About Neck Pain

The neck is a unique part of the spine that relies on muscles for stabilization. For many of us, these muscles are strong, which is invaluable when you consider how unrelentingly they have to work throughout the day in order to carry your head, which weighs an average of 10 lbs.

When we demonstrate correct posture, our spine is able to carry this weight spread evenly over the entire vertebrae including the disc and facet joints. However, when we demonstrate poor posture, such as sitting hunched over in front of the computer it causes our neck muscles to do all the work on their own, with no other aid or support.

Imagine carrying a 10 lb bowling ball all day with your arms outstretched in front of you. No doubt your muscles would be sore, to put it mildly. Well, your neck can be affected the same way anytime you hold your head out in front of you, instead of resting evenly atop the neck. This chronic postural achiness and stiffness is the majority of what we see in our office followed by whiplash induced neck pain.

This postural stiffness causes muscle spasms, which in turn can pull the vertebrae out of alignment, causing a vertebral subluxation complex. This chain reaction of cause and effect is frequently involved in pain in the upper extremities (like the neck) as well as leading to cervicogenic headaches, earaches, and facial pain.

The immediate causes of neck pain are pressure, compression, inflammation, and irritation of the pain sensitive nerve endings. These phenomena may be due to muscle tightness or inflammation, subluxation, or facet involvement, and in some cases can even be caused by a disc injury.

Other common types of neck pain we see in our office are caused by osteoarthritis and torticollis. Torticollis is a condition marked by difficulty and/or neck pain turning your head.

Chiropractic For Neck Pain

“The best evidence indicates that cervical manipulation for neck pain is much safer than the use of NSAIDs [non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), by as much as a factor of several hundred times. There is no evidence that indicates NSAID use is any more effective than cervical manipulation for neck pain.” J Manip Physiol Ther. 1996 Mar-Apr;19(3):220-1

“Immediate effects of thoracic manipulation in patients with neck pain: a randomized clinical trial
thoracic spine manipulation results in immediate analgesic effects in patients with mechanical neck pain.” Manual Therapy, Volume 10, Issue 2, Pages 127-135

An orthopedic study comparing certain effects of cervical manipulation versus mobilization therapy for neck pain found no difference in range of motion improvement, but a much greater occurrence of pain relief reported in the cervical manipulation group. The conclusion of this study, then, was that, while “Both treatments increased range of movement to a similar degree”, “a single manipulation is more effective than mobilization in decreasing pain in patients with mechanical neck pain.” J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1993 May;16(4):279-80.

Medical researchers have even found chiropractic effective in relieving cervicogenic headaches, or headaches associated with the neck. For more information on chiropractic for cervicogenic headaches, see our article on Headaches. For our purposes here, suffice it to say that in the medical journal, Spine, it was reported that: “Manipulative therapy and exercise can reduce the symptoms of cervicogenic headache, and the effects are maintained.” 1 September 2002 - Volume 27 - Issue 17 - pp 1835-1843.

When a patient enters our office with neck pain, the first thing the doctor will do is review your medical history and perform a physical exam which may include orthopedic and neurologic testing. Sometimes imaging studies may be required to determine the cause of your neck pain. Once the cause has been determined, the doctor will devise a customized chiropractic care plan for you.

Chiropractic Care Plan for Neck Pain

Among the treatment modalities that might be proposed to relieve stiff and painful neck muscles are physiotherapy modalities such as ice, moist heat, interferential muscle stimulation, cervical traction, ultrasound therapy, massage therapy, acupuncture, or a combination of one or more of these therapies depending on your condition. If you have a subluxation, you may also receive a cervical adjustment to gently realign the vertebrae.