What's Causing Your Neck Pain?
By Sara Butler
The chiropractors at The Joint see many patients for the first time because they’re experiencing neck pain. It might be something they wake up with or it might be pain that tends to surface later in the day. Regardless of when it strikes, most people have a hard time connecting the dots between their pain and the cause of it. Here’s what you need to know about neck pain and how the chiropractors at The Joint can help.
The Problem with Stiff Necks
A stiff, painful neck can be more than just a little inconvenience. It can really impact your ability to navigate through your day. Most of the time, people don’t have the pain addressed because it tends to go away on its own after a few days or a week. In the short-term that’s a good thing, but in the long-term, it’s important to understand what brought your neck pain and stiffness about so that you can deal with the underlying cause.
The Most Common Causes
A stiff, painful neck is often the result of a soft tissue sprain or muscle strain. In fact, it’s one particular muscle that tends to be the culprit most of the time, a muscle called the levator scapulae, located on the back and side of your neck that connects your spine to your shoulder. The common causes of temporary and minor injury to this muscle are:
- Sleep – If you slept in an awkward position, such as sitting, this can cause issues with the muscle.
- Sudden movement – If you slipped or participated in a sport that caused you to react with a sudden movement that turned your head to the side, then this can cause problems.
- Repeated action – Any action you repeat that moves your head from side to side can cause issues, such as swimming.
- Posture problems – Poor posture is a huge cause of neck issues, often the result of a forward head position many people use when on a handheld electronic device.
- Stress – Stress can cause tension in the muscles of the neck that lead to pain and discomfort.
How the Chiropractor Can Help
The chiropractors at The Joint don’t simply want to treat your symptoms, they want to discover what’s going on under the surface to target the cause of your neck pain and discomfort so it can be treated.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Magnolia, Tex.