How Can Chiropractic Treat Neck Pain And Stiffness

By Author: Ramirez Kevin
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Working long hours every day is stressful to the body. There are jobs that will require you to sit or drive for long hours. These jobs can eventually hurt your back and your neck. If you have ever experienced a stiffed neck, you would know how painful and uncomfortable it is. Not being able to move your neck is annoying and frustrating. Neck pain and stiffness is less common than back pain but this is the second most treated condition by chiropractors.


How do chiropractors treat neck pain and stiffness? Chiropractors practice extreme caution when making adjustments and they make sure that they target the root cause of your neck pain. Upon your first visit to the chiropractor, you will be asked about your medical history and undergo a series of tests. Usually, a muscle strain or a pinched nerve causes neck pain. Nevertheless, a doctor of chiropractor should determine the root cause of the muscle strain to determine the right treatment plan for you.


One of the main causes for neck pain and stiffness is trauma to the neck. This trauma can be referred as whiplash where the neck suffers from an injury ...
... because of the sudden forward, backward or sideway movements. Whiplash can occur during a car accident, work accident or playing sports. It is commonly suffered from a car collision or impact.


Another cause is wear and tear or joint degeneration. This happens due to the accumulation of stress in the neck area. The spine holds the neck and it is supposed to bear the weight of the head. The more stress and pressured a person is, the heavier the neck becomes. The pressure is now placed on the spine and since the spine can suffer from degenerative changes, the person will experience some neck pain and neck stiffness. This can only be made better if you take proper care of your spine. Older people are more prone to joint wear and tear.


Neck pain and neck stiffness can be caused by repetitive stress injuries at work. RSIs are caused by mechanical irritation because the parts of the body keep doing the same thing over and over again. This repetition is upsetting the natural balance of the body. RSIs impair healing so if you leave it untreated, the pain will just get worse. When this happens to you, the fibrous layers in your neck are inflamed. The nerve muscles, tendons and ligaments are damaged. Repetitive stress injuries cause tightness and stiffness in the neck area going down to the arms and hands. Coldness, numbness and loss of hand coordination are common symptoms.


These are the major causes of neck pain and stiffness and once the chiropractor determines which one caused yours, he will decide on the chiropractic techniques to be applied. In most neck pain cases, the chiropractor will not immediately perform adjustments as the ligaments and tendons are still swollen. He will apply cold compress or massage techniques until the inflammation goes down. The adjustments will be done in the spine and not your neck. Pain in the neck is relieved when the spine is aligned once again. The alignment will release the pressure as well as release any locked or pinched nerve causing the pain.