Neck Pain
Treating Neck and Upper Back Pain
The neck is particularly susceptible to injury. Most people do not realize how much they move their neck until they are unable to do so. The flexibility of the neck, coupled with the fact that it has limited muscular stabilization and must support your 14 - 16 pound head, makes it uniquely vulnerable. Picture your neck and head as a bowling ball held on top of a stick by thin elastic bands. It doesn’t take much force to disrupt the delicate balance.
The spinal cord runs through a tunnel in the vertebrae to send nerve impulses to every part of the body. Between pairs of vertebrae, the spinal cord sends off large bundles of nerves that run down the arms and to some degree, the upper back. This means that problems in the neck can create pain anywhere in the body. Symptoms in the arms can include numbness, tingling, cold, aching, and "pins and needles".
Neck symptoms can be confused with carpal tunnel syndrome and may contribute to headaches, muscle spasms in the shoulders and upper back, ringing in the ears, otitis media (inflammation in the middle ear, often mistaken for an ear infection in children), temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ), restricted range of motion and chronic tightness in the neck and upper back.
Most of the muscles that are associated with the neck either attach to, or are located in, the upper back. These muscles include the trapezius, the levator scapulae, the cervical paraspinal muscles and the scalenes, as well as others.
Causes of Neck and Upper Back Pain
Most neck and upper back pain is caused by a combination of factors, including injury, poor posture, chiropractic subluxations, stress, and in some instances, disc problems.
Injuries
The most common injury to the neck is a whiplash injury. Whiplash is caused by a sudden movement of the head and results in the damage to the supporting muscles, ligaments and other connective tissues in the neck and upper back.
Symptoms of a whiplash injury can take weeks or months to manifest. Too often people don’t seek treatment following a car accident or sports injury because they don’t feel hurt. By the time more serious complications develop, some of the damage from the injury may have become permanent.
Studies have shown that years after whiplash victims settle their insurance claims, roughly half say they still suffer. If you have been in an accident, don’t assume that you escaped injury if you are not currently in pain. Get checked out by a chiropractor.
Forward head posture is very common for people who work with computers all day. Such subluxations can worsen over time without proper chiropractic care.
Poor Posture
Poor posture can cause neck pain and headaches. It’s easy to get into bad posture habits-- even an activity as seemingly innocuous as reading in bed can lead to neck pain and more serious problems.
Keep your neck in a "neutral" position whenever possible. Do not bend or hunch your neck forward for long periods. Do not sit in one position for a long time. If you must sit for an extended period, make sure your posture is good: Keep your head in a neutral position, make sure your back is supported, keep your knees slightly lower than your hips, and rest your arms if possible.
Subluxations
Subluxations in the neck and upper back area are extremely common. Most subluxations tend to be centered around four areas: the top of the cervical spine where it meets the skull; in the middle of the cervical spine where the mechanical stress from the head is the greatest; in the transition where the cervical and thoracic areas of the spine meet; and in the middle of the thoracic spine where the mechanical stress from the weight of the upper body is greatest.
Subluxations can be seen by looking in the mirror. Is your head tilted or is one shoulder higher than the other. Often women will notice that their sleeve length is different or that a necklace is hanging off center.
If someone looks at you from the side they may notice that your head sits forward from your shoulders. This is known as FHP - forward head posture. It is common for people who spend their days stooped over a computer. Subluxations need to be taken care of or they can get much worse.
Disc Herniations
The discs in your cervical spine can herniate or bulge and put pressure on the nerves that exit from the spine through that area. Although cervical discs do not herniate nearly as often as lumbar discs do, they can herniated when the discs sustain damage from a whiplash injury.
Stress
When most people become stressed, they unconsciously contract their muscles. In particular, the muscles in their back. This ‘muscle guarding’ is a survival response designed to guard against injury. In today’s world where we are not exposed to physical danger most of the time, muscle guarding still occurs whenever we become emotionally stressed. The areas most affected are the muscles of the neck, upper back and low back.
For most of us, the particular muscle affected by stress is the trapezius muscle, where daily stress usually leads to chronic tightness and the development of trigger points.
The two most effective ways you can reduce the physical effects of stress on your own are to increase your activity level – exercise – and by deep breathing exercises. When you decrease the physical effects of stress, you can substantially reduce the amount of tightness and pain in your upper back and neck.