Neck pain is a common condition that affects many people at some point in their lives. It can be caused by a variety of factors, prolonged posture, injury, or muscle strain. While over-the-counter pain medication and rest can provide temporary relief, many people turn to chiropractic care for neck pain relief. Problems that begin in the neck can continue into other areas of the body causing headache or even upper back pain. Our chiropractic orthopedist in Fredericksburg discusses the benefits of chiropractic orthopedic care in relieving neck pain and associated problems from neck pain.

Chiropractic Orthopedics and Neck Pain Relief

Chiropractic care focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. The origin of neck pain depends on the pain sensitive structure injured. Some of these pain sensitive structures are facet joints (which would be the most common) along with their capsules and ligaments. Second to facet injury is disc disorder. This could be anything from a bulging disc to degenerative disc disease. 

Neck pain begins when pain sensitive structures of the neck become over-worked or strained. The main cause of neck pain happens at the joint level. These joints in the neck and throughout the spine are called facet joints. These joints receive their sensory innervation from very small nerves that travel to the brain. Anytime we overwork one of these joints pain signals can be sent up to the brain in the form of pain or nociception. When the brain receives the pain signal it responds by increasing the muscle tone surrounding the joints creating additional stability to these joints. This is the response that can create the stiffness you feel in your neck as well as strain you feel in the neck muscles. When neck muscles get tighter they can refer pain into the head creating headache. 

In order to achieve neck pain relief, the joints need to move. This allows for the joints and as well as their surrounding structures like ligaments and capsules to get their nutrition. In chiropractic orthopedics this can be achieved by many different ways.  The most commonly heard of as spinal manipulation. Other things offered would be TENS or electrical stim, ultrasound, and soft tissue techniques like trigger point therapy.

Neck Pain Relief With Chiropractic Orthopedics, How Does it Work

Once the muscles are relaxed manipulation lightly moves the joint to increase nutritional supply through fluid called synovial fluid. When joints move synovium can be replenished and refreshed. The increase in nutrition gives your joints what it needs for neck pain relief. Moving the joints also has inhibitory control over your joints pain signals. This creates neck pain relief in the short term and typically restores some neck motion if there is restriction.

The neck pain relief, depending on how long and severe your symptoms are, can range from a few hours to a day or two. This is because the nerves that sense damage to your joint will continue to sense damage to the joint until enough of the healing process occurs. This unfortunately may take a few visits. Once the healing process begins you will notice longer and longer relief visit to visit, until no pain is felt between visits.

Why Does Treating Neck Pain Help Headaches

This is simply due to the fact that headaches tend to be affected by muscle hypertonicity. This simply means an increase in muscle tone. This creates what’s called myotogenous pain or pain originating from the muscle itself. Headaches normally respond very well to chiropractic orthopedic management through its ability to affect muscle tone. Chiropractic orthopedic management uses muscle relaxation techniques combined with spinal manipulation to directly affect the necks muscle tone. This allows for not only neck pain relief, but also headache improvement.

When diagnosing and treating headache it is important to understand what type of headache you have. By far the most common type of headache, and the one that responds the most favorably to chiropractic orthopedic care, is tension headache. Migraine headache also affects a large portion of the population and may respond most favorably with dietary intervention. This will be something your chiropractic orthopedist can address with you if this happens to be your diagnosis. Another form of headache that is not as common as tension headache, but can be equally problematic is cervicogenic headache. This type of headache is seen commonly in those that have been involved in motor vehicle accidents who may have had whiplash injury.

All of these types of headache will be addressed during your initial visit to your chiropractic orthopedist in Fredericksburg.

Benefits

One of the primary benefits of chiropractic orthopedic care for neck pain relief is that it is non-invasive and does not involve the use of drugs or surgery. This makes it a safe and effective option for people of all ages, including pregnant women, children, and the elderly. Additionally, chiropractic care can help to improve overall health and well-being by improving the quality of life through neck pain relief and headache resolution.

Medications can also cause a headache disorder called rebound headache. Using a method that reduces or eliminates your exposure to the medications causing rebound headache may be necessary for headache and neck pain relief. Common medications that increase your risk for this type of headache include over-the-counter medications like Ibuprofen (Advil), acetaminophen (Tylenol), Excedrin (combination medication of caffeine, aspirin, acetaminophen).

 

Qualified Practitioner

When seeking chiropractic care for neck pain, it is important to find a qualified and experienced practitioner. After performing a thorough examination, a chiropractic orthopedist will develop a treatment plan tailored to your individual needs. This may include a combination of spinal adjustments, therapeutic exercises, and lifestyle recommendations.

This is especially important when you have been a long time sufferer of neck pain or headache. Diagnosis is key to treatment plan and obtaining the relief you deserve.

Self-Care

In addition to regular chiropractic orthopedic care, there are also a number of self-care measures that can help to relieve neck pain. These include:

• maintaining good posture,
• practicing stress-reducing techniques such as yoga or meditation, and
• performing neck-strengthening exercises.

It is also important to avoid activities that may aggravate your neck pain, such as prolonged sitting or looking down at your phone or computer screen for extended periods of time.

Other Considerations for Neck Pain Relief

It is also important to note that some conditions, such as chronic pain or severe injuries, may require a more comprehensive treatment plan. This may include treatment by a board certified chiropractic orthopedist. If you have suffered from chronic neck pain and headache its important to see a specialist in Fredericksburg. 

In conclusion, chiropractic orthopedics can be an effective and non-invasive way to relieve neck pain and headache. By improving the function of pain sensitive structures of the neck as well as increasing your body’s own pain inhibitory pathways, chiropractic orthopedics aims to address the underlying disfunctions that create the symptoms you seek relief from. Find a qualified and experienced practitioner like a chiropractic orthopedist in Fredericksburg, and also Incorporate self-care measures prescribed by your specialist.

If you’re experiencing neck pain, contact our Fredericksburg team at Stine Chiropractic Clinic to schedule a consultation.