i.e. get rid of the pain) as opposed to trying to diagnose exactly where the problem is coming from. So, if/when we go to our family doctor for medications, they may prescribe muscle relaxers or pain killers and while it may help short-term, it is not necessarily going to help long-term. Painkillers only mask the pain, for a time, until it goes away and usually the same pain concern tends to come back time and time again.
Neck pain sufferers may turn to local massage therapists, which is a good option because massage is great for loosening up tight muscles. For those experiencing muscular related neck pain, this will give relief for a time, but if it the pain returns it is likely you could be suffering from one of the other concerns. We find all too often the last resort people turn is chiropractic. Chiropractic should more often than not be the first resort as doctors of chiropractic are highly skilled and trained in differentiating where the spinal pain is coming from. If it is coming from the muscles, discs, joints or a combination of all of them. Chiropractors able to determine exactly which one it is coming from and correct the underlying source, which can often be subluxation(s).
Subluxation(s) when present in the spine is a misalignment in a joint that causes nerve pressure, which will cause the muscles to fire incorrectly and can even lead to degenerative changes and disc bulges because of improper alignment of the spine. You see, chiropractic care looks to address all the causes of neck pain from the root source of the pain. Thereby, allowing you to not only feel better but function better long-term.
So, if you or a loved one are suffering from neck pain, please, give us a call for a five-minute phone consultation to determine if you pain and suffering is something that we believe we can help with.
