Neck Pain
Common Causes of Neck Pain
Neck pain can have it’s roots in a variety of different causes. However, most of the time it is related to our posture. Below are some of the most common causes of neck pain.
Posture Syndrome and Tech Neck Pain
Sitting a staring at a computer all day can be a pain in the neck. The same goes for the use such devices as cell phones, lap tops, and tablets. Postural abnormalities are an associated finding (and likely a root cause) in almost all mechanical neck diagnoses. Furthermore, studies have linked sitting to several organic pathologies hence the headliner: Sitting is the new smoking.
Mechanics of Abnormal Posture
When we use our devices, we tend to lean into our line of sight. That means putting the head forward, hunching over, and rolling in our shoulders. Even though it feels natural to do this, remaining in this position is not. If we were to spend just a few minutes engaging in poor posture, we would not have such issues. The problem is that we are slowly training our joints and muscles into bad posture as we hold the position. Even when we get up out of this position to move around, muscle memory continues to haunt us. We remain in the poor position as we go about our other activities. The forward rounded posture actually causes our muscles to work harder. In turn, this overloads and stresses our joints.
For example, imagine holding a bowling ball (which is about the weight of a human head). Holding the ball at shoulder level is hard enough. However, holding it out in front of your body with your arm straight makes it even harder. This is essentially what we are doing when we lean our heads forward of our shoulders and round our backs. The muscles in our necks and upper backs have to work overtime to sustain that position. Eventually the stress leads to wear and tear on our joints and results in arthritis & disc degeneration.
Treating Tech Neck
So what can we do to fix postural syndrome? Well, first off, we have to correct our bad habits. Research actually shows that changing positions on a regular basis is a better strategy than simply trying to sit in perfect posture all day. So, change it up and pay attention to symmetry. Next, we have to improve posture by repositioning the vertebra. That’s where the adjustment comes in. After that, we’ve got to retrain your body with exercises. These issues respond very well to a mixture of Chiropractic and Rehab. In fact, there is quite a bit of scientific evidence supporting manipulation for neck pain.
Facet Syndrome
Facet joints are the parts of the vertebra in the back that lock into each other. It is a more common problem to have inflammation and irritation in these joints than the disc. However, research indicates that both likely occur together to some degree. Facet joints are much like their name in that they overlap and lock into each other.
Joint misalignment and mechanical dysfunction in the neck and upper back can result in overloading of these joints. This is often a result of poor posture as mentioned above. Someone with facet syndrome has local and usually sharp pain in the back of the neck. A classic postural finding associated with facet syndrome is the head forward position. It is generally accompanied by a bump on the base of the neck at the shoulder line. Patients usually find it hard to bend their head to the side or look up at the ceiling due to pain. These cases respond very well to manipulation and postural rehab.
Disc Herniations
The intervertebral discs are shock-absorbing cushions between each vertebra. They are made up of concentric outer fibrous rings with a gel-like material in the middle. Altered spinal positions and repetitive overloading result in damage to the fibers allowing the gel to migrate out of place. In turn, their is pain in neck and the shape of the disc is altered. If the problem continues, the gel can migrate out of the confines of the disc completely. When this happens, it can put pressure on a nerve leading to a pinched nerve. Disc issues can also lead to arthritis in the neck.
Arthritis, Spondylosis and Stenosis
Spondylosis is a generalized term for degeneration of the elements of the spine. It is a mixture of arthritis and degenerative disc disease. Essentially, it is the progressive wear and tear of the spine that leads to spondylosis. Findings on X-ray include loss of disc space (flattened & dried discs), bone spurs, deformity of the joints, and thickening of the joints. A patient with this condition would have a lot of stiffness and generalized achy pain in their necks. There is likely going to be some postural abnormalities as well.
In the advanced stages, the loss of joint space and deformity can decrease the nerve spaces. This would result in a pinched nerve with pain going down the arms. Quite frankly, treatment depends on how far advanced the degeneration has progressed. Advanced cases may only tolerate gentle manipulation and passive care. At times treatment is only palliative, or may require surgery. This is exactly why it is important to treat postural issues and mechanical dysfunction early on.
Pinched Nerve
If you have ever experienced one of these, you know how bad it can be. A pinched nerve in the neck is no joke. Not only is their local pain in the neck, but lancing, electric, or burning pain down the arm or shoulder blade. A pinched nerve happens when there is something pressing up against the nerve. This could be a bone spur, a disc herniation, part of the vertebra, or even something as bad as tumor. Treatment depends entirely on the reason behind the pinched nerve.
