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What Is Neck Pain?
Neck pain can be so mild that it is merely annoying
and distracting. Or it can be so severe that it is unbearable and
incapacitation.
Most instances of neck pain (and Stiffness) are minor
and commonly caused by something you did. That is, if you keep your head
in an awkward position for too long the joints in your neck can “lock”
and the neck muscles can become painfully fatigues. The price you pay
for carelessness in how you position your head and neck (say, while
working, watching TV, using a computer, reading a book, or talking on
the phone with the receiver held against your shoulder and under your
chin), is a pain in the neck. You may be one of the many unfortunates
who, after a long and tiring day, has “harmlessly” fallen asleep in a
chair or in bed with your head propped up, only to awake with a stiff
and painful neck.
Fortunately, most minor, posture-induced neck pain
episodes clear up on their own after rest and efforts not to repeat the
offending stresses on the neck.
But neck pain that just won’t go away after a day or
so is a more serious matter. Neck pain that lasts for many days or keeps
coming back is a signal that something isn’t right. Disease, an injury
(such as whiplash in an auto accident), a congenital malformation, or
progressive degeneration that can come with age may be responsible for
the more significant pain you experience. An expert must determine the
underlying causes of such neck pain. Examination, diagnosis and
treatment by a doctor of chiropractic can relieve your mind and may
quickly relieve your pain.
Who Suffers From Neck Pain?
Almost everyone experiences some sort of neck pain or
stiffness at one time or another. Because you are human and walk
upright, your head is “balanced” atop your spinal column. If the muscles
that support your head are not kept strong and in good condition, the
upper part of our spinal column is vulnerable to strains and injuries.
What Can Chiropractic Do?
Doctors of chiropractic have the training and skills
to relieve your neck pain, overcome stiffness, and restore the mobility
and range of motion of any frozen neck vertebrae. They are devoted to
helping you get back to your normal pursuits and start feeling like
yourself again.
Perhaps their most important contribution is their
ability to bring their specialized diagnostic skills, techniques, and
equipment to bear in assessing what is causing your neck problems. Your
chiropractor can determine if you have a relatively minor and treatable
condition or a more serious underlying condition (from disease,
degeneration, or trauma) that may require more intensive, extended
treatment or referral to a specialist.
Older people, whose joints have been worn by much use
over time, are subject to osteoarthritis (also known as degenerative
joint disease or DJD). When this for of arthritis hits your back and
neck, you feel it as neck pain that gets worse over time. The pain may
radiate into your shoulders and arms, and you may feel numbness or
tingling in the hands and fingers. Arthritis can also involve symptoms
including headaches, dizziness, and even grating/grinding feeling when
you move your head, It is very important for your chiropractor to
examine you to rule out osteoarthritis or identify it and see that it is
properly treated.
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