Neck Pain/ Headaches
At Dynamic Chiropractic and Functional Movement, we offer an extensive range of services to help restore movement and function. Each condition is treated a little differently but you can expect one or more of these techniques on your visit. Soft tissue manipulation, end range loading, trigger point therapy, manual or instrument assisted manipulation, stretches and corrective exercise to help reduce your pain and achieve your goals. Read on to find out more.
Sprain/Strain
Neck sprains or strains are caused by a variety of factors such as poor posture, lifting heavy objects, irritated joints, nerve compression, and injuries.
Neck strains happen when the muscles and tendons (which connect muscle to bone) become injured.
Neck sprains occur when the ligaments (connects bone to bone) or the joint has been injured, however, it could be both, they present with very similar symptom patterns.
The most common symptom of a neck sprain or strain is pain that worsens with movement.
Some common causes of these injuries are:
Automobile accidents/whiplash
Contact sports injuries
Repetitive overuse injury
Prolonged poor posture
Headaches
There are many types of headaches and most have different causes. Some of the most common causes are:
Allergies
Stress
Poor posture
Diet & exercise habits
Hormonal imbalance
Smoking
Dehydration
The common symptom of all headaches is characterized by its pain pattern. Different types of headaches cause pain in different regions of the head and have unique pain sensations. Some people experiencing headaches can be characterized as migraines.
The most common symptoms of migraines are; nausea, vomiting or sensitivity to light.
Disc Pain
Similar to the low back, disc pain can occur in the neck. Often times in the neck however, disc pain occurs from age related changes to the disc. Like we talked about on the low back condition page, overtime the disc can lose fluid, become hard and start to harden and shrink.
Although, not very common, the disc in the neck can bulge or herniate causing local or radiating pain, numbness and/or tingling that can radiate symptoms into the shoulder, arm, hand or fingers. This happens when pressure is put on the nerve.
Discogenic pain due to an injury can result in immediate pain or pain shortly after the injury. Headaches (usually cervicogenic--coming from the neck) can also result from cervical disc pain.
Facet Syndrome
As talked about in the low back section, you have a pair of facets on each vertebra (spine bone). Facets help you move. In the neck, the facets at the top of the neck are designed more for rotation and the lower part of the neck is more for bending your neck side to side.
These facets are surrounded by a capsule which is like its protection. Over time these capsules can start to wear down, causing pain, inflammation and irritation to surround tissue and potentially nerves. This can cause a multitude of symptoms like local or radiating pain.