Neck Pain

Neck Pain

Did you know that neck pain is the fourth leading cause of disability worldwide¹? 

This statistic should not be that surprising if we observe our lifestyles, often spending hours at our desks or slumped over our devices.

Understanding the Neck

The cervical spine, or neck, is made up of 7 bones and an intricate network of nerves, joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons,  fascia and blood vessels. It functions as the base for the skull and carries the spinal cord from the brainstem to the rest of the body.  

The range of movement produced by the joints in the neck make it the most mobile part of the spine.  Mobility comes with a price however, as it is also most susceptible to injury. Disruption to any of its delicate structures could create stiffness or pain. Whether it’s a dull ache that slows you down or excruciating pain that severely affects your ability to function, the symptoms should not be ignored.   

When you go to the doctor because something hurts, they usually check the spot that hurts to figure out what’s wrong. But sometimes, the pain is just a sign of a bigger problem somewhere else in your body. It’s like when you have a leak in your roof and water starts to puddle on the floor. The puddle is the pain, but the real problem is the leak. If you just keep mopping up the puddle, it will keep coming back and cause more damage.

The same thing can happen with your body. Painkillers or surgery might help for a little while, but if the real problem isn’t fixed, the pain will come back. So it’s important to find the source of the problem and fix it for good.

The next step

The solution lies in looking at the body as a whole and not only focusing on the site of the pain.  A great way to do this is to assess your posture and analyse how your body is holding itself upright. This gives insight into the condition of your spine and more importantly, the function of your nervous system. Chiropractors are experts in posture and motion of the spine and can help determine the source of the problem. Chiropractic has been repeatedly shown as an effective approach for neck pain and could help you too².