Neck Pain
Neck pain shouldn’t be a burden on your life, although for some, it is all to common.
Understanding the causes and prevention of Neck Pain will go a long way to leading a healthy and pain free life.
Here are some of the most common neck conditions we successfully treat in our office:
Neck Sprain/ Strain
Headaches
Upper Cross Syndrome
Disc Disorders (Bulging discs, herniated discs, Degenerative discs)
Cervical Radiculopathy
TMJ and Jaw Pain
Neck Pain can be caused by stress, muscular tension, lifestyle factors, poor posture, disc irritation, and irritated nerves. Neck pain is often the result of inefficient neurological stabilization strategies and abnormal movement patterns unless acute trauma has occurred.
1. Neck Sprain/Strain
Cervical sprains/ strains are one of the most common injuries causing neck pain.
A cervical strain is when an injury occurs to the muscles of the neck. A sprain, on the other hand, is an injury to the ligaments or joints; both, however, have similar pain and symptom patterns and can often occur together. If you have pain while moving your head and neck, especially at the end of movement, you may be suffering from this type of injury. A sprain/strain of the cervical spine can also cause an increase in headaches.
Some causes of Cervical Sprain/Strains
Whiplash
Contact sports
Prolonged poor posture
Car accidents
Overuse
Now, car accidents, whiplash and contact sport injuries are unavoidable. If you have suffered one of these types of injuries the best course of action would be to have it evaluated and treated in our office through our conservative care options.
In cases where the injury stems from a problem related to overuse or poor posture, there are steps that can be taken to help you avoid these injuries from happening. Proper instruction, from Dr. Baldwin, about your postural habits can reduce the detrimental effects of sitting on the spine. Fixing posture and instilling healthy habits, as well as receiving the proper knowledge in exercise can help build a better foundation for a healthy cervical spine for life.
2. Headaches
Headaches come in many varieties, and nearly everyone experiences some sort of headache at some point in their lives.
Dysfunction of the muscles and joints in the neck and shoulder area can often contribute to headaches. Since there are so many different types of headaches, as well as causes and symptoms, it is important to get a proper diagnosis so that you can better treat the cause. An assessment of your lifestyle habits is an effective way to diagnose common contributing factors that may be causing your headaches. To learn more about different types of headaches and treatment options visit our Headaches page.
3. Upper Cross Syndrome
Upper cross syndrome is the result of muscular imbalances of the upper body, neck and shoulder area.
This occurs when the deep neck flexors and the middle back become weak (inhibited) while the pectoral (chest) muscles and the sub-occipital muscles at the base of the skull become tight.This produces a pain pattern at the base of the neck and shoulders. It also causes joint dysfunction at the base of the skull, neck and shoulders.
The main physical causes of this condition are:
Desk job or student life
Too much time spent sitting
Driving long hours
Poor posture
With the proper education, you can protect yourself from many of these causes.
The primary sufferers of this condition, especially chronic cases, often have poor posture while sitting at a desk for most of the day.
A contributing factor is a sedentary lifestyle with little to none physical activity. This poor sitting posture adds to the problem of Upper Crossed Syndrome.
The best way to combat this problem is to prevent it from happening. If possible, minimize sitting for long periods of time and take frequent work or study breaks stretching and performing desk exercises. CLICK HERE to get your desk stretch and exercise guide.
If the problem has already begun, Dr. Baldwin can work with you to restore muscular balance, correct posture and eliminate your pain.
Through a combination of our extensive treatment options, a treatment plan will be created specifically for you. Reduction of your pain is the primary goal and once this is accomplished there are methods of chiropractic rehabilitative exercise that can be taught to you to prevent a progression of this condition, as well as instill healthy habits for you to employ for the rest of your life.
4. Cervical Disc Bulge / Herniation
Cervical disc pain can arise from a variety of reasons, whether by injury or a degenerative condition. In most cases, the condition can be conservatively treated to allow you to continue your active lifestyle.
What will you experience if you are suffering from a cervical disc disorder?
Symptoms will vary depending on the type of disc disorder you may be suffering from. With a herniated disc, some people will have radiating pain, tingling, and numbness down the arm or around the shoulder blade due to pressure put on the nerve root.
Discogenic pain due to an injury can result in immediate pain or pain shortly after the injury. Headaches, cervicogenic type, can also result from cervical disc pain.
