Hi, my name’s Dr. David LeClerc. I’m one of the doctors here at Corrective Care Chiropractic in Westford, Massachusetts.
How Common Is Neck Pain?
You might be asking, what about neck pain? How common is it? Well, right now, 30% of the U.S. population is dealing with neck pain, and within a person’s life, 70% of the U.S. population will get it.
Why is it so common? It’s technology. It’s driving our necks to get worse. We’re looking down at our phones, or we’re taught at a young age to look at our iPads. That’s why we’re seeing more and more neck pain and neck pain problems.
What Makes Up the Cervical Anatomy?
Cervical anatomy is made up of the cervical spine, which is C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, and C7.
However, when we’re dealing with neck pain, it can be coming from the occiput, the cervical spine, or the thoracic spine. Okay, so we can’t rule out those areas that could be causing your neck pain.
Is Neck Pain From the Disc or Muscle?
People always ask us that in the office. Well, as a Gonstead chiropractor, our basis—our theory—is that all issues stem from the cervical, thoracic, or lumbar disc.
When that disc is out of good alignment, that’s going to interfere with the other structures, such as the facets and the surrounding muscles. Make sense?
The Effects of Cervical Subluxation
The effects of cervical subluxation occur when the bone is jarred out of healthy alignment. That disc will be irritated, and that irritation will irritate the nerve, not allowing the nerve to function properly and causing symptoms.
Typical Treatments for Neck Pain
Typical treatments that I see a lot of patients do include taking medication. Maybe, if it’s a herniated disc, they’ll do cortisone shots or use a cervical collar if it’s a car accident.
Our Course of Chiropractic Care
Our course of treatment is, first of all, let’s make sure that it isn’t medical treatment, okay?
But if it is a chiropractic case, the way we take care of it is that we’ll take X-rays, use a scope, motion palpate, static palpate, and figure out which disc in that cervical, upper thoracic, or occipital layer is stuck.
We get that joint to function properly, get that pressure off the nerve, and the body can heal itself. That’s how we do our care here at Corrective Care Chiropractic.
