Neck Pain

What Causes Neck Pain?

Your neck, also called the cervical spine, begins at the base of the skull and contains seven small vertebrae. Incredibly, the cervical spine supports the full weight of your head, which is on average about 12 pounds. While the cervical spine can move your head in nearly every direction, this flexibility makes the neck very susceptible to pain and injury. The neck’s susceptibility to injury is due in part to biomechanics.

Activities and events that affect cervical biomechanics include extended sitting, repetitive movement, accidents, falls and blows to the body or head, normal aging, and everyday wear and tear. Neck pain can be very bothersome, and it can have a variety of causes.

A stiff and achy neck results from poor posture, static posture, muscle tightness and stress. This is what typically occurs when holding the phone on your shoulder.

Subluxations of the neck left untreated develops into degeneration of the joints of your neck and tension headaches.

Instability or hyper-mobility is what occurs in a car accident, commonly called whiplash.  The ligaments that hold your head up can be stretched or torn causing your head to feel “loose” and generate pain. If not treated quickly, considerable problems will occur in the way your neck works and feels, including the formation of scar tissue and disc problems.

Degenerative Disc Disease occur in response to long term joint dysfunction. Over time, the compression of the disc causes them to lose their elasticity and risk developing bone spurs, herniated disk or ruptured disk. Degenerative disc disease can cause significant irritation to the tender nerves causing neck arm and head pain. Left untreated, this condition gradually causes more stress to the nerves with increasing dysfunction. If left too long, it may become irreversible.

Neck Pain Treatment

Chiropractic treatment for neck pain is to use specific chiropractic adjustments to help return spinal function.  Chiropractors are the only health professionals trained in the detection, location and correction of the spinal subluxation, and is the natural approach to healing the root of disc degeneration. There are many chiropractic techniques, but Dr. Winchell’s laser-assisted RapidRelief chiropractic treatment combines the most advanced, accurate technologies to safely and quickly restore your health.