Neck and Back Pain Explained

Chiropractic is most famously known for caring for patients with back and neck pain.  When the muscles of the back or neck are overused with repetitive actions, the muscles can tighten.  The same thing happens to the neck and back muscles with poor posture as well as sprains and strains.

When the back and neck muscles tighten, they tend to tighten unevenly.  Meaning more on one side of the spine than the other.  The uneven tightening and pulling of the muscles creates an instability in the spine.  The muscles pull and cause shifts in the alignment of the spinal bones.

Once that happens, the muscle tissue become unbalanced, stretched and irritated.  This then causes the aforementioned neck and back pain, as well as restriction of motion.

Over time, the muscles get used to being stretched and the pain will gradually go away (in simples cases).  The major problem is that when the pain goes away, the spinal bones are still malaligned which creates even more spinal instability.  And, even worse, friction on the boney surface of the spinal joints is left to gradually cause bone degenration commonly called arthritis.

One last problem with the alignment issue is that when the neck or back bones are in the wrong position, the openings in which the spinal nerves exit the spine are compromised.  This places pressure on the nerve roots, irritating the nerves and disrupting neural impulse flow.

The disruption in neural impulse flow negatively effects function in the body, eventually causing symptoms to the areas the nerves control.  This could be not only the muscles, but also the systems and organs in the body such as digestive, cardiovascular, immune, endocrine and reproductive, etc.

As you can guess, your muscle pain may be gone, but now you have spinal instability which means at some point due to the spinal misalignment ( called vertebral subluxation), your muscle pain will come back and more than likely it will be worse than the original neck and back pain.

Lastly, the nerves will continue to have pressure, disrupting function and health, as well as the slow and steady increase in bone / joint degeneration (arthritis).

This is why it is extremely important not to ignore your neck and back aches thinking that it will "just go away."  The pain will, but the underlying problem will persist and become a much bigger issue.

Chiropractors are big proponents of not just treating symptoms, but correcting the underlying cause of the problem -  muscular caused spinal misalignment (subluxation).

The Chiropractor will analyze your spine using palpation, reflexes, muscle testing and even x-rays if necessary.

Spinal adjustments to correct the problem are very simple.  Some are performed with gentle hand adjustments and others with hi tech low force , easy peasy adjusting instruments.

The vast majority of patients find the chiropractic adjustments to feel good and have a relaxing and calming effect on the body.

Make an appointment today!!

Health First Chiropractic Clinics with chiropractors Dr. J. Zimmerman and Dr. JC Carr is a chiropractic clinic based in the Smithville section of Galloway, NJ with a satellite clinic in Northfield, NJ. Providing full chiropractic services specializing in pregnancy care, pediatric care of children, sports injuries, concussion management and traditional chiropractic care for neck pain, headaches, lower back pain and sciatica.  If you are looking for a chiropractor that can provide quality, specialized chiropractic care in the Smithville section of Galloway or in the Northfield area, Health First Chiropractic Clinics is for you.

Author

Dr J. Zimmerman, Chiropractor Dr. Zimmerman is a practicing chiropractor from Galloway, NJ with 30 years of chiropractic practice.