Neck Pain Treatment in Lakeville
Given how much time people spend on their digital devices these days, it’s no wonder so many of them experience neck pain and have forward head posture. Oftentimes we see postural changes in the spine, where a person’s head will be lower than the shoulders, because most people work at a computer each day.
In our practice, Our Providers see many middle school and high school patients with poor posture due to spending inordinate amounts of time on their cell phones, tablets, and other devices. Constantly looking down to text, watching videos or other activity creates what’s been coined “text neck.”
“What we see is the neck starts to straighten out, instead of having a good lordotic curve, or a good curve in the spine straightens, that then puts more pressure on your discs. Eventually, the low back discs lose their ability to retain water. They dehydrate, and arthritis sets in,” said Dr. Jake.
Associated Tension Headaches
That is why the cervicogenic or tension headache is the most common headache we see, because it relates to the person’s neck, and the person’s neck is in pain because of the posture they have now. It’s not necessarily a patient’s fault. We live in a stressful world, and every person has various external stressors that can cause neck pain and headaches.
Our goal is to find out if you have a systemic posture issue or if only the neck is affected. We’ll also ask if you work at the computer for long hours, and how your desk is set up.
Usually, we’ll see a lot of tension in a patient’s suboccipital group, which is right below the base of the skull. We’ll see a lot of tight pecs, and significant tightness or tension right above the shoulder blades, because the muscles on the shoulder blades are what is trying to reach up and pull a person’s head back from being so far in front of their body.
If your neck isn’t moving, chiropractic can help break up the fixations. “I equate chiropractic care to WD-40® on a rusty bolt. If somebody is 40 years old, that’s never been adjusted before their spine is very rusty. If somebody is 15 years old and spends eight hours a day on social media, even though they’re young and healthy, their spine is probably just as rusty,” said Dr. Jake.
The goal is to try to get movement into the spinal joints. By doing so, postural change that the body is experiencing isn’t as magnified or accentuated. Once movement is restored to the spine, we can retrain muscles to stretch and elongate or tighten, engage and rework where they’re supposed to. Both of those are equally important. We also evaluate if someone has upper cross syndrome or lower cross syndrome.
Our Provider will perform a consultation, and evaluation, and determine the best way to approach your neck pain. He offers various chiropractic techniques, including Diversified, a hands-on method, and the Activator® and ArthroStim® instruments, which provide gentle and precise adjustments.
In addition to providing care, Our Provider can offer recommendations about ensuring your workstation is ergonomically set up.
Book an Appointment
If you’re suffering from neck pain, we are here to help. Contact Family Chiropractic and Wellness today to schedule an appointment.
