Everyone experiences a stiff neck once in a while. Stiffness in the neck may be due to an improper sleeping position, long working hours or a stressful lifestyle. You might consider it normal but that’s not what a chiropractor thinks. You need to visit a chiropractor if you experience stiffness or pain in the neck for a prolonged period of time.
Choosing Chiropractic Treatment For Neck Pain:
When you visit chiropractors for severe neck pain, they will conduct a small examination to identify the actual source of the neck pain. Chiropractors might also ask some questions about different symptoms that would help them in giving you an appropriate treatment and chiropractic remedies. Some of the common questions a chiropractor might ask you are:
- When did you experience neck pain for the first time?
- Did you try any home remedies to get rid of neck pain?
Your chiropractor might also suggest a physical and/or neurological examination to judge the intensity of the pain.
Physical Chiropractic Examination:
During the physical chiropractic exam, your doctor would observe your body posture, the range of movement of the neck, and the physical condition of the neck. Moreover, a chiropractor will feel your spine, muscle spasm, its curvature, and alignment.
Chiropractic Neurological Examination: With the help of neurological examination, chiropractors can understand the nerve reflexes, neck muscle strength, and the affected area.
By conducting examinations, chiropractors can develop a personalized treatment program that generally combines more than one type of therapy and meets various needs of the patient. Chiropractic neck treatment may include neck adjustment, massages, rehabilitative exercises, and/or spine manipulation.
Chiropractic Neck Adjustments:
The chiropractic neck adjustment is considered to be the most accurate and effective treatment that is applied to the joints of the neck. The pressure is applied at the trigger points with hands or special chiropractic equipment. The main focus of neck adjustment therapy is to improve the mobility of the spine and re-establish the motion of stiff muscles. Almost 80 percent of patients have experienced a reduction in pain, soreness, and stiffness; thanks to this method.
Rehabilitative or Therapeutic Chiropractic Exercises:
With the help of these exercises, patients can improve the overall range of motion in the neck and prevent further progression of their pain.
Neck Treatment – Cervical Manual Traction:
In this technique or treatment, the patient must lay face up or sit straight and the chiropractor will gently pull on the neck. He or she will stretch the cervical spine at different angles in the forward and backward motion to reduce the tightness of the neck muscles. Chiropractors generally combine this technique with neck mobilization to gain faster results.
Summary:
Chiropractic care or chiropractic service is a non-surgical or non-invasive method to reduce neck pain. It does not focus on medication that might develop some side effects– instead, chiropractic care uses various natural therapies to cure the issues of neck pain. After providing effective treatment, chiropractors recommend maintaining good body posture, developing regular exercise habits, adopting proper sleep habits, and taking short breaks between long working hours. These steps will help prevent the return of neck pain.
