Neck Pain

Approximately 30% of the U.S. population suffers from neck pain, which is one of the most prevalent conditions we treat.

The neck is a unique part of the spine that relies heavily on muscles for stabilization. For many of us, these muscles are strong, which is critically important to carry the weight of your head all day because it weighs about 10 lbs.

When we demonstrate correct posture, our spine can carry this weight evenly over the entire vertebrae, including the disc and facet joints. However, when we demonstrate poor posture, our neck muscles do all the work on their own, with no other aid or support. This is what often occurs from excessive bouts of sitting while hunched over in front of a computer.

Imagine carrying a 10-lb. bowling ball around all day with your arms outstretched in front of you. How do you think your shoulders would feel? There’s no doubt your muscles would be sore, to put it mildly.

Well, your neck can feel these same effects. It can be exacerbated when you hold your head out in front of your body, instead of letting it rest evenly on top of your neck.

Posture and daily habits can play a significant role in neck pain, especially with forward head posture.

This chronic postural achiness and stiffness is the majority of what we see in our office alongside neck pain that can also develop after an injury or sudden movement, such as whiplash after an accident

The downside of postural stiffness is that it causes muscle spasms, which in turn adds stress to the vertebrae and joints of the neck. Restrictions in the joints then follow, and the full range of motion of the neck is compromised. Do you see how the snowball effect occurs?

This chain of events is frequently involved with pain development in the upper extremities (like the neck). Pain may travel into the shoulder, arm, or hand, sometimes related to a pinched nerve in the neck.  Neck issues can sometimes contribute to headaches coming from the neck, earaches, and facial pain.

The immediate causes of neck pain could include one or more of the following: pressure, compression, inflammation or irritation of the pain-sensitive nerve endings. In some cases, disc-related neck pain may contribute to symptoms, especially when irritation affects nearby structures.These phenomena may be due to muscle tightness, and in some cases can even be caused by a disc injury.

Because of this, identifying the underlying pattern is often more important than focusing on a single structure.

Other common types of neck pain we see in our office are caused by osteoarthritis and torticollis. Torticollis is a condition marked by difficulty and neck pain while turning your head.

Causes of Neck Pain

Although poor posture including rounded shoulders and text neck is one of the leading causes of neck pain, it’s not the only one. Here are a few others that we frequently see in our office:

• Sudden trauma
• Sports injury
• Car accident
• Degenerative conditions

Contributing Risk Factors of Neck Pain

There are also a series of risk factors that are associated with neck pain, which include:

• Poor posture, which we mentioned above.
• Smoking
• Repetitive lifting
• Office and computer work
• Athletic activity

Symptoms Associated with Neck Pain

How Neck Pain May Feel

Neck pain does not always present the same way. Some people experience mostly stiffness or soreness, while others notice discomfort that travels into the shoulder or arm. Symptoms may change with position, movement, or activity, depending on what is contributing to the irritation.

The symptoms of neck pain can range from mild to severe. In some cases, sufferers might have more than one of these. Here is a list of the most common ones we see:

• Inability to bend or rotate the neck (Difficulty looking up, down, or over your shoulder)
• Weakness in your arms or shoulder muscles
• Muscle spasms
• Radiculopathy (pain and or numbness and tingling in your neck, arm/hands, upper back, shoulders) This could occur in one or both sides.
• Increased pain when coughing, sneezing, reaching or sitting
• Inability to stand or sit up straight
• Stiffness when trying to move
• Tight muscles
• Headaches (cervicogenic | tension)
• Pain that is worse in the morning or at night
• Difficulty sleeping due to pain

Diagnosing the Cause of Your Neck Pain

When you first come to the office, we will start out by asking you some questions about the history and onset of your symptoms. We’ll then perform a physical exam, including checking your postural range of motion (ROM) and an examination of your spinal curvature and alignment, muscle tone, spasms and trigger points.

Additional physical and neurological exams that include evaluating reflexes, muscle strength, and a determination if you have experienced any nerve changes are absolutely necessary.

