neck pain

The neck is an amazing part of the body, responsible for supporting and moving your head and protecting the nerves that connect your brain to the rest of your body.  

Your neck is in near-constant use. It’s a relatively delicate structure considering the weight it carries and can be vulnerable to injury. It’s also prone to certain medical conditions that cause stiffness and pain.

symptoms of neck pain include:

• Pain that always niggly or gets worse if you hold a certain position for a long time.  Such as when you’re working at a computer, staring down at your phone, or driving. In fact any position you hold your neck in regularly and repeatedly, contributes to repetitive stress.

• Muscle spasms and tightness.

• Stiffness that makes it hard to move your head.

• Torticolis, more than just stiffness. This restrictive spasm of the neck often comes with strong pain.

• Headache.

• Sometimes it also contributes to dizziness, ‘fogginess’ in the brain and blurry vision.

what’s the link between neck pain and headaches?

Some problems in your neck can lead to headaches. There are two main types of headaches linked to the neck:

• Cervicogenic headache: this may start as a dull ache in the neck then spread upwards to become a headache, usually limited to one side of your head only. This type of headache is caused by an underlying problem with the discs, joints, muscles or nerves in your neck.

• Occipital neuralgia: this headache is the result of a nerve root being irritated, as it exits your cervical spine (neck) at the C2 or C3 vertebrae.

what causes neck pain?

Neck pain may be relatively straightforward – if you’ve spent a few hours with your neck extended while you painted the ceiling, it’s no surprise that it now hurts. How about that teen on your couch spending hours scrolling through social media? In any case, your chiropractor would begin with a thorough history and examination to determine the issue and then create a clear plan towards achieving the best results for your case.

Sometimes, neck pain can be a sign of a deeper problem such as:

• Osteoarthritis in your neck: this is a slow to develop condition and there are 4 stages. Stage 1 is an alteration to the curve of the spine due to repetitive stress or an accident /whiplash-type injury. The second stage includes a decrease in the disc height and inflammation of the joints between the bones in your neck (the vertebrae). As these changes progress over time, into the chronic stages of 3 and 4, the body will continue to lay down scar tissue and bone where bone should not be. This is a protective mechanism of the nerve system in an attempt to stabilise the injured areas and protect the nerve system as much as possible. You may develop bone spurs that restrict motion and cause pain.

• Compressed nerves: bone spurs, bone depostis in nerve exit pathways or herniated discs may press/ irritated the nerves that branch out from your spinal cord.

• Rheumatoid arthritis, cancer or meningitis: neck pain may be a symptom of these conditions.

Injury is a very common cause of neck pain. If you’ve been in a rear-end collision, you may be left with whiplash. This can happen in other instances as well where the neck is overstretched and now inflamed. This is an injury to the muscles, tendons and soft tissues of your neck which happens when your head is thrown forwards and backwards. It may take days, weeks or months to heal. Whiplash can also be caused by high-impact collisions on the sports field. Some studies suggest that you can obtain whiplash from impact as little as 8km / hour.

Any chiropractic treatment for neck pain should always start with a thorough history, symptoms and examination of the spine. Examinations may include, chiropractic, orthopaedic, neurological test and potentially further imaging such as X-rays. Then your chiropractor can decide if chiropractic care is the right form of care for you or if you need treatment from another health care professional.

chiropractor for neck pain

Research shows that chiropractic care can be a successful approach to managing a number of musculoskeletal and nerve-related conditions including neck pain.  

Chiropractic uses a holistic and natural approach to allow your body to adapt, change and do what it is designed to do...heal. It may help ease neck pain naturally, without the use of drugs, injections or surgery.

At Nurture Chiropractic, care begins with a thorough initial consultation. We’ll ask about your symptoms and health history and conduct a full examination for neck pain using chiropractic, orthopaedic and neurological tests. We may ask you to get further tests, such as X-rays.

Once we have a thorough understanding of your neck pain, we’re able to recommend an appropriate treatment plan at your second visit. Depending on your condition, we may recommend:

• Chiropractic care

• Chiropractic care alongside further treatment from other healthcare professionals

• A different approach altogether. 

If you do opt for chiropractic care, then we’ll use a number of techniques to ease your neck pain. That may include:

• Chiropractic adjustments

• Stretches

• Massage

• Advice on modifications to your posture or daily activities.

We care for people from all walks of life

If you’re living in the beautiful Northern Rivers, Tweed Coast or southern Gold Coast areas, we invite you to take action and investigate how chiropractic care for neck pain may be able to help you.  

Please get in touch with us so we can assist you in the steps on your road to recovery.

We understand how debilitating neck pain can be and we’re eager to help you move beyond it.