Neck Pain Treatment In Portland, ME
Neck pain is a common problem and complaint we see a lot at Chiropractic & Sports Health. Neck pain can affect many aspects of daily life, such as sleeping, working at a computer, and driving. The important thing for you is that you can heal and move forward from this pain. Read on to learn more about our approach and treatment plan.
It is estimated that roughly 50% of people will experience chronic or recurring neck pain in their lifetime. If you feel like you fall into this percentage, it’s vital for you to find out what is wrong and how to fix it. Believe it or not, many people who experience chronic neck pain can still get better!
Neck pain can be complicated, and the first goal is to find out the underlying cause and why your pain won’t go away. Neck pain is often linked to acute injury, poor posture, and arthritic change, just to name a few. Regardless of the cause of your pain, in most cases, you need to address your neck’s function and deficits. A person’s neck is supposed to move in many ranges of motion and requires both stability AND mobility to work correctly. A person’s alignment, strength, and mobility must be corrected to resolve persistent neck pain properly. Without fixing these underlying issues, your neck pain will likely return or never go away
How We Treat Neck Pain in Portland, ME
Comprehensive Consultation and Examination
At Chiropractic & Sports Health, we focus on you and your lifestyle to fully understand the cause of your pain. We will take a thorough history of your injury along with a look at your daily life and general health history to attain a complete picture of your health and the causes of your pain. While doing so, we will collect knowledge of your current state of health, strength, flexibility, posture, and alignment. Once we have gained enough information about you and your pain, we can answer every patient's question: What’s wrong? How can we help? How long will it take to get better?
Specific Chiropractic Care in Portland, ME
Once we have determined the cause of your injury and created your custom treatment plan, our next step is to start helping you get better! Our treatment methods involve a combination of therapies to help improve your overall function. Each therapy is designed to help you regain strength, mobility, balance, and alignment.
Our chiropractic adjustment is designed to help restore your mobility and alignment. In cases of neck pain, many joints of the spine become stiff and lose their normal range of motion. As chiropractors, our goal is to locate these areas of restriction and restore their proper mobility with the adjustment.
Corrective Exercise
In combination with the adjustment comes your personalized exercise instruction. Our office teaches specific treatment protocols for neck pain to address the lack of function contributing to an injured neck. Our system typically begins with postural correction, stretches, and mobility drills. As you progress and improve, we build you further with strengthening exercises to help improve your stability. The goal for your care is not a temporary fix but one that will give you long-lasting relief that prevents future issues. Our focused exercise protocols will help you get there.
Muscle Therapy
Sometimes people have more intense muscle spasms and adhesions that limit movement and trigger discomfort. In these cases, we also offer therapies to help reduce pain and loosen tight muscles. These therapies include muscle stimulation therapies and myofascial techniques to help release muscles that are stiffening up. Combining these techniques will help you improve your motion and help keep your joints moving better.
Common Causes of Neck Pain
Tech Neck
Tech neck, or text neck, is a term used to describe neck pain and discomfort resulting from prolonged and repetitive use of electronic devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and computers. It’s derived from the forward head posture and increased stress on the neck and upper spine that often occurs when using these devices.
For every inch that your head moves forward, an extra 10 lbs of stress is added to your neck muscles to keep your head up. Prolonged forward head posture can lead to muscular imbalances, with some muscles becoming tight and others weakening. The muscles at the front of the neck and upper chest may become tight and shortened, while the muscles at the back of the neck and upper back may become weakened and lengthened. This imbalance can contribute to neck pain, shoulder tension, and postural issues.
The increased stress and strain on the neck and upper spine can result in neck pain, stiffness, and discomfort. Individuals may experience aching or soreness in the neck and shoulders, as well as headaches, reduced neck mobility, and muscle fatigue.
Preventing or managing tech neck involves adopting healthier habits and ergonomic practices when using electronic devices. Chiropractic care improves spinal structure to reinforce better posture and uses customized exercises to strengthen the muscles in the neck to stabilize that structure.
Whiplash
Whiplash is an injury to the neck that occurs due to a rapid back-and-forth head motion, typically caused by a sudden forceful impact or acceleration-deceleration movement. It commonly occurs in car accidents, particularly rear-end collisions, but it can also result from sports injuries, falls, or physical assault.
Whiplash can cause a variety of symptoms, which may appear immediately or develop over time. Common symptoms include neck pain and stiffness, headaches (often originating from the base of the skull), shoulder pain, dizziness, blurred vision, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, memory problems, and radiating pain into the arms. Some individuals may also experience jaw pain, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), sleep disturbances, and emotional or psychological effects.
Chiropractic care for whiplash aims to relieve pain, promote healing, restore function, and prevent long-term complications. We focus on immediate pain relief and restoring the damaged structure underneath. Whiplash treatments that only focus on pain and neglect the structural damage run the risk of exacerbating the injury leading to chronic neck pain and dysfunction.
Subluxation
A subluxation is a joint that is not properly aligned or functioning optimally. This can occur due to trauma, repetitive stress, poor posture, or muscle imbalances.
Subluxations can create pressure or irritation on nerves, affecting the communication between the brain and the rest of the body. Our nervous system controls every aspect of our body, so a disruption in normal nerve flow can lead to a variety of health problems. Nerve irritation in the neck can lead to shoulder pain, numbness and tingling in the arms, headaches and migraines, jaw pain, and sensory issues.
Chiropractic adjustments are our greatest tool to correct these misalignments and restore the body to optimal function. After an exam to locate the subluxation, we use a gentle, specific force on the affected joints restoring proper alignment, relieving nerve pressure, and improving joint function.
Muscle Strain
A muscle strain, also known as a pulled muscle or muscle tear, refers to an injury when a muscle or its tendons (the fibrous cords that attach muscles to bones) are overstretched or torn. Muscle strains can range from mild to severe, depending on the extent of the injury. They commonly occur during physical activities that involve sudden or forceful movements, excessive stretching, or improper use of muscles.
The most common symptoms of a muscle strain include pain, tenderness, swelling, bruising, and limited range of motion in the affected muscle or joint. In more severe cases, there may be muscle weakness or difficulty using the muscle.
By adjusting the spine and other joints, we can help relieve muscle tension and improve joint mobility. Adjustments may also reduce nerve irritation and enhance the body's natural healing process. Aligning the spinal structure will bring balance to the body and allow the muscles to work as designed. We also provide exercises and stretches to improve flexibility, stability, and muscle balance, to prevent future injury and enhance overall recovery.
Check Out Our Location Near You
Portland
15 Sewall Street
Portland, ME 04102
Phone:
207-347-2205
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it ok to crack my own neck?
While your neck may “pop” naturally as you take it through its range of motion, trying to adjust your own neck is not advised. Chiropractic adjustments are specific to the vertebra that are misaligned. Cracking your neck risks moving vertebrae that do not need adjusting and creating new problems.
When should you see a chiropractor for neck pain?
Immediately. Pain is our body’s way of telling us something is wrong. It is also the last symptom to arise from an injury, which means if you’re experiencing neck pain, the cause of that pain has been around for a while.
Is massage or chiropractic better for neck pain?
If your neck pain is solely related to muscle tension, massage will help relieve the tension. Chiropractic care addresses structural issues leading to nerve irritation, muscle weakness, and imbalance. Using both in conjunction is the best way to get rid of neck pain.
How can I relieve my neck pain?
Chiropractic care to address structural irregularities, custom exercises to strengthen and stabilize the neck muscles, and muscle work to improve range of motion.