One of the most common types of pain that a person can experience is neck pain. However, a common problem does not mean that we know everything about it or that you can trust everything you read online. Here are some of the biggest misconceptions about neck pain, so you can dispel wrong ideas and get a better grip on the problem that you are facing. We will conclude by offering hope that natural neck pain relief may be possible for you and your family.
Rest is certainly important when you are dealing with neck pain, but you don’t want to be completely immobile unless there is serious structural damage. Lack of activity can make the pain worse. And if your problem is your pillow or your sleep position, laying in bed certainly is not the solution. You also have to consider your activities while resting. Craning your neck to binge-watch a show using a mobile device isn’t going to give your neck the opportunity it needs to heal.
Don’t give into the idea that your pain is imaginary just because a doctor fails to find the underlying cause in the early attempts. Sometimes neck pain is the result of a longstanding underlying issue. At other times, it comes on acutely due to things like poor posture. Plus, there are some underlying causes that your family doctor is never going to discover. For example, an atlas (C1) misalignment only has to be off by a fraction of a millimeter to cause changes that will lead to pain. However, that would not show on a regular x-ray.
Sure, neck pain is more common the older a person is, but that doesn’t make a symptom of aging. This sort of attitude causes some to stop looking for the source of their pain, assuming it is something they are just going to have to live with from now on. True, some damage that a person has sustained throughout life may not be repairable but seeking the underlying cause of pain and trying to fix it as much as possible will reduce pain, if not eliminate it altogether.
There’s actually another type of work that can be even tougher on your neck – sitting in an office. Office jobs are the more coveted form of work, but the lack of ergonomics and exercise in most modern workplaces is the recipe for neck pain.
If you work in an office, be sure that monitors are at eye level to prevent ending up with a forward head position. Watch out for mobile device use as well. Checking your phone a hundred times per day will put a major strain on your neck. Sitting is tough on the spine in general, so be sure to get up and stretch every 20 minutes or so.
Unfortunately, once you’ve been using poor posture for a long time, proper posture can be what starts to feel unnatural. In fact, forcing yourself into proper posture may at first lead to fatigue, although using good posture should actually give you more energy. If you have reached this point, it means that there are misalignments working against your posture. Having those misalignments corrected is key to getting proper posture to feel natural again.
No one likes to be in pain, but maybe you feel that your neck pain isn’t a big deal and you should just tough it out. However, research in Australia says otherwise. The researchers found that pain in the spine led to a 13% increase in mortality rate. The length of time that a person was dealing with the pain added more to the mortality rate. Therefore, it is important to get neck pain fixed as soon as possible.
For long-term neck pain relief, the precise adjustments of upper cervical chiropractic care are preferable. This focused form of care starts with precise diagnostic imaging of the C1 and C2 vertebrae. Then, custom adjustments are tailored to meet each patient’s needs with mathematical calculations. Finally, the safe and gentle adjustments are administered by hand or with an adjusting instrument. There is no twisting or popping of the neck.
Once the top bones of the neck are in proper alignment, the pressure is removed from all along the neck and back. Normal posture will feel more natural and be easier to maintain. As you work to hold your adjustments, your body will continue to heal, and the short-term benefits turn into long-term effects.
If you are suffering from neck pain, don’t fall for the common misconceptions that stop people from seeking the right kind of care. Upper cervical chiropractic has helped many patients, especially those with a history of head or neck trauma, to experience better overall health and wellbeing besides having less neck pain.
To learn more, contact a practitioner in your local area. The search feature on this will help you to locate one of our preferred doctors. The initial consultation may be your first step on the path to getting rid of that neck pain for good.
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The content and materials provided in this web site are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to supplement or comprise a medical diagnosis or other professional opinion, or to be used in lieu of a consultation with a physician or competent health care professional for medical diagnosis and/or treatment. All content and materials including research papers, case studies and testimonials summarizing patients' responses to care are intended for educational purposes only and do not imply a guarantee of benefit. Individual results may vary, depending upon several factors including age of the patient, severity of the condition, severity of the spinal injury, and duration of time the condition has been present.
