Seeing A Chiropractor For Neck Pain
How to help neck pain
How a chiropractor helps neck pain
Things you can do at home
If you are dealing with a nagging neck issue, there are many things you can do both at home and with your chiropractor or physiotherapist to get relief.
WHAT TO DO AT HOME
Neck Exercises
Hot Or Cold Therapy
Proper Posture
What Is Causing Your Neck Pain
The reality is we often find ourselves in less than ideal posture. There are many examples where we often have poor posture:
- On our phones
- Working at a computer
- Playing video games
- Reading or doing crafts
- Cooking, washing dishes
Usually we end up with our heads dipped forward and down coupled with our shoulders rolled inwards. For short periods this is not an issue. When you repeat this posture for hours on end, day after day is when tension and stress builds in your neck, shoulder and upper back muscles, joints, ligaments and tendons.
Sometimes neck pain is from an injury such as whiplash from a motor vehicle collision, or a fall. When not related to a traumatic event, the majority of the time neck pain can be blamed on bad posture
Other symptoms
Can TMJ cause neck pain? Can neck pain affect vision? When you have neck pain such as from whiplash, patients sometimes have other symptoms include TMJ or jaw pain, headache and trouble with their eyes such as difficulty focusing or working on a computer
Symptoms Of Neck Pain
Neck pain can range from mild stiffness and soreness to sharp pain and trouble turning your neck. Other symptoms can include headache, dizziness, trouble sleeping and difficulty eating.
Symptoms spreading
Neck pain can travel as well. Many people report pain in the back and shoulders. Left and right side neck pain and common.
Sometimes, you may have a pinched neck nerve, or cervical radiculopathy. When this happens, you can start feeling numbness and tingling travel down your arms all the way to your fingers. You may find your grip weaker and have a harder time writing or holding a cup of coffee.
Arthritis
Some people may have a form of arthritis in their neck called osteoarthritis. This is usually due to wear and tear or old injuries especially as we age. When the discs between your neck vertebrae wear down, this is called cervical spondylosis
Can neck pain cause headache?
Another common symptoms is headaches from neck pain. Many patients report noticing a connection between the two symptoms
Learn How To Fix Neck Pain Now
Neck pain can include stiffness, soreness, ache and pain in your neck, shoulders and upper back. Learn about the different neck pain causes and how to treat them.
If you are having trouble getting rid of your neck, shoulder or upper back pain, we can help you ease your pain and start moving better again
Treatment To Relieve Neck Pain
Sometimes, that mild stiffness will go away with a bit of neck pain exercises of your neck muscles and rest. For those times that your neck discomfort becomes persistent, you may need help to find relief.
Stretch
With poor posture, specific muscles in your neck, shoulder and upper back become shortened and tensed. Finding these muscles and doing the right stretches and exercises for neck pain can begin to provide you with some relief.
Chiropractic care, physiotherapy
With those shortened and tense muscles often also comes stiff and restricted joints in your neck and upper back. Manual therapy or chiropractic adjustments can be performed by your North Burnaby Heights physiotherapist and chiropractor at Cedar to improve the mobility and movements of those joints.
Once your joints start moving better again, this helps ease your muscle tension and makes it easier for you to improve your posture. They can also guide on additional tips on what to do for chronic neck pain.
Imaging studies
If you have a pinched neck nerve or cervical radiculopathy, sometimes you may be recommended to get xrays to find out the condition of your spine and discs in your neck and upper back. One thing to keep note of is that there is not always a strong correlation between how severe your xrays look and how you feel.
Things You Can Do At Home To Get Neck Pain Relief Now
First and foremost, the most important thing is to start being more aware of your posture. Perfect posture does not have to happen all the time. However, aim for having better posture more times than not.
Posture
Good posture means:
- Head up straight
- Eyes looking ahead or just slightly downwards
- Shoulders back and relaxed
- Sit while leaning back ever so slightly, using the full support of your chair back
- Ensure your butt is up again the back of your chair
- Elbows are by your side, not forward or up
- Feet are firmly planted on the ground or a footrest
- Screens are directly in front of your eyes
Pillow
If you have neck and shoulder pain when you wake up in the mornings, having the right pillow can help. The best pillow for neck pain really depends on what position you like to sleep in.
The best position to sleep with neck pain
If you like sleeping on your sides, a thick supportive pillow usually is best. If you sleep more on your back, then a medium, smaller pillow could work. It is best to avoid sleeping on your stomach, but if you must, then try sleeping without a pillow.
Compare the differences between poor posture and ideal posture here or here
Patient Review
… He is very professional and the assessment went so well. I like the 1st treatment he did and my neck feels better right after. I’m looking forward for my next schedule. The receptionist is very nice too. Thanks.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How can I relieve my neck pain?
How do I know if my have neck pain is serious?
I woke up with neck pain, maybe I slept wrong?
Discover How To Cure Neck Pain Fast
Neck pain can include stiffness, soreness, ache and pain in your neck, shoulders and upper back. You may even have headaches.
To learn how to get rid of neck pain form sleeping wrong, schedule an appointment with your chiropractor. Results will of course vary from person to person