Neck Pain
Conditions / Neck Pain
Neck Pain is Difficult to Ignore
Negatively impacting our sleep, sport, work, and social life
Causes of Neck Pain:
- Limited neck mobility
- Tight and tense muscles
- Sedentary work postures
- Cervical Sprains and Strains
- Spinal Discs and Facet Joints
- Motor Vehicle Collisions
- Sports Injuries
Neck Mobility
A common theme with many different types of neck pain is loss of neck mobility. Loss of neck range of motion can be due to tight muscles or stiff joints. Limited neck range of motion can lead to pain and injuries in the neck and other areas of the body including:
Headaches
Arm Pain
Shoulder Pain
Upper Back Pain
Myofascial Pain
Tense and tight muscles may be due to poor posture, stress, sedentary work environments, and overuse injuries from repetitive tasks. More serious cases of muscle pain can result from motor vehicle collisions and sports injuries. Don’t worry we treat all types!
Our sports chiropractic approach is perfectly suited to improve your range of motion and relax tight and tense muscles with in-office treatments including chiropractic adjustments, dry needling, Graston, and other forms of myofascial release. Patients also appreciate our advice with at-home stretches, exercises, sleep modifications, and work station setups to aid in recovery and prevent reoccurence.
Cervical Sprains / Strains
Cervical sprains result when injuries happen to non-contractile tissues like joints, ligaments or both. A cervical strain occurs when the muscles are injured. Theses types of injuries can occur with motor vehicle accidents, sports injuries, workplace injuries, or slip and falls. These type of whiplash associated disorders can take a little longer to recover.
Many times symptoms of sprains and strains overlap. Patients complain of painful and limited range of motion. Early intervention including graded exercise and hands-on techniques helps patients recover quicker with less likelihood of chronicity.
Does your neck pain travel?
Neck joints and discs can lead to other conditions such as cervicogenic headaches and cervical radiculopathy that can cause pain to travel into the head, upper back, and upper extremity.
Cervical Radiculopathy
A fancy way of saying “pinched nerve”. This presentation results in pain in the neck that travels into the upper arm, upper back, and hand. The traveling nature of cervical radiculopathy is due to nerve irritation or compression at the source, the nerve root.
Pain that travels often originates in the joints and discs of the neck. Cervical radiculopathy can ensue with due to disc bulges, disc herniations, facet joint hypertrophy, and formainal stenosis
Common symptoms include:
Limited and painful neck movements
Pain or stiffness worse in the morning
Pain, numbness, or tingling in the arm / hand.
Neck Disc Pain
Neck disc pain or discogenic pain is a common cause of neck. Discs are shock-absorbing structures between the bones of the spine and can become injured resulting in neck pain.
Spinal discs are made up of two parts: the outer annulus fibrosis and a jelly-like nucleus pulposus. The outer third of the annulus has nerves that when irritated can create disc pain.
Cervical disc pain can occur due to injury or from degenerative conditions. The most commonly affected area is the C5-C6 motor unit, which results in disturbances in the upper extremity. These disturbances may include pain, numbness/tingling, or muscle weakness.
Conservative treatment and our sports chiropractic approach is effective at relieving the pain associated with cervical radiculopathy and discogenic neck pain.
First-line treatment is focused on controlling pain and inflammation. This is accomplished through advice and gentle movements to harness the body’s natural ability to heal.
As the condition improves, treatment focuses on arming you with the tools and exercises to prevent additional flare-ups or reoccurrences. Patients can feel confident with the self-care strategies we advise them on.
If necessary, we are confident in a referral to our network of spine specialists for imaging, medication, or to discuss additional treatment options.
Are you slumped over your phone or computer reading this?
Sit up tall as you imagine someone pulling the hair on top of your head upwards.
Tuck you chin back as you try to bring your ear in line with your shoulders.
Create an arch in your lower back as you imagine yourself getting taller.
Relax the shoulders as your rest your hands on your knees, palms up
Posture
The best posture is a changing one.
Muscles and joints crave movement. Prolonged postures can aggravate a variety of musculoskeletal conditions, but especially neck pain. Different positions become sensitized and overload the same tissues leading to neck and myofascial pain.
Tension and tightness in the neck and shoulders can be improved with posture breaks, stretches, movements, and proper work station ergonomics. Our approach to neck pain has helped relieve neck and shoulder pain for tons of office and desk workers. By adding movement variability to their routine we have eased the tension and tightness associated with extended computer or phone use.
Bottom line: Our bodies were designed for movement. We help restore movement to get rid of pain and tightness
Text Neck
In many ways, technology has made our lives easier as we can stay in touch wherever we go. Unfortunately, too many people get tied to their devices for extended periods of time resulting in poor postures and pain.
Prolonged positions exaggerate the stress on certain muscle groups while others are prone to fatigue. This is often described as Upper Crossed Syndrome.
Muscles prone to tightness: upper trapezius, levator scapulae, and pectoralis
Muscle prone to fatigue: deep neck flexors, serratus anterior, and rhomboids.
OMNE Chiropractic is experienced in the proper diagnosis of all types of neck pain with a variety of safe and effective treatment approaches. If you are dealing with neck pain do not hesitate to schedule an appointment with our office.