Nearly 75% of all adult Americans suffer from some type of neck pain. Sometimes this pain stems from stress or emotional issues, other times it is from poor posture or an inadequate pillow used while sleeping at night, creating a misalignment of the spine. But more often than not, neck pain can be attributed to some type of trauma that occurred recently or even years earlier. This trauma can be from a fall at work or home or from a vehicular accident. Either way, this pain can be successfully treated using a holistic approach through chiropractic care.

Neck pain can be attributed to what is called an upper cervical subluxation, where there is a misalignment of the joints in the spine. This misalignment can then cause misinformation to be sent from vital organs to the brain and is a host to all kinds of physical ailments. Although this misalignment is not a total dislocation, it is still a very serious and very painful problem that plagues millions of Americans, and sometimes for their entire lives if they don't treat the problem correctly.

One type of injury that is a significant cause of neck pain is whiplash. Whiplash occurs when the neck is snapped forwards and backwards in a quick motion that can tear the ligaments in the spine. Symptoms can be as obvious as neck and shoulder pain and a headache. The less obvious symptoms which have been reported would be tingling in the arms and legs, blurred vision or ringing in the ears. Whiplash can be tricky to diagnose since it deals with the spinal cord and soft tissues surrounding it. Sometimes whiplash victims have no symptoms for weeks, months, or even a year after the trauma has occurred. If the problem isn't corrected, your quality of life will be greatly reduced and can lead to more physical pain elsewhere in the body.

Because whiplash can take a while to present itself, further damage can be done if repeated blunt force trauma happens to the neck. Pinched nerves, slipped discs, and pain in your arms, chest, back, and even throat can all be symptoms of whiplash. It is known that those who suffer this kind of trauma have also reported a higher incidence of broken ankles and wrists and studies have shown that there is a higher tendency towards depression, anxiety, and migraine headaches. In many physicians' circles, whiplash has even been thought of as the 'mystery injury'because it is sometimes hard to connect other symptoms to this one trauma.

But what can be done? That question is easily answered by seeing a chiropractor. Because chiropractors receive intense training on the spine and its connection to a healthy body, they are at the forefront of spinal injury treatments. They can diagnose and treat you in a relatively pain free manner and with no drugs or downtime required. By manipulating the vertebrate in the spine and loosening the muscles in the neck and shoulders, a chiropractor can slowly help your neck movement return to normal. Full range of motion may take several visits, but you should feel improvement within the first two or three.