Neck Pain Treatment in Citrus Heights, CA

Herniated Disc

Herniated discs, bulging discs, and prolapsed discs are different names for the same underlying condition: prolonged abnormal postural stressors and poor nutrient exchange due to lack of segmental motion section movement (one vertebra in relation to the adjacent). The disc acts as a spacer, a shock absorber, and a flexible fulcrum that allows the inflexible bones to move.

Rarely addressed is that the disc is also a sensory organ that provides the data surrounding gravitational stress and acceleration/deceleration, so-called G-force, necessary for optimum muscle contraction and reflex responses. This results in the body turning up the muscle tone to stabilize and guard the spine, spinal cord, and nerve it protects. Somewhat paradoxically, this defensive program can actually promote accelerated aging of those structures if not appropriately addressed. As the disc becomes dehydrated due to poor nutrient exchange, the fibers become brittle and prone to repeated micro tears, resulting in discopathies. If not appropriately addressed, a herniated or bulging disc in the neck can press on nearby nerves, causing neck pain that radiates to the shoulders, arms, or hands.

Disc damage can lead to excruciating pain and nerve damage if not addressed immediately. Don’t let your condition get worse—early intervention is key to avoiding permanent damage.

Muscle Strain

Overuse of neck muscles is cited as a cause of neck pain, yet rational people note that “exercise” is often the solution! The reality is that underuse is most often the issue. Asymmetry of support muscles creates accelerated wear and tear of joint surfaces, discs, and inflammation. Direct injuries such as contusions and sudden movements (like whiplash from a car accident) can cause actual muscle strain, micro tears that create inflammatory chemicals, and thus pain.

Muscle imbalance and poor posture could silently damage your neck. Every minute of poor posture adds additional wear and tear to your spine, leading to pain and permanent damage. That’s why correcting your posture before developing chronic neck pain is critical.

Cervical Radiculopathy or Pinched Nerve

When a nerve in the neck is compressed or irritated, it can cause neck pain that radiates down into the arms and hands, often accompanied by numbness or weakness – commonly misdiagnosed as “carpal tunnel syndrome” or “frozen shoulder.” The sensory aspect of these nerves also goes into the chest area and can be misdiagnosed as heart issues or panic attacks. These nerves also provide the perception of the mid back, that “dagger in the shoulder blade” feeling. Treatments focused on the area of pain but ignore the root cause are often temporary at best and almost always allow the actual cause to worsen.

If you’re experiencing pain, numbness, or weakness radiating from your neck, it could be a sign of a pinched nerve. Waiting too long can lead to permanent nerve damage. Don’t ignore the warning signs.

Osteoarthritis

Wear and tear on the joints in the neck due to circumstances previously listed can lead to osteoarthritis, causing neck pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility. Many don’t realize that bone is “alive”. The cells that lay, build, repair, and reshape bone and connective tissues respond to the stress demands of the forces of use, abuse, and gravity.

Surprisingly to many, this is actually a “healthy response to unhealthy mechanics”; over time, the modifications that add stability to chronic repeated distresses become significant contributors to additional, even exponential, deterioration of all those structures. The end result is chronic inflammation and neck pain.

Poor Posture

Prolonged poor posture, such as slouching, peering down at a tablet or phone, or hunching over a computer, can strain the muscles, ligaments, and joints in the neck. These structures are the “guy wires” that link one vertebra to the next, groups of vertebrae in consort that allow a vertical upright position (posture).

Forward head positions and slouching change the weight distribution, and the load on the supports increases. Try holding a weight near your body and then away from your body; the weight doesn’t change, but the load is notably different!

Cervical Disc Degeneration

Aging is often cited as a common cause, yet all the discs would age similarly if this were true. Time is a factor but not a cause in itself. Repetition of sub-optimal factors such as physical fitness, symmetry, nutritional habits, and exposure to toxins all result in the discs in the neck losing flexibility and cushioning, leading to pain and stiffness, commonly resulting in conditions like cervical spondylosis (“spurs”) as well as disc bulging or herniation. Ironically, the resulting loss of mobility due to discomfort further decreases the nutrient exchange that keeps the disc(s) healthy and supple, accelerating “aging.”

Whiplash Injury

This type of injury occurs not only from car accidents but from any sudden acceleration or deceleration of the body in relation to the head, resulting in the neck suddenly and forcefully being whipped back and forth. Sports injuries, amusement park rides, and even “head banging” at concerts can cause “whiplash.” These forces result in strain or micro tears and, ultimately, inflammation and neck pain within days of the injury. Understandably, but unfortunately, most turn to pain medications but ignore proper rehabilitation of these injuries, leading to chronic problems like those previously listed.

Emotional Stress and Tension

Emotional stress can cause muscles in the neck to tighten, leading to pain and discomfort. This reality is actually by “design”. Involuntary contraction of the neck and trap muscles is “hard-wired” into our physiology to prevent immediate damage to the spinal cord. If we shift our thinking from “stress” to “fear of threat or potential harm,” this automated reaction begins to make more sense. The “threat” response is triggered precisely the same way regardless of that threat being falling off a roof, running from a bear, or being late to work due to traffic. While the perception of circumstances being a threat or not is largely psychological, the outcome of chronically tense muscles creates actual structural damage over time. Dealing with only one of these factors most often produces poor outcomes.

Stress-related neck pain can become a constant companion if left unchecked. Muscles tighten in response to emotional stress, but that tension can lead to lasting damage. Don’t let stress rob you of your well-being.

As you can see, while medicine breaks these issues down separately, they are, in fact, all interrelated. Like points on a circle, one (or more) may be the first to notice, but at some point, all become involved if the cycle is not interrupted and corrected. What these all have in common is a specific condition known as Vertebral Subluxation. Detecting and correcting vertebral subluxation is the focus of modern chiropractic care.

At River City Chiropractic, we specialize in addressing each of the contributors to neck pain and provide not only precise and effective chiropractic adjustments but also additional non-drug therapies, nutritional supplements, and dietary and exercise guidance to more completely rehabilitate and avoid continued damage to your neck spine and nerve system. In other words, at River City Chiropractic, our goal is to provide optimum care for your whole body so that you can experience the life you were designed to live!