Neck Pain

Neck pain is a common health complaint experienced by most of us at some time in our lives. A popular response to neck pain is to take drugs to cover up the problem and ease the pain. Aspirin, analgesics, ibuprofen, muscle relaxants, hot packs and so on.

But neck pain is not caused by a lack of drugs! Many of you may say, “Yes we know that – it’s obvious,” but the plain fact is that most people suffering from neck pain take the drugs until the pain goes away and then forget that the problem existed in the first place. Others with a more persistent problem will continually take pain killing drugs until it becomes a way of life.

It is important, as with any health problem, to locate the underlying cause. The Chiropractic approach to neck pain would begin with a complete case history and thorough examination. Special attention would be given to the structure and function of the spine and its effect on the nervous system.

The neck or cervical area of the spine has a forward curve and patients suffering from neck pain have often lost this curve. This area of the spine straightens and this can affect the brain stem and spinal cord. The kind of questions that need to be asked are as follows:

Is the correct spinal curve present? Are the nerve openings between each pair of spinal bones free and clear? Is the head balanced? Are the shoulders level?

Depending on the answers to these questions a doctor of Chiropractic will prescribe a series of specific spinal adjustments to improve the position and motion of the spine in that area, in this case the neck. The success rate with neck pain is remarkably high. This is because with improved structure and function neck pain often diminishes or totally disappears without the use of pain killing drugs.