Neck Pain and Chiropractic Care
We’ve all used the phrase “a pain in the neck” to describe something or someone who causes great inconvenience. Perhaps your boss, or paying taxes. And what a fitting term. Having neck pain is no fun, if you’ve ever had it.
The neck, or cervical spine is comprised of seven (7) vertebrae and is considered the top part of your spine. What distinguishes the neck from the rest of your spine is its versatile flexibility. Of equal importance is its proximity to the head and brain. In short, the neck plays a crucial role in balancing your head and moving your head so that you can see all around you.
Unfortunately, the neck is more susceptible to getting injured or “mechanically defective” because of its unique flexibility. And when this happens, some very noticeable things happen: headaches, neck stiffness, dizziness, and even numbness and tingling in the hands and arms.
Here’s a neck x-ray that illustrates hypolordosis, or flattening of the normal curvature. In this case, it is due to congenitally fused vertebrae (5th, 6th and 7th neck bones). Fused vertebrae move together as one unit, resulting in significant loss of range of motion.
If the neck is too straight (also called a military neck) it loses some of its ability to “cushion” the weight of the head. A gentle curvature is needed to act like a shock absorber, as the head acts like a 10 pound weight on top of the spine.
Things that can cause your neck to lose its curvature, or cause one or two vertebrae to misalign include car accidents, falls, sports injuries (football tackle), and craning your neck over a desk for many years. Depending on the structures involved, it can cause chronic neck stiffness, and in worse cases, neurological deficits like numbness and tingling in the face, neck and/or arms, and chronic headaches.
Chiropractic can help by repositioning the vertebrae back into normal position. This is accomplished by adjustments (a gentle thrust to reposition the vertebrae), traction (a device that bends the neck and stretches shortened ligaments) and specific exercises.
Chiropractic is very safe when done correctly. If you are experiencing neck pain, neck stiffness, inexplicable headaches, numbness and tingling in the hands, call our San Francisco office and ask for a consultation. We’ll diagnose the condition and let you know if it is something that can respond to chiropractic treatment.
Dan Perez, DC
San Francisco Chiropractor
230 California St. Ste. 600
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 627-9077 x1
Tags: car accidents, headaches, neck pain, san francisco chiropractor
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August 19, 2008 at 11:59 am
One of the most usual causes of neck pain is a poor posture. Most people have bad posture habits whether when they are sleeping or during the day and they don’t even realize it, even an activity that we consider harmless as reading in bed without a posture pillow can, at some moment, lead to pain and more serious problems.