Factors that Possibly Lead To Cervical Aches and Chiropractic Remedies that Will Be Helpful

Your cervical spine, commonly referred to as your neck, is made up of seven vertebrae. Your ?neck? begins at the base of your skull. Considering your head weighs quite a few pounds, your neck's responsibility of holding it up is a feat. Your flexible neck is prone to injury and pain because of its very flexibility, which allows you to move your head in various directions.

This vulnerability is due to the cervical spine's biomechanics. Some factors that can affect your neck's health are: injury, sitting for long periods, and side effects associated with aging ? to name a few. Regardless of the reasons, cervical pain can present considerable discomfort.

The factors that cause neck pain are as follows?

1. Injury and accidents: Whiplash, for example, stems from a forceful and sudden jolt of the neck or head; it prompts a rebound effect that can harm the tissues which support the head and neck. The ?rebound? results from muscles that react to strain by constraining themselves. This contraction leads to muscle fatigue, stiffness, and pain. Whiplash cases are related to intervertebral joint injury, and to weakened ligaments, muscles, nerve roots, or discs. Car accidents are often linked with whiplash.

2. Age-related Issues: Degenerative disorders can come in the form of osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, and disc ailments that are associated with age. These affect the spine directly.

Spinal stenosis narrows the nerve passageways in the vertebrae, making it contract and block nerve roots and thus, impair the nerves. The attendant pain is just part of the story; spinal stenosis could also affect the shoulders and arms with numbness and pain.

The intervertebral discs? elasticity and height is affected by a degenerative disc disease. A bulge or hernia may occur in a disc, causing tingling, numbness, and arm pain.

Progressive degeneration of cartilage occurs with osteoarthritis, a common condition. The way the body responds is to form bone spurs, and affecting joint motion.

Adherence to a few habits can also aggravate the neck. Obesity or poor posture, for example, affects spinal balance, prompting the cervical spine to compensate; it leans forward to do this. Stress and emotional issues cues the muscles to compress and tighten, which in turn, creates pain and stiffness. Spinal stress can cause chronic neck pain, which then affects the upper back and arms.

A chiropractic doctor performs exams and investigates your reported symptoms in an effort to locate the exact source of the pain. Your chiropractor could deem it useful to learn how long you've had the pain, what methods of pain relief you've tried on the affected bodily parts, and what has been helpful so far. It might also be useful to perform physical and neurological exams. Physical exams are helpful in revealing the type of movements that bring pain, as well assessing your posture, range of motion, and overall physical shape. The doctor of chiropractor will manually assess your spine's (and possibly, your shoulder's) condition to see its alignment, curvature, and possible muscle spasms.

The focus of the neurological exam is to check for reflexes, muscle strength, and the extent and reach of pain. There are cases where other tests might be needed in order to properly diagnose your condition. The likes of bone spurs, fractures, and a contracted disc space may be made apparent with the aid of an X-ray. The test commonly known as a MRI, or a CAT or CT scan, could disclose the location of a dilated disc. Your chiropractor may also suspect that nerve damage is causing the pain. An electromyography (EMG) can help in such cases, as it can assess how well the nerves respond.

Neck Adjustments: Neck adjustments usually translate into manual adjustments of the joints on the neck. This type of neck adjustments effectively improves the mobility of the spine, restoring range of motion. Neck adjustments may also benefit the connecting muscles by raising their amount of movement. Patients say that cervical adjustments help them move their heads more, and alleviate stiffness, soreness, and pain.

Experts are in support of the use of chiropractic spinal adjustments in the care of patients who have ongoing neck pain. Thorough clinical tests have shown that patients with chronic neck pain experienced marked improvement of their symptoms as a result of spinal adjustments. All the trial groups responded to treatment, showing improvement for weeks after treatment.

Chiropractors devise treatments to suit each patient's needs. Such complementary approaches like massage, rehabilitative exercises, and mobilization of the treated area could also be recommended. Make sure to contact your chiropractor. He or she will help you determine how to best treat your cervical spine.