Having Neck Pain Impacts everything from How You Sleep, Drive And Even How You Swing a Golf Club.
Neck pain isn't just annoying, it can put you at risk of further injury.
We offer chiropractic treatment and manual therapy to anyone in Overland Park.
These are common issues in our society, and understanding the causes and prevention of them will go a long way to leading a healthy and pain free life.
Here are some of the most common conditions we see in our office.
- Upper Crossed Syndrome
- Neck Sprain/Strain
- Disc Pain
1. Upper Crossed Syndrome
Described as a type of muscle imbalance.
Poor posture leads to chronic strain and discomfort. This combination forces your shoulders to roll inward and your head to project forward. The main physical causes of this condition are:
- Desk job
- Too much sitting
- Driving long hours
- Poor posture
With the proper education, you can protect yourself from many of these causes.
Symptoms
Upper crossed patients often complain of:
- neck pain
- interscapular pain
- headaches.
Upper crossed syndrome is a “functional” diagnosis that requires identification of the underlying factors that contribute to structural lesions.
Management of Upper Cross Syndrome:
- Joint mobilization
- Myofascial release
- Stretching,
- Strengthening
- Therapeutic exercises
2. Neck Strain/Sprains
Cervical strains and sprains are some of the most common injuries sustained to the cervical spine in our Overland Park chiropractic office.
The term, "sprain" means that the ligaments that hold your bones together have been damaged, while "strain" means that your muscles or tendons that move your neck have been injured.
The main physical causes of this condition are:
- Automobile accidents
- Whiplash
- Contact sports injuries
- Repetitive overuse injury
- Prolonged poor posture
Symptoms:
- Begin abruptly but more commonly develop gradually in the hours or days following an insult.
- Constant dull neck pain that intensifies or becomes sharp with movement.
- Rest may relieve acute symptoms but often leads to inactivity-stiffness.
- The pain is generally limited to the cervical spine, trapezius or interscapular regions
Management of Cervical Strain/Sprains
- Controlling pain and inflammation
- Ice,
- Gentle range of motion exercises and isometric strengthening
- Restoration of normal mobility and joint function.
- Myofascial release
- Stretching exercises
- Nerve mobilization techniques
- Spinal manipulation
3. Neck Disc Pain
Discogenic Pain Syndrome is a condition that results from soft tissue damage and irritation of intervertebral discs.
Intervertebral discs are cushions found between each vertebra of the spine.
Cervical disc pain can arise from a couple of reasons:
- Injury
- Degenerative condition.
Symptoms:
- Local pain may be described as sharp or dull,
- Sensory disturbances that radiate into the head, neck, shoulders, or interscapular area.
- Neck pain maybe worse with prolonged workstation use or prolonged flexion.
- Radicular pain is generally described as sharp and superficial, sometimes accompanied by paresthesia.
- Arm pain may be the predominant symptom in cases of radiculopathy.
- Patients may note an increase in radicular pain when coughing or sneezing and find relief by elevating their arm above their head.
Management of Cervical Disc Pain:
- Reduce pain and inflammation
- Decrease mechanical compression
- Improve functional stability.
