Chiropractic adjustments and neck pain have been associated for over 2,000 years. Long before Chiropractic has been recognized by the mainstream medical community in the United States, it was being widely used in the early civilizations of Greece, India, and China to alleviate neck pain and other forms of pain.
A common misconception of chiropractic care is that chiropractors work by twisting your neck in different directions. While chiropractors are widely credited for their effective spinal adjustment techniques (In the case of the neck, it is called cervical adjustment.), they also use other forms of therapeutic tools. Massage therapy, exercise, and diet are also used to supplement the primary spinal adjustment.
Chiropractors believe that a misaligned spine can create pressure on the spinal nerves therefore causing improper functioning of the nervous system. Head, neck, back, and limb pain can be the result of these setbacks. Through hands-on spinal adjustment, chiropractors can correct the misaligned bone to relieve the spinal nerve pressure, allowing the body to heal itself. Chiropractic care may often require more than one visit and the supplementary therapeutic solutions to fully alleviate the pain and bring back the body's original healthy condition.
When someone says they have neck pain, it is not surprising to hear another person suggest Chiropractic care. In cases where the pain is caused by postural strain (the kind caused by sitting in front of the computer all day), injuries (caused by motor vehicle accidents and whiplash), bulging discs and herniations, and osteoarthritis and other degenerative diseases reminiscent of aging, chiropractic can be a viable solution. It is extremely important that the chiropractor use all diagnostic tools to thoroughly examine other factors that may be causing the pain. If and when the practitioner discovers a fracture or an organic disease, he will refer the patient to an appropriate doctor who will address the proper treatments for the specific conditions.
Anyone can receive chiropractic care for pain, but it is important that a chiropractor first does a thorough exam that consists of orthopedic and neurological tests before devising a chiropractic program for his patient. Posture is one of the first things to be examined. If the chiropractor detects an abnormal curvature of the spine, called scoliosis, or if one of the shoulders or hips is lower than the other, there must be reason to believe that something is wrong. However, posture is not the only important thing that completely indicates the need for chiropractic care. The practitioner also examines the patient's range of motion, muscle tone, and strength.