Muscle Spasm & Acute Torticollis
A common scenario we see in the clinic is a patient waking up with neck pain. Sometimes they wake up and can’t move their necks. At times, it’s so bad that their neck is stuck to one side so that they walk around with their head tilted. Welcome to the world of muscle spasm: nobody’s best friend. When the muscle spasm is so bad that the head is tilted, this is called torticollis.
The classic scenario is sleeping while exposed to a cold breeze as with a fan or open window. A leading theory on the more severe cases has to do with part of the joint synovium called the meniscoid. The meniscoid can become entrapped and pinched between the vertebra. For example, A person sleeps in an awkward position during the night putting a “kink” in their neck. The altered position causes a change in the muscle tone therefore binding the joint and entrapping the meniscoid.
Patients often awaken and immediately note severe pain and inability to move their neck. In turn, the body further spasms to lock out the joint that is pinching the meniscoid. Some stretching and passive therapies like ultrasound or E-stim can help. However, the most effective way (sometimes the only way) to unlock the neck is with daily spinal manipulation. Usually it takes somewhere between 3 and 6 visits to fully unlock.
Strains Sprains & Whiplash
Strains are tears of the muscles while sprains are tears in the ligaments. The most common scenario of a strain/sprain in the neck is during a car wreck. During a motor vehicle accident, the head and neck are thrown forwards and backwards. This is commonly known as whiplash. Other traumatic causes include falls and sports injuries. Any violent motion can damage both muscle and ligament along with other connective tissue. Acute care involves rest, protection, ice, and gentle passive therapies such as ultrasound, e-stim, and possibly careful soft tissue manipulation. Further along in care cervical manipulation and rehab are important.
Treatment For Neck Pain
We offer a diverse array of treatments for your specific condition. Each patient receives a variety treatment to tackle their individual issues according to the diagnosis and underlying reasons for their pain. You can read more about our treatments for neck pain below.
Joint Manipulation
Joint Manipulation is a specific and precise thrust that corrects the alignment of joints. Cervical manipulation has been found to be both safe and effective for treatment of neck pain. The idea behind manipulation is to restore the normal position of the joints therefore restoring normal mechanics. This takes the stress off the joints and relieves symptoms related to wear, tear, and inflammation. Check out our manipulation section to learn more.
Rehab
Rehab is essentially stretches and exercises (Physical Therapy). These methods retrain the bodies muscles to work correctly again. Restoring normal muscle balance allows the body to control position and motion thereby providing for efficient movement that does not damage the body. It also helps to hold the corrected joint position from manipulation. This is why Chiropractic and Rehab are a perfect complement. Check out our rehab section to learn more.
Massage
Massage addresses muscle contractures. These are areas of spasms that result in the familiar “knots” we have all come to know. Sometimes these knots produce referral patterns radiating out from the knot. These are trigger points. Massage physically works out these localized contractures. Massage is performed by our Licensed Medical Massage Therapist. Check out our massage section to learn more.
Soft Tissue Therapy
Soft Tissue Therapy is aimed at breaking up scars in connective tissues such as muscles, fascia, and tendons. Damage to these tissues leads to development of scar tissue. Normal healthy tissue has it’s fibers aligned in one direction. Additionally, healthy tissue has it’s layers separated so that fibers can slide past each other. For example, fascia provides a frictionless surface so that two muscle groups can slide past each other. On the other hand, scar tissue runs randomly in all directions acting like glue. If scar tissue binds two tissues together, we call this an adhesion. You can see how these adhesions would need to be broke up. We use a variety of methods to do this like: ART, positional release, scraping, Graston, and more. Check out our manipulation section to learn more.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy modalities like therapeutic ultrasound and E-stim can help with pain, inflammation, and spasm. We also have a variety of tables that can help massage, mobilize, and stretch. We offer traction to help stretch out the spine and take pressure off the joints. Decompression is particularly useful for disc issues. Check out our physiotherapy section to learn more.
Joint and Muscle Injections for Neck Pain
We offer a variety of formulas to help with pain, inflammation and spasm. Spascupreel trigger point injections into the muscles help to reduce the contractures reducing symptoms associated with these pesky knots. Chronic and arthritic pain is effectively treated with zeel. Traumeel helps with repair of acute trauma. There are a variety of other formulas that we use, but these are the main three. Check out our injectables section to learn more.
Does Chiropractic Work For Neck Pain?
You can bet your neck it does! There’s a mountain of research on the safety and effectiveness of Chiropractic and Cervical Manipulation. You can read more about this in our Research section.