Neck pain affects 15.1% of the United States’ general population every 3 months and ranks fourth in global disability. Because of the tendency for neck pain to become a chronic issue, it is important to identify risk factors that could encourage prevention and early diagnosis.
15.1% of the United States general population is affected by neck pain every 3 months. This puts neck pain at 4th in global disabilities. Due to the constant stressors and high use of our cervical region, it is important to find the root cause of an individual’s neck pain prior for it to become a chronic issue. Neck pain can come from a variety of different source tissues including muscles, joints, and ligaments. Everyday wear and tear on your body can also affect your neck with the biggest component being your daily posture.
With the increased use of cell phones and computers, individuals’ posture is becoming more forward-headed and rounded shoulders, reversing your natural lordotic cervical curve. This posture then is causing increased stress and pressure on your cervical spine and muscles to keep your head up. Physical therapy interventions of manual and therapeutic exercises will help reduce the impairments involved in an individual’s neck pain symptoms.
Source:
Kim R, Wiest C, Clark K, Cook C, Horn M. Identifying risk factors for first-episode neck pain: A systematic review. Musculoskelet Sci Pract. 2018;33:77?83. doi:10.1016/j.msksp.2017.11.007
How Chiropractic Works To Eliminate Neck Pain
- Posture
- Losing curve loses the ability for function
- Reversed cervical curve
- Immobility
Neck pain is a common condition that we see in our office. It has some of the most mobile joints in our bodies and if those joints are not functioning properly, or at all, it can lead to pain and other symptoms. “Among US residents, 50% to 70% will experience neck pain at least once in their lives, as many as one third are affected each year, and about 10% suffer from neck pain at any given point in time” (Hurwitz, 2002). Having joints immobility leads to muscle tension, fatigue, and inflammation in that area which leads to pain. When chiropractors feel the patient’s neck, we are looking for joints that are fixed or not moving properly. With spinal manipulation, we put motion back into those joints which allows the musculature that is attached to function properly leading to decrease stress and tension.
Posture is a big indicator for how a neck will function and feel in the long-term. With more people working behind a desk and with more people looking down at their phones this has led to an increase in neck pain and the introduction of losing the natural, important (lordotic) curve in our necks. There are 3 natural curves in our spine and if we lose one of those curves it decreases our ability to resist gravitational forces by 50%. If all curves are normal, we have a value of 10 (3