'Half of the US population will experience some form of significant neck pain in their lifetime.'
- American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
If you suffer from neck pain, you already know that it can alter everything you do.
Sleeping, sitting, reading, working, driving, and virtually any movement can hurt.
Neck Structure and Function
The neck, or cervical spine (shown in the picture), starts just below the base of the skull and ends at the junction of the lower neck and upper back.
The cervical spine consists of 7 small vertebrae separated by shock-absorbing disks between vertebrae 2-7, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. It is responsible for supporting the head's total weight while allowing for movement in all directions.
The cervical vertebrae also provide an avenue for the vertebral arteries to travel up and into the base of the skull. (modeled in red)
The space created by the juncture of two neighboring vertebrae called the intervertebral foramen allows the spinal nerves (modeled in yellow) to emerge from the spinal cord and travel out to our neck and upper back and down to our fingertips.
What Causes Neck Pain?
Common Causes Include:
Injury and Accidents
A sudden forced movement of the head or neck in any direction and the resulting “rebound” in the opposite direction is called whiplash. This sudden motion injures the surrounding and supporting tissues of the neck and head. Muscles react by tightening and contracting, which can result in pain and stiffness. Severe whiplash can also be associated with the intervertebral joints, discs, ligaments, muscles, and nerve roots. Car accidents are the most common cause of whiplash.
Growing Older
Degenerative disorders such as osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, and degenerative disk disease directly affect the spine.
Osteoarthritis
It is a common joint disorder, causes progressive deterioration of cartilage. The body reacts by forming bone spurs that affect joint motion.
Spinal stenosis
It causes the tiny nerve passageways in the vertebrae to narrow, compressing and trapping nerve roots. Stenosis may cause neck, shoulder, and arm pain and numbness when these nerves are unable to function normally.
Degenerative disc disease
Can cause a reduction in the elasticity and height of intervertebral disks. Over time, a disk may bulge or herniate, causing tingling, numbness, and pain that runs into the arm.
Daily Life
Poor posture, obesity, and weak abdominal muscles often disrupt spinal balance, causing the neck to bend forward to compensate. Stress and emotional tension can cause muscles to tighten and contract, resulting in pain and stiffness. Postural stress can contribute to chronic neck pain, with symptoms extending into the upper back and the arms.
What can be done to manage neck pain?
Research shows that conservative chiropractic care, especially when paired with exercise and stretching, is more effective at relieving neck pain than over-the-counter pain relievers, opioids, and/or muscle relaxants.
- American Chiropractic Association (ACA)
Gentle Chiropractic Treatment For Neck Pain
Dr. Freitag uses gentle Activator chiropractic adjustments to adjust the small vertebrae in your neck.
Pain Relief Without Twisting Or Cracking
The Activator V 'Five' Chiropractic Adjusting Device guided by the Activator Protocol ensures a specific and targeted, gentle impulse to restore proper motion and function to the bones in the cervical spine. Once movement is restored, function improves, tension is relieved, and pain typically decreases.
Now more than ever, people are experiencing neck pain brought on by staring at screens.
Workplace or screen viewing ergonomics are vital in minimizing this pain. Ergonomics is a fancy word for 'the positioning of our body.'
If our body is positioned in a way that is not supportive or is adding stress to our neck or back, we will undoubtedly experience pain.
Optimizing your workspace to position your body in a supportive manner can help minimize this pain.
To help you manage this, Dr. Freitag is offering a FREE Virtual Workplace Ergonomic Assessment.
During this 15-minute virtual video call Dr. Greg Freitag, with the help of your web or mobile camera, will examine and evaluate your workplace office or positioning and help you implement strategies to optimize your body position while you work.
He will also prescribe specific stretches and exercises to train your body to maintain a more supportive posture.