This is a question that I have been asked for the past 20 years and I can emphatically say “ABSOLUTELY”, without any hesitation! Chiropractic care is safe, efficient and effective in the short and long term treatment of the most common conditions that cause neck pain. Many studies have been conducted throughout the years on the efficacy and effectiveness of chiropractic manipulative therapy and the treatment of neck pain and concluded that it’s not only extremely effective, but safe!
Let us first understand a little anatomy and physiology in relation to the neck, also referred to as the cervical spine, and its surrounding structures. Our neck, or cervical spine, consists of 7 smaller individual bones called vertebrae and are arranged in a progressively sloping C-shape referred to as a normal lordosis. The cervical spine is extremely important as it supports our head, houses the spinal cord and brainstem extension, and allows for the most movement or range of motion than any other part of the spine. The neck and cervical spine is the master connection pathway between the skull and brain to the rest of the body. It’s extremely important for your cervical spine to remain flexible, have normal range of motion, be in proper alignment, and maintain its normal C-shaped lordosis to not only function properly, but to prevent injury or neck pain. The neck also supports your head, which on average weighs 12 lbs in an adult, so it needs to be free of restrictions, interference, or pain to perform all of its duties properly and efficiently. Chiropractic care is the very best option to help, treat, and prevent neck pain and its associated conditions. Chiropractors receive more education and treatment protocol training for neck pain than any other type of doctor or physical medicine therapist.
Here are some of the most common causes of neck pain:
- Injury and Accidents. This can include a slip or fall, car accident, sports impact injury, blunt trauma or whiplash. Any sudden forced movement to the head or neck resulting in a “whipping” or unprotected responsive action by the cervical spine. Damage or trauma can be sustained to the cervical vertebrae, intervertebral discs, musculature, ligaments or intervertebral joints resulting in neck pain, muscle tightness or ligamentous strain.
- Osteoarthritis. Usually referred to as “arthritis”, is a common degenerative disorder that affects the joints and cartilage of the spine, intervertebral discs and uncovertebral vertebral joints. The bony structures progressively deteriorate and cartilage starts breaking down and wearing thin. As this is happening, the joints start losing normal motion and bone spurs form (pointy projections off the edges of bony surfaces).
- Poor Posture. “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree”. Slouching, anterior head carriage (translation forward), humped back, and rounded shoulders are to name but a few conditions that adversely affect the cervical spine and joints. These abnormal presentations disrupt balance and promote postural deficiencies, leading to neck pain, muscular tightness and ligamentous tension as well as cervical lordotic curvature straightening.
- Degenerative Disc Disease. This is a breakdown and premature wearing of these cartilaginous soft tissue structures between the spinal vertebrae. As this occurs, it not only can produce neck pain, but overtime can lead to more serious conditions such as bulging or herniated discs. This can lead to higher levels of pain, numbness or tingling that can radiate down the arm.
- Spinal Stenosis. This is a condition whereby the tunnel that the spinal cord travels or the nerve passageways in the vertebrae begin to narrow. As this narrowing is occurring, nerves can become encroached upon and even compressed (pinched) leading to neck pain, shoulder and arm pain, or radiating numbness and tingling.
- Work Duties. These are things I like to refer to as “repetitive stress injuries or dysfunction duties”. Doing the same thing day in and day out, over and over for extended periods of time. This can include sitting in front of a computer at a desk for hours on end, constant bending, lifting and twisting work duties, or any activity that you’re forced to perform many times throughout your normal work day. Over time, the repetitiveness of doing the same thing over and over, day in and day out, can lead to neck pain, osteoarthritis or degenerative conditions that wear down the vertebrae and spinal joints.
Chiropractic can definitely help with your neck pain as well as possibly fix your stubborn condition for good by getting to the root of the problem, some of which are listed above! Neck pain is a symptom, not a condition, so it doesn’t make much sense to just take something like pain killers or other over-the-counter lotions/potions/pills to mask the condition short term. By doing that, you could be actually making your neck pain worse over time as your brain can’t properly sense and assess the problematic condition and you could be aggravating the neck pain even more. A chiropractor will properly assess your condition to accurately diagnose and be able to treat it effectively and efficiently. Your visit will start with an expanded history of your current and past health conditions, a detailed examination and evaluation follows including orthopedic and neurological testing, and radiological films or an MRI may be ordered- but not always warranted initially. A chiropractor will than diagnose the cause of your neck pain and recommend a treatment plan consisting of vertebral spinal adjustments and effective therapeutic modalities based on the underlying causative condition.
Doctors of chiropractic spend more academic hours during their 8 years of education in anatomy and physiology than medical doctors do. Chiropractors are leading experts in the diagnosis and treatment of neck pain caused by injuries and accidents, osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, postural imbalances, and repetitive stress duty injuries. Chiropractic care is safe for the treatment of neck pain, as a matter of fact, chiropractors pay lower malpractice premiums than most other types of physicians. Get to the root cause of your neck pain and have it properly treated effectively and efficiently for good…..give chiropractic a chance.
