How Chiropractic Treatments Help with Your Neck Pain

The neck starts at the base of the head and comprises seven tiny vertebrae. The cervical spine somehow carries the whole weight of your head. While the cervical spine allows you to move your head in almost any direction, this flexibility leaves the neck vulnerable to discomfort and damage.

Biomechanics contributes to the neck’s vulnerability to damage. Extended sitting, repeated movement, accidents, falls and injuries to the body or head, normal ageing, and regular wear and tear are all activities and events that alter cervical biomechanics.

Causes

Neck discomfort may be pretty inconvenient, and various factors can cause it.

• Accidents and injuries: Whiplash is a quick, forceful movement of the head or neck in any direction. The whipping action injures the neck and head’s surrounding and supporting tissues. Severe whiplash can damage the joints,muscles, discs, ligaments and nerve roots. The most prevalent cause of whiplash is a car collision.
• Ageing: Degenerative illnesses (osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease) can directly impact the spine.
• Osteoarthritis: It’s a common joint ailment that causes cartilage to deteriorate over time. The body responds by generating bone spurs, which impair joint mobility.
• Spinal stenosis: This causes the vertebral tiny neural pathways to constrict, crushing and trapping nerve roots. When these nerves are unable to function regularly, they can produce discomfort in the arms, neck, and shoulders.
• Degenerative disc disease: This can cause intervertebral disc flexibility to decrease. A disc can slip or herniate over time, producing tingling, numbness, and discomfort that radiates into the arm.
• Everyday life: Obesity and weak abdominal muscles frequently impair spinal balance, forcing the neck to bow forward to compensate. Muscles can tighten and constrict due to stress and mental strain, resulting in discomfort and stiffness. Postural tension can aggravate chronic neck discomfort, causing symptoms to spread to the upper back and arms.

Chiropractic Care

There are various types of treatments for neck pain available in Singapore. One of them includes chiropractic care. During your visit, your chiropractor will check to determine the source of your discomfort and ask questions about your present symptoms and any treatments you have tried.

Your chiropractor will also perform physical and neurological exams. Your doctor will examine your posture, range of motion, and physical health during the physical exam, noting any movement that produces pain. Your doctor will examine your spine, noting its curvature and alignment and any muscular spasms. A shoulder examination may also be conducted. Your doctor will assess your reflexes, muscular strength, other nerve alterations, and pain spread during the neurological exam.

In some cases, your chiropractor may request tests to aid in the diagnosis of your ailment. For example, an x-ray might reveal a compressed disc space, fractures, bone spurs, or arthritis. Bulging discs and herniation can be detected with computerised axial tomography (CT or CAT scan) or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination. If nerve injury is suspected, your doctor may conduct an electromyography (EMG) test to see how fast your nerves respond.

Chiropractic physicians offer conservative therapy; their scope of practice does not involve using medicines or surgery. However, if your chiropractor identifies a condition beyond the scope of this treatment, they will send you to the proper medical physician or expert.

Neck Adjustments

A neck adjustment is a precise treatment performed by hand on the neck joints. A neck adjustment enhances spine mobility and range of motion and promotes the movement of neighbouring muscles. As a result, patients usually experience an improvement in the ability to turn and tilt their heads, as well as a reduction in discomfort, tightness, and stiffness.

Of course, depending on your specific needs, your chiropractor will plan a treatment for neck pain that may include more than one form of procedure. Aside from manipulation, the treatment plan may involve mobilisation, massage, or rehabilitative activities, among other things.