Neck Pain Chiropractic Treatment
Nothing to shake your head at, neck pain is a common occurrence after an accident, sports injury or by aging.
If you feel neck pain, you should call our Atlanta Chiropractors as soon as possible to keep your symptoms from turning into painful and complicated problems.
Causes of Neck Pain
Auto Accidents
Car accidents are the primary cause of neck injuries.
Any jerking movement that bends your neck in a tight curve and then back again can give you whiplash, which is named for the whip like movement that strains the neck bones and can cause damage to surrounding tissue.
Additionally, in whiplash, the response of your neck muscles is to contract, which can weaken the muscles and cause you pain and a stiff neck.
Spinal Injuries
A spinal injury to joints, discs, muscles, and ligaments can lead to problems in your neck.Other causes of spinal pain can be poor posture while standing and sitting, obesity, and under-use of the muscles in your abdomen – needed to maintain proper balance and weight distribution.
Other causes of spinal pain can be poor posture while standing and sitting, obesity, and under-use of the muscles in your abdomen – needed to maintain proper balance and weight distribution.
When they’re too loose, you can overcompensate with your neck by leaning forward to equalize the loss of power in your abdominal muscles. Doing this all of the time will lead to a chronic condition of neck pain, bringing
Doing this all of the time will result in a chronic condition of neck pain, bringing back pain and even cause pain in your arms.
Aging
The age-related spinal pain culprits are osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, and degenerative disc disease. All of these can affect your neck.
Osteoarthritis is a joint disorder that hits cartilage, destroying it, while the body begins to form bone spurs that impede spinal mobility.
Spinal stenosis constricts the tiny holes that nerves use to travel down your vertebrae, which squeezes the nerve roots causing pain and numbing in the neck, shoulders, and arms.
Degenerative Disc Disease begins to quash the discs in your spine – minimizing their elastic give, and shortening them. Telltale signs are misshapen disks that make you tingle, feel numb and cause pain.
Diagnosing Neck Pain
Just because your neck is what hurts doesn’t mean the riddle stops there. When you step into AICA Atlanta’s clinic, the Chiropractor will check your entire spine; it’s all connected, and a pain in your neck maybe just a symptom of the source of a problem farther down.
To decide on that, you’ll probably stand and walk so the Chiropractor can assess your posture, gait, and range of motion. You’ll also speak about your medical history and may undergo further tests, X-rays and in certain cases, where there is concern over hidden tissue damage such as a herniated disk, an MRI.
All of this information will help your doctor recommend the best treatment strategy for you. This may include coaching regarding healthy habits, lowering stress and living according to your goals. Failure in any of these areas can cause tension that will affect your back and neck.
Your Atlanta Chiropractor will examine your spine, looking for something out of place, a muscle spasm or pain. The doctor will assess the curve of your spine, the alignment of your shoulders, test your reflexes, back strength and the limits of where you feel any pain.
Because Chiropractors only work with low-impact, external manipulation of your body, they usually don’t prescribe medications or deal with invasive techniques such as surgery. If your diagnosis is something more severe, such as a fracture, our team also includes Board Certified Orthopedists.
Questions Your Atlanta Chiropractor May Ask
- How long ago did the pain begin?
- Did something trigger the pain? Have you tried treating your neck pain?
- Where else do you feel the neck pain spread?
- What makes the pain change?
- Do you exercise?
Getting A Neck Adjustment
When you go to the Chiropractor for your neck, you’ll probably be prescribed some form of a neck adjustment, which is also known as a cervical manipulation.
The Chiropractor has several techniques to help relieve pain and restore movement in your neck:
- Cervical Mobilization: Lying on your back, the Chiropractor will move your neck bones left to right and then right to the left. The movement is done with a figure-eight motion while the head is moved concurrently to differing degrees. The effect of this procedure restores neck mobility and frees points of friction.
- Cervical Manual Traction: Lying upright, and sometimes face down, the neck is pulled and stretched forwards and backward, with the aim of relieving constriction. Cervical mobilization and manual traction may be used at the same time.
- Cervical Drop: Lying down on the stomach or to the side, and a vertebral segment of the neck is pressed with a moderate to high-velocity thrust. Alternatively, this can be done with the mobile headboard of the Chiropractic table. In either case, there tends not to be any twisting of the head or neck using this method, nor may there be an audible pop of the joint.
When You Wait, The Pain Gets Worse
Don’t delay calling a doctor because you are waiting for your pain to go away. Your pain isn’t going anywhere. In fact, if you let it wait long enough it could become permanent, leaving you with damage to your neck and shoulders. Call now and let us help you today!
- FREE X-ray & Consultation
- We Can Recommend You A Personal Injury Attorney
- Care May Cost You Nothing!
- Speak With a Doctor 24/7
- On-Site MRI for Complete Diagnosis
- Same-Day Appointments Available
- We Can Provide Transportation for You
Schedule Your Chiropractic Appointment 24/7
Call now to speak with a Chiropractor about your neck pain or injury, don’t put off getting better, especially because getting the Chiropractic care that you need may cost you nothing.
You have nothing to lose, call now for immediate assistance. Call us today at (404) 889-8828.