Is neck pain common?
- Yes! Neck pain affects up to 75% of us sometime during our life, and up to 21% of us at any given time.
- More recent data has shown even higher incidence noted in office and computer workers.
- The cost of this problem is also growing; with neck pain quickly becoming one of the biggest reasons for disability and time lost at work.
What is causing my neck pain?
- Most causes of neck pain are considered "non-specific" or "mechanical", meaning that there is no known serious underlying pathology.
- In other words, the pain you are feeling is coming from the function of your spine and the supportive anatomy around your spine, such as muscles, joints and nerves.
- These structures become irritated most commonly due to prolonged postural irritation. Your head weights 10-12 pounds and must be properly supported by the rest of your spine. If you spend many hours or perform repetitive tasks with a forward head posture, neck pain is inevitable due to the forces involved. Of course, sudden trauma such as whiplash injuries can also cause neck pain.
- In the minority of cases, neck pain can be caused by pathologies like cancer, compression fracture, herniated discs, spinal stenosis and infections.
How do chiropractors help with neck pain?
- Chiropractors help to restore proper alignment to your spine, relieving pressure on your nervous system.
- Correction of misalignments called "subluxations" in your spine result in positive outcomes for both acute and chronic neck pain.
- Once under control, your chiropractor can help you with preventative strategies by addressing your lifestyle and environment.
- Your chiropractor will also be able to help identify any rare pathologies that could be causing your neck pain.
Patient satisfaction with chiropractic
- Numerous studies have shown chiropractors to rate among the highest in patient satisfaction. This high satisfaction is related to overall effectiveness of care, patient communication and providing useful advice and information.
Chiropractic vs. Traditional Medical
Management of Neck Pain
Treatment Approach
Chiropractic
- Removing interference & allowing self-healing
- Addressing root cause in lifestyle & environment
Medical
- Removal of pain by making symptoms with chemical intervention and altering the natural state of the body
Side Effects
Chiropractic
- Very few, minor in nature
Medical
- Very common, vary from minor to severe
Cost
Chiropractic
- Cost-effective & sustainable
Medical
- Costly and not sustainable long term
Patient Satisfaction
Chiropractic
- Among the highest
Medical
- High
Philosophy of Health
Chiropractic
- Wellness & Prevention
Medical
- Diagnosis & Treatment of Disease
Modern day ergonomics, technology use and neck pain
- The rapid advancement of technologies such as laptops, smartphones and tablets has also accelerated poor posture at home and in the workplace. In fact, it is now estimated that 90% of the U.S. workforce uses computers to perform at least some aspects of their jobs.
- This increase in technology use leads to more time spend in sedentary positions such as sitting, which takes the spine out of a neutral position and creates postural irritation, leading to neck pain.
Conservative before invasive
- In most cases, chiropractic care should be used as a first line of defense for neck pain, since side effects are low and treatment methods are natural for your body.
- Traditional medical approaches using drugs and surgery have their place, however, should only be used in a small percentage of cases considering the nature of most neck pain.
- Studies have shown that in most cases, long term patient outcomes are no better with invasive surgical procedures compared to conservative care with chiropractic, meaning that avoiding the high cost and associated risk of surgery is usually a good bet!
A wellness approach
- It's important for you to realize that chiropractic is not a "cure" for neck pain.
- In reality, your body does all of the healing; chiropractors are there to help ensure proper movement of your spine and freedom for your nervous system, which maximizes your body's ability to heal itself.
- As always, it's important to realize that true wellness comes from the combination of many lifestyle choices - your chiropractor will be able to help you form effective lifestyle habits to reduce future episodes of neck pain.