Can Chiropractic Cure Neck Pain?

OK, so lets know what are the alternative ways to cure your neck pain. Have you heard about chiropractics? It is an alternative way to cure pain except using pills or medicines. In ancient times, the kings' doctors used chiropractic therapies to treat the neck pain of the kings - and when the pain was gone, the kings rewarded the docs with gold coins!

The vulnerability of our neck to damage can be attributed to biomechanics. Movements and occurrences that influence the cervical biomechanics are cyclical movements, prolonged sitting, falls and blows to the head or body, accidents, normal aging, and daily wear and tear. Neck pain can be incredibly troublesome and are caused by a lot of things.

The Archetypal Causes of Neck Pain

Whiplash. Car accidents normally results to a neck injury known as whiplash. It is the abrupt movement of the neck or head in any angle. The ensuing recoil or reaction in the reverse angle is called whiplash. This abrupt thrashing movement harms the immediate and sustaining neck and head tissues. The muscles respond by tightening and contracting that produces muscle exhaustion resulting to soreness and rigidity. Harsh whiplash can also be related with damage to the invertebral joints, ligaments, discs, nerve roots and muscles. Car accident is the normal occurrence that gives rise to whiplash.

When a person gets old, the spine is directly affected by degenerative diseases like osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis.

An ordinary disorder of the joints, osteoarthritis, brings about advanced weakening of the cartilage. Our body responds by forming bone spurs that affect the motion of our joints.

Causing our small nerve passageways in the vertebrae to contract, compress and to trap the nerve roots is spinal stenosis. When our nerves are incapable of working normally, stenosis can bring about shoulder, arm and neck pain and even numbness.

Degenerative disc disease, on the other hand, brings forth decline in the flexibility and height of our intervertebral discs. A disc may eventually swell or herniate and can bring pain, tingling and numbness to run into our arms.

Improper posture, weak abdominal muscles and obesity. These three can also cause your neck to angle away forward as they disturb the balance of your spine. Likewise, emotional stress and tension can also cause the muscles to contract, thus pain and rigidity ensues. Adding to unceasing neck pain is postural stress with symptoms radiating into the upper arms and back.

Chiropractic Care Can Treat Neck Pain

First, the chiropractor will perform a physical examination such as examine your posture, physical condition, range of motion and will take note of any movements that gives you pain. Your spine will be palpated as well as examine its alignment and curvature and feel for muscle spasms. Your shoulder will also be examined. The chiropractor will also conduct a neurological examination to examine your reflexes, muscle strength, other nerve changes as well as check on how much the pain had spread.

If the chiropractor thinks it is necessary then further procedures may be requested prior to making a diagnosis. Some procedures that may be requested are digital x-ray, CT scan or MRI. If he suspects of any nerve damage then he may also order EMG (electromyography).

Chiropractic care for neck pain consists of cervical manipulation or neck adjustments. This is an exact procedure that is manually applied to the joints of the neck. Cervical manipulation augments the flexibility of the spine and restores its range of motion. It similarly amplifies the motion of the juxtaposed muscles. Patients who submitted themselves to chiropractic care have observed improvement in their capability to tilt and turn their head. They have also noticed that the soreness, rigidity and pain have diminished. Aside from neck adjustment, chiropractic treatment also consists of mobilization and rehabilitative exercises or massage.

A review published on the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics stated on its March-April 2007 issue that patients have shown marked improvement in their neck pain after spinal manipulation.


Copyright (c) 2011 Michael Martin