Everyone feels pain in their neck from time to time…right?
You’ve probably felt that pain after getting up in the morning or after sitting too long at work.
It usually goes away after a few hours. A day or two at worst.
But for some reason it’s staying around a little longer than normal this time so you start the search on what you can do to help stop your neck pain.
When it comes to treatment there are so many options to choose from you just don’t know where to begin. Chiropractor, Physiotherapist, Doctor, Exercises?
The list goes on.
So when is the right time to see a chiropractor for neck pain?
How Does A Chiropractor Help With Neck Pain
Before knowing when to see a chiropractor for neck pain, understanding what a chiropractor does is just as important.
Chiropractors specialise in assessment and treatment of the musculoskeletal system. Put simply they work on the interaction between the joints, muscles and nerves in the body and how they cause pain.
When you begin experiencing neck pain whether it’s happening for the first time or it’s happened time and time again there is always a change to the muscles and joints in the area.
A chiropractor can assess what’s causing the changes in your muscles and joints leading to your neck pain through a series of questions and examinations.
This will help determine what the best treatment is to stop your discomfort as quickly as possible.
When To See A Chiropractor for Neck Pain
Getting professional help for any pain you have is always advised but is seeing a chiropractor the right choice?
Especially when you’re suffering with neck pain that won’t go away you’ll do just about anything that helps as long as you know it’s safe.
There are many symptoms of neck pain that a chiropractor can help give you relief from. These symptoms include:
– Pain that is progressively getting worse
– Pain that continues to come and go
– Neck pain with tingling or electric pain into the arm or fingers which may be from a pinched nerve or neck bulging disc
– Neck pain on one or both sides of the neck that is limiting your movement
– Pain that is reduced by medication but comes back again when the medication wears off
– Neck pain that comes on with headaches (cervicogenic headaches)
What a Chiropractor Does For Your Neck Pain
The most important thing a chiropractor will do for you is diagnose your problem.
If any practitioner be it a doctor, physiotherapist or chiropractor begins treating you without a diagnosis make sure you get a second opinion before you go any further.
A chiropractor will ask about your symptoms to find the underlying cause of your pain. This will allow them to come up with a number of diagnosis which are confirmed through a series of examinations which include various movement tests of your neck to come up with a final diagnosis.
Treatment is then based specifically on your diagnosis…IF it’s determined as safe to treat you. Chiropractic treatment for neck pain will generally include:
Adjustments
That cracking noise you hear at a chiropractor can be pretty nerve racking.
If you like a lot of other people are hesitant to go to a chiropractor because of the cracking noise you hear put your mind at ease.
Neck adjustments involve a gentle movement of the joints in your neck that are restricting your necks movement. This help reduce tension and increase mobility in your spine.
While neck adjustments are extremely safe, if it’s something you don’t feel comfortable with there are various other techniques which can be used to still effectively get you out of pain. Communication is always key so let your chiropractor know if you’re ever feeling uncomfortable with anything.
Soft tissue work (Muscle releases and Massage)
Have you noticed how tight the muscles around your neck and shoulders get when you experience neck pain?
The muscles around your neck tighten up to protect your neck from movements that will cause it more pain. Funnily enough it can be the tight muscles around your neck because of poor posture which lead to your neck pain in the first place!
A chiropractor will assess which specific muscles have tightened up and perform certain muscle releases and soft tissue work to reduce the tension in your neck. Along with adjustments this can give you the best results for your pain.
Exercises
I know…neck pain exercises and neck stretches are the last thing you want to do when you can barely move your neck.
A chiropractor can help perform these exercises and stretches with you and combine them with specific rehabilitation to not only stop your pain but hopefully keep it away.
The exercises and stretches performed for your neck pain are specific to your problem to reduce tension in certain areas, increase the length of tight muscles and increase strength in weak muscles.
Seeing A Chiropractor For Neck Pain Can Help Give You Relief
A study by (Bryans. R, 2014) showed that chiropractic treatment which involved a combination of adjustments, manual therapy, soft tissue work and exercises had strong evidence for acute and chronic neck pain and was beneficial in giving effective neck pain relief.
When a chiropractor assesses, diagnoses and treats your neck pain it can be extremely helpful in finally helping you move your neck freely without pain.
If you are experiencing neck pain and think chiropractic neck pain treatment can give you relief call us today or book online to see if one of our Chiropractors in Sydney CBD can help you.