In some instances, X-rays, an MRI, CT or CAT scan might be requested. If nerve damage is present or suspected, an EMG may be conducted to see how much, if any, damage there is.

Many people are understandably cautious about neck treatment, which is why care is always adapted to your comfort level and clinical findings.  We like to take a conservative approach at first when it comes to your treatment plan, but we do work with other pain management specialists and surgeons for our most severe cases. Rarely does one of our patients need a pain management specialist or surgical referral. Many of our conservative care tools can also be used at home to promote healing or control pain.

Choosing Safe, Effective Conservative Care for Neck Pain Starts Here

Time and again clinical research is demonstrating that a conservative multidisciplinary approach such as what Ravenswood Chiropractic offers, including chiropractic, non-surgical cervical spine decompression, class iv laser therapy, shockwave therapy, and physical therapy to treat neck pain has better patient outcomes and satisfaction then medication alone. Choosing conservative chiropractic care for the treatment of neck pain is also less expensive than care initiated by a medical doctor. Additionally, there is a much lower risk of adverse side effects compared to taking aspirin (25x higher risk of adverse effect) or cervical spine surgery (500x higher risk of adverse effect).

Chiropractic Care for Neck Pain

The neck has seven cervical vertebrae.

Injuries to the neck such as whiplash can occur during accidents or sports.

There are also degenerative disorders that can creep up like osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, postural distortions and poor posture.

 

This is where chiropractic care comes in. One of the essential treatments utilized in these situations is neck adjustments. They help restore the normal function and range of motion of your cervical spine, which in turn reduces pain, soreness, and stiffness.

Spinal Manipulation Safety

People dealing with neck pain are sometimes concerned with the safety of chiropractic adjustments when they seek treatment; however, the clinical research shows that adjustments are both safe and effective when done by a trained professional – and that is just who we have on staff.

Most of the concern revolves around spinal manipulative therapy raising the risk of stroke in older adults. This information is unfounded and no more prevalent than when older adults go to a primary care physician.

In fact, according to the International Chiropractors Association, reports show that statistical evidence varies from 1 case in every 400,000 to 1 in every 5.6 million people treated.

Plus, not a single case of stroke was cited during a study involving approximately 5 million cervical manipulations from 1965 to 1980 at the National College of Chiropractic Clinic in Chicago.

Lastly, the American Chiropractic Association claims that you have a better chance of getting into a car accident on your way to an appointment then you do suffering an injury during an adjustment.

There is nothing wrong with being cautious. But there is also no reason to believe evidence if it does not appear realistic.

If for some reason you do not want your neck adjusted just let us know, there are many other tools we can use to help you feel better.

Non-Surgical Cervical Spine Decompression

For some of our patients, neck pain can be influenced by how pressure is distributed within the cervical spine, particularly when discs or nearby structures are involved.

Non-surgical cervical spine decompression is designed to gently reduce pressure within the neck, which may help create a more favorable environment for irritated structures.

Rather than forcing movement, this approach works gradually and is used selectively based on how your symptoms present and what we find during evaluation.

It’s not appropriate for every type of neck pain, but when it is, it can be a useful part of a broader plan focused on improving comfort and function.

Class IV Laser Therapy for Neck Pain

When tissues in the neck become irritated or sensitive, reducing that irritation can be an important part of recovery.

Class IV laser therapy uses light energy in specific wavelengths of light to support circulation and cellular activity in targeted areas, which may help calm irritated tissue and support the healing process.

This approach is often used alongside other treatments, especially in situations where inflammation or tissue sensitivity is contributing to symptoms.

As with any treatment, it’s selected based on your individual presentation rather than used as a one-size-fits-all solution.

Shockwave Therapy for Neck Pain

Some types of neck pain involve more persistent soft tissue irritation or areas that have not responded fully to traditional care.

Shockwave therapy uses mechanical pulses to stimulate tissue response, which may help improve circulation and support recovery in certain cases.

It is typically considered when symptoms have been more stubborn or when soft tissue involvement plays a larger role in how the pain presents.

