Understanding Chronic Neck Pain

Understanding Chronic Neck Pain

Chronic neck pain is pain or discomfort in any part of the neck that lasts for 3 months or more. It can involve your muscles, nerves, vertebrae (bones of your spine), or discs in your spine. And it can vary from person to person.

Some neck pain is due to weak or overused muscles. This type of neck pain may hurt, but it typically won’t cause serious damage to your body. Other neck pain can be a symptom of more serious conditions and will need a higher level of medical attention. If you are just starting to feel neck pain, have chronic neck pain, or have neck pain that changes, see your chiropractic doctor. This is especially important if your pain is severe or radiates down your arm, or if you feel numbness, weakness, tingling, or shooting pain.

What Causes Chronic Neck Pain

There can be many causes of chronic neck pain. In many cases, chronic neck pain is caused by overworked muscles or joints. This type of neck pain often results from lack of exercise or poor posture. In other cases, neck pain is caused by an injury or another health problem.

Common causes of neck pain include:

• Poor posture at a desk
• Poor posture while driving (hunched over a steering wheel)
• Grinding your teeth
• Ongoing stress or personal problems (such as money or relationship problems)
• Arthritis or other joint problems
• Strained muscle or sprained ligament
• Bone diseases, such as osteoporosis
• Nerve compression caused by herniated discs or bone spurs
• Car accidents (whiplash)

Describing Your Pain

Knowing how to describe your pain can sometimes help your chiropractor understand the causes of your neck pain. It can help if you are able to tell him or her:

• When you feel pain (e.g. in the morning, after work, when you move your head a certain way)
• The intensity of your pain (e.g. mild, moderate, severe)
• Which activities you think may be linked to your pain
• What makes your pain better or worse

Here are some words you can also use to help describe what you are feeling:

• Achy – This is a dull, deep pain and can be continuous or intermittent.
• Cramping – This pain comes and goes and can feel like a spasm.
• Dull – This is a mild pain that is hard to localize. It may be a feeling of pressure or tightness.
• Heavy -This pain feels like something is pulling, pushing, pressing, or squeezing your neck.
• Hot or burning -With this pain, you might feel a warm sensation in the spot of pain.
• Numbness – This is a loss of sensation or a decrease in the perception of touch.
• Sharp or stabbing – This is a sudden or intense pain in a specific location.
• Shooting – This is a pain that travels or moves quickly through your neck to other areas, such as down your arm.
• Tender or sore – This is a pain that is sensitive to the touch or feels like a bruise.
• Throbbing or pounding – This is a pain that is repetitive, beating, or pulsating.
• Tingling or prickly – This pain could feel stinging, itchy, or like pins and needles.

The more your chiropractor knows about your chronic neck pain, the better he or she will be at creating the most effective treatment plan for you. At County Line Chiro, our doctors will design a customized care plan unique to your medical history, the cause of your injury, and the symptoms that are causing you to suffer from chronic neck pain so you can begin healing from the source of the pain – naturally and effectively.

Make sure to ask your chiropractor if there are any tests, referrals, or treatments that might be helpful to use along with your current treatment plan. Other treatment options may include the following: physical therapy, acupuncture, massage therapy, medicines and other services (such as occupational therapy). Call County Line Chiropractic today to schedule an appointment at one of our five chiropractic locations in South Florida!