Treatment
Your care for cervical discogenic pain will depend on the clinical presentation.
Conservative treatment can successfully manage many cervical disc disorders. Your Initial treatment will focus on controlling pain and inflammation. Once your pain and inflammation have decreased, early rehabilitation will help prevent chronic pain and disability.
will be administered as the condition improves and will include stabilization exercises, patient education, and postural training.
Education in proper training, biomechanics, and a home exercise program will help strengthen your cervical spine and decreases the likelihood of future injury.
If you fail to respond to conservative treatment in a timely manor, or in cases of severe pain, advanced diagnostic imaging (x-ray, MRI) will be necessary. An orthopedic consult may also be warranted. Dr. Baldwin will discuss all available options with you.
5. Cervical Radiculopathy
Cervical radiculopathy is a term used to describe neurological symptoms caused by a dysfunctional or irritated nerve root.
Your cervical spine consists of the 7 vertebrae, spinal discs between them, and 8 cervical spinal nerves. Cervical radiculopathy can result in pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness in the neck, shoulders, arms, and/or hands. Although the problem occurs at the nerve root of the cervical spine (your neck), these symptoms will often radiate or travel to parts of the body controlled by that nerve.
Why might you be experiencing cervical radiculopathy?
In younger patients, cervical radiculopathy is usually the result of a disc herniation or an acute injury causing impingement of the exiting nerve. Traumatic sports injuries can also cause damage to the disc and spinal nerves.
In the older population, it is more common to experience cervical radiculopathy due to foraminal narrowing from osteophyte formation (bony overgrowth), decreased disc height, or degenerative changes.
Symptoms and physical causes
The pain experienced may range from deep aching to severe burning neck pain. If the radiculopathy progresses, radicular arm pain (sharp, shooting) or sensory changes (numbness, tingling, loss of feeling) may develop down the arm and into the hand. Depending on the nerve root affected will result in different areas of arm or hand pain.
Another common sign you may have a cervical radiculopathy issue is if lifting your arm or placing your hand on your head provides relief, this opens the foramina where the nerve root exits your spine relieving the pressure and irritation placed on it.
Treatment options for cervical radiculopathy
Your Initial treatment will focus on “centralizing” or reducing your radicular symptoms (hand, arm, shoulder) as well as controlling pain and inflammation.
Mckenzie method approach is excellent at achieving these reults.
Once your pain and inflammation have decreased, early therepeutic rehabilitation will help prevent chronic pain and disability.
Chiropractic manipulation may be used as tolerated to restore proper range of motions of the joints in your neck.
Soft tissue therapies and kinesiology taping can help tight muscles relax and provide further relief.
If conservative treatment measures do not provide relief in a timely manor advanced imaging or a neurological consult may be necessary. Dr. Baldwin will discuss these options in depth with you.
7. TMJ and Jaw Dysfunction
TMJ disorder, aka pain and dysfunction of the jaw while opening or closing your mouth, could be contributing to your neck pain or could be a problem all its own.
The TMJ or temporo-mandibular joint is the small join on both sides of your head that connects your jaw to your skull. It is an extremely important joint as it is what allows us to open our mouths to eat and speak. Even though the TMJ may be a small joint it can cause major problems if it is not functioning correctly.
Some common causes of TMJ we see are:
trauma
overuse from a commonly chewing on one side of your mouth
chewing on hard foods or objects
improper bite patterns
grinding
It is best to avoid these bad habits but in the event you are already suffering from TMJ pain there are conservative treatment options to bring you relief.
Soft tissue release/ therapy: muscles of the face jaw and neck often become tight and cause pain wehn dealing with TMJ dysfunction. Through gentle manual therapies these muscles can begin to relax.
Chiropractic adjustments: gentle adjustments to the neck and TMJ joint can restore proper motion to the joints relieving pain.
How you are taken care of at Michigan Complete Chiropractic & Rehab
We take the time to get to know you and your symptoms.
Depending on the cause of your pain, we may recommend anything from chiropractic adjustments to stress management techniques. You will be guided along every step of the way toward recovery. If your condition requires further testing or treatment, we can refer you to one of the trusted specialists in our network.
A better, personalized approach to healthcare. This is the Michigan Complete difference.