Like other treatments we offer, it is used selectively and as part of a broader, individualized care plan.

Physical Therapy for Neck Pain

It’s essential to stretch tight muscles and strengthen the weakened muscles that support the neck when you have pain or complications. Our team coaches you on an individualized treatment plan that includes a range of exercises that support the neck and expedite the healing process.

We do this in our office, so you can continue your therapy from the comfort of your home. Our goal is for you learn how to improve your posture, ROM, flexibility, and stability.

 

Hot and Cold Therapies

Both hot and cold therapies have specific benefits when it comes to treating pain and stiffness.

Heat increases blood flow and oxygen to the area that’s affected, which helps promote faster healing.

Cold reduces inflammation and pain, which also speeds the healing process.

In some cases, hot and cold therapies are used in an alternating fashion, which can cause a synergistic effect.

We will instruct you how and when to use each one during different phases of your treatment plan.

Electrotherapy

Pain signals are transported from an area of the body to the brain by way of nerve endings. With electrotherapy, we utilize small waves of electric signals to block pain pathways and also help reduce muscles spasms.

Ultrasound

When you first see the word “ultrasound,” you might think in terms of medical imaging. It’s true that it’s used for this, however, you can also use ultrasound waves therapeutically as we do.

It’s effective for increasing blood circulation, relieving spasms, and reducing swelling, stiffness, pain, and inflammation.

Our ultimate goal is to get you out of pain and keep you out of pain. We’ll do this by helping you break poor posture habits and analyzing your home and work environments. This gives us feedback on how you can protect yourself from neck pain and not re-injure yourself.

In The Big Picture:

The goal is not to apply every treatment, but to select the right combination based on how your symptoms present.

Research shows that  physical medicine is a better treatment than surgery or pain medication for neck pain in most situations. The best-case scenario is you may entirely avoid the need for surgery or medicine altogether.

Activity modification is an essential aspect of avoiding painful situations. We’ll come up with a game plan that teaches you how to sit, sleep, and do daily living activities more efficiently.

Our physical therapy team will help you stay active around the house and avoid prolonged rest, which can be counterproductive. It is best to go on short walks several times a day to decrease pain and stiffness to help you feel better.

The general goals are to avoid surgery and medication and improve posture, mobility, flexibility, strength, and endurance. Then you will be able to resume doing the activities you love on a daily basis.

We also work with those who have had surgery, as well as their surgeon to regain motion and strength quickly.

 

Frequently Asked Questions About Neck Pain

What is the most common cause of neck pain?

Neck pain is often related to how the cervical spine is moving and handling daily stress. Factors like posture, muscle tension, joint stiffness, and repetitive strain can all contribute. In some cases, disc or nerve involvement may also play a role.

How do I know if my neck pain is muscle-related or something more serious?

Muscle-related neck pain is often more position-dependent and may improve or change with movement. Symptoms like radiating pain into the arm, numbness, weakness, or coordination changes should be evaluated more closely to rule out nerve involvement.

Can neck pain go away on its own?

Some cases of neck pain improve over time, especially when the underlying irritation settles. However, if symptoms persist, return frequently, or interfere with daily activity, it can be helpful to have them evaluated to better understand the cause.

What makes neck pain worse?

Common aggravating factors include prolonged sitting, poor posture, repetitive movements, and sudden increases in activity. In some cases, certain sleeping positions or stress-related muscle tension can also contribute.

When should I be concerned about neck pain?

It’s important to seek evaluation if you experience symptoms such as progressive weakness, numbness, loss of coordination, or pain that continues to worsen over time. If you’re unsure, it’s always reasonable to have symptoms checked early.

Can a pinched nerve in the neck go away on its own?

 

Some cases improve as irritation settles, but persistent or worsening symptoms should be evaluated to better understand the cause.

Call Today

Pain lasting more than a week is not normal and not good. Don’t delay your treatment. Safe, drug-free treatment options are available and effective. Speak to one of our expert team members today at 773.878.7330 or request your appointment online.