Neck Pain: Symptoms and Treatment

Neck pain is fairly common, yet relief seems elusive. How can that be? Truthfully, most people who suffer from neck pain aren’t doing much about it. The remedies that are being widely used include heat & ice at home or medications – narcotic or over-the-counter. Most people are not seeking professional help at all and those that are, are seeking it from their primary physician who is concerned only with cash back on pharmaceuticals and moving on to patient #20 of the day.

Meanwhile, your neck pain is torture. Not treating the area of discomfort can have long-term effects. One of them is the wiring of the nervous system. Chronic pain can affect the chemistry of the brain that can be related to depression symptoms. Many patients will notice migraines and headaches to form as a side effect from neck discomfort. Not only can pain affect the patient internally, but it can also affect your ability to do activities from your day to day life. You can’t move through your workday or your personal life with that kind of discomfort, so you’re taking days off of your salary and the things you love – or worse, trying to muddle through. You cannot correctly lift and move objects – or worse, you are doing it anyway and exacerbating the pain. You can’t sleep at night – or worse, you’re taking sleeping medication on top of your pain medication. All this is doing is making it worse by numbing a severe problem! Waiting for the pain to disappear on itself will not be beneficial in the long run. With chiropractic care, our doctors will treat the area of discomfort successfully and the results will be long-lasting.

So, what are the symptoms of neck pain?

The symptoms of a neck pain condition can vary from person to person. It depends first on how your neck pain came about such as being involved in strenuous activity or current work environment. For example, if you were injured in an automotive accident, your neck pain may manifest differently than someone whose pain is the result of arthritis, whose neck pain differs from he or she who is a fibromyalgia sufferer – and the list goes on! The pain can take place at the base of the head, throughout the neck’s length on any side, and can radiate into the shoulder girdle or upper chest, even the jaw! This pain can be shooting, burning, dull and achy, stinging, or even tingly and numb. These varying types of pain can indicate different issues are at work internally and should be handled accordingly by a chiropractor. No matter where the strain has originated from, chronic pain around the neck area should not be something a person has to live with.

Neck Pain Causes

Just as we have discussed here, there are so many different ways that a person’s neck pain can arise and there is a myriad of reasons for why it stays or comes and goes. 

• Pain from injury or trauma to the neck.
• Pain from strain
• Residual pain
• Pain from repetitive motion or lifestyle
• Pain from spinal subluxation
• Pain from illness or genetics

Treatment

Depending on what type(s) of pain you experience, the location, the frequency, the duration, and the cause – our doctor of chiropractic can determine a course of action to restore you. Every treatment is different from patient to patient. When patients visit our offices, our doctors will create an individualized treatment plan specifically designed for the patient. Our doctors will analyze the patient’s neck, but also examine other areas that can be causing discomfort.

Preventing neck problems

When your neck pain has been eliminated, it is vital to take action in preventing future injury or deterioration with the help of our doctors in Wichita. Here at Drake Chiropractic, we specialize in creating solutions that will restore the feeling in your neck and can prevent future discomfort. We strive to relieve all pain our patients are experiencing.