Atlanta
Chiropractor
NECK
PROBLEMS PAIN
Your Amazing Incredible Neck
Inside your neck are your neck bones (cervical vertebrae),
spinal and cranial nerves, spinal cord, blood vessels, glands (including the
thyroid and parathyroid), voice box (larynx), esophagus, trachea, brain stem,
and many muscles, ligaments and other structures. With all that, its’ still able to gracefully balance your
head ad turn, tilt and bend with out damaging it’s vital “occupants.”
That’s amazing because if your neck’s functions are interrupted for
even a few seconds you’d lose consciousness and begin to die.
Your neck houses
many vital structures
The Cervical Spine
Cervix is the Latin work for neck, meaning a constricted
area (the uterus and urinary bladders have a neck or cervix too).
Your seven small neck bones are called the cervical vertebrae, numbered
C-1 to C-7.
Inside your cervical vertebrae, lies your spinal cord, a
continuation of the brain down your neck and back. Protection of the spinal cord is extremely important because
an injury to it can result in instant paralysis or death. Your vertebrae are connected to each other by discs,
ligaments and tendons that help give the neck its shape (the cervical curve).
Between the vertebrae are openings where nerves, blood vessels, lymphatic
vessels, fat and connective tissues are found.
Neck Problems
With all of the neck’s complexity it should come as no
surprise that neck problems are common. They
may develop suddenly from a trauma such as a whiplash or fall, or slowly as a
result of spinal imbalance, vertebral subluxations, emotional stress or bad
posture. Damaged or irritated neck
nerves can cause more than neck pain. Pain in the face, shoulder, arm, wrist, hand and fingers as
well as reduced neck motion may also occur.
Other neck problems include headaches, vision difficulties, dizziness,
ringing in the ears, decreased attention span, learning and memory impairments,
nasal problems, tongue and throat problems. The most serious neck problems – such as fracture,
dislocation or severe tissue damage – can be fatal if not given emergency
medical care. Most other neck
problems, however, although not life-threatening, can impair your health if not
corrected.
Neck Pain
Pain in the neck can be caused by irritation, inflammation,
injury or infection. Pain in the
neck, shoulder, arm, hand or head “most frequently results from irritation of
cervical nerve roots in the region of the intervertebral foramen, encroachment
of the vascular supply as it courses through the vertebral canal, or invasion of
the cord in the spinal canal.”
Disc Degeneration &
Herniation
Disc herniation (or rupture) is relatively rare but can be
the source of intense pain. Sometimes
surgery is needed in this instance, especially when it’s due to trauma.
However, in many cases, chiropractic techniques can re-establish the
integrity of the disc and prevent the need for neck surgery.
These should be explored if possible. Disc generation is a more common cause of pain, nerve root
and spinal cord irritation. Although
many doctors tell their patients that the cause of disc degeneration is age, age
alone cannot be blamed for the condition because it can be found even in young
children. The most common causes of
disc degeneration are years of spinal imbalance, spinal subluxations, physical
trauma or emotional stress.
Spinal Imbalance – Cause
of Neck Stress
Let us suppose that one day you carried a bowling ball
around for the entire day, but instead of carrying it closely at your side, you
held it a little distance from your body. You’d
get tired very fast! It’s the
same with your head. IF it’s
properly balanced that’s fine, but if it’s held even a little off center you
will start to suffer from fatigue as well as stress on your neck.
Arthritis
If unhealthy, your neck’s normal forward curve may
reduce, become straight or “military” or even reverse its curve.
Over time arthritic changes in the vertebrae such as lipping or spurring
(bony growths); disc thinning or degeneration; or deterioration of muscles,
ligaments and other structures may occur. In
spite of all these changes, however, there may or may not be pain.
In fact, studies show little or no correlation between the degree of pain
felt in the neck and arthritic changes found on X-rays and MRI. Lipping, spurring and other irregularities (osteoarthritis)
do not in themselves constitute a disease but are rather defense mechanisms that
arise to stabilize an off-balance spine. Recent
research has shown that chiropractic care can reverse some of the effects of
osteoarthritis – something that had previously been considered impossible.
The Orthodox Medical
Approach
The standard medical approach to neck pain is painkillers,
muscle relaxers and/or tranquilizers. If
the pain doesn’t subside, an orthopedic surgeon may be consulted and more
drastic treatment – cortisone or other injections – may be administered.
When should the physician resort to surgery?
“As a last resort.” Clearly,
a patient should not consent to anything as drastic as neck surgery without
first consulting another healer – in particular, a chiropractor.
The Role Of The Chiropractor
When the spinal bones are off center, the small openings
through which the nerves travel may become narrower causing irritation to the
cervical nerve roots and may also cause pressure upon the spinal cord.
Chiropractic spinal care counters the effect of stress an unnatural wear
and tear by relieving your neck or the vertebral sublaxation complex and
restoring power movement to the spinal column.
Chiropractic & Neck
Injury
Since most medical doctors and physical therapists are not
trained to locate and correct vertebral subluxations, an accident victim will
leave the emergency room with as many subluxations as they had when they
entered. Without chiropractic
spinal care, a neck injury might continue to cause silent damage for decades
before the problem is recognized; by that time it may be too late for a complete
recovery.
Get a Spinal Checkup
Everyone with a spine needs to have it checked periodically
by a chiropractor. Just as a
periodic dental checkup is necessary to keep your teeth healthy, so a
chiropractic spinal checkup is necessary to ensure a nervous system that is free
from vertebral subluxations permitting you to experience greater healing and
well-being
chiropractic Atlanta chiropractors
Dr. Simon is nationally and state Board Certified
and has been practicing in Atlanta since 1992. He is extensively trained
in many techniques such as Gonstead, Motion Palpation, Thompson, Pierce,
Activator, HIO, and S.O.T. Dr. Simon uses state of the art diagnostic and therapeutic equipment and
we have a massage therapist on staff Atlanta Chiropractor chiropractic
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