Most
people do not realize how much they move their neck during the day until
they are unable to do so. The degree of flexibility of the neck, coupled
with the fact that it has the least amount of muscular stabilization and
it has to support and move your 14 - 16 pound head, means that the neck is
very susceptible to injury. You can picture your neck and head much like a
bowling ball being held on top of a stick by small, thin, elastic bands.
It doesn’t take much force to disrupt that delicate balance.
The spinal
cord runs through a space in the vertebrae to send nerve impulses to every
part of the body. Between each pair of cervical vertebrae, the spinal cord
sends off large bundles of nerves that run down the arms and to some
degree, the upper back. This means that if your arm is hurting, it may
actually be a problem in the neck! Symptoms in the arms can include
numbness, tingling, cold, aching, and “pins and needles”. These symptoms
can be confused with carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful condition in the
hands that is often found in people who work at computer keyboards or
perform other repetitive motion tasks for extended periods.
Problems in the neck can also contribute to headaches, muscle spasms in
the shoulders and upper back, ringing in the ears, otitis media
(inflammation in the middle ear, often mistaken for an ear infection in
children), temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ), restricted range of
motion and chronic tightness in the neck and upper back.
We associate the neck and upper back together, because most of the
muscles that are associated with the neck either attach to, or are located
in, the upper back. These muscles include the trapezius, the levator
scapulae, the cervical paraspinal muscles and the scalenes, as well as
others.
The Causes of Neck and Upper Back Pain
Most neck and upper back pain is caused by a combination of factors,
including injury, poor posture, chiropractic subluxations,
stress, and in
some instances, disc problems.
Injuries
By far, the most common injury to the neck is a whiplash injury.
Whiplash is caused by a sudden movement of the head, either backward,
forward, or sideways, that results in the damage to the supporting
muscles, ligaments and other connective tissues in the neck and upper
back. Whether from a car accident, sports, or an
accident at work,
whiplash injuries need to be taken very seriously. Because symptoms of a
whiplash injury can take weeks or months to manifest, it is easy to be
fooled into thinking that you are not as injured as you really are. Too
often people don’t seek treatment following a car accident or sports
injury because they don’t feel hurt. Unfortunately, by the time more
serious complications develop, some of the damage from the injury may have
become permanent. Numerous studies have shown that years after whiplash
victims settle their insurance claims, roughly half of them state that
they still suffer with symptoms from their injuries. If you have been in a
motor vehicle or any other kind of accident, don’t assume that you escaped
injury if you are not currently in pain. Get checked out by a good
chiropractor.
Poor Posture
One of the most common causes of neck pain, and sometimes headaches, is
poor posture. It’s easy to get into
bad posture habits without even
realizing it - even an activity as “innocent” as reading in bed can
ultimately lead to pain, headaches, and more serious problems. The basic
rule is simple: keep your neck in a “neutral” position whenever possible.
Don’t bend or hunch your neck forward for long periods. Also, try not to
sit in one position for a long time. If you must sit for an extended
period, make sure your posture is good: Keep your head in a neutral
position, make sure your back is supported, keep your knees slightly lower
than your hips, and rest your arms if possible.
Subluxations
Subluxations in the neck and upper back area are extremely common due
to the high degree of stress associated
with holding up your head, coupled
with the high degree of instability in the cervical spine. Most
subluxations tend to be centered around four areas: the top of the
cervical spine where it meets the skull; in the middle of the cervical
spine where the mechanical stress from the head is the greatest; in the
transition where the cervical and thoracic areas of the spine meet; and in
the middle of the thoracic spine where the mechanical stress from the
weight of the upper body is greatest. Signs of subluxation include looking
in the mirror and seeing your head tilted or one shoulder higher than the
other. Often women will notice that their sleeve length is different or
that a necklace is hanging off center. If someone looks at you from the
side they may notice that your head sits forward from your shoulders. This
is known as FHP - forward head posture - and is very common for people who
are stooped over their computers all day long. Subluxations are a debt to
the body. If they are not taken care of soon after they occur, then they
can get much worse over time due to the accumulation of compounding
interest.
When most people become stressed, they unconsciously contract their
muscles. In particular, the muscles in their back. This ‘muscle guarding’
is a survival response designed to guard against injury. In today’s world
where we are not exposed to physical danger most of the time, muscle
guarding still occurs whenever we become emotionally stressed. The areas
most affected are the muscles of the neck, upper back and low back. For
most of us, the particular muscle affected by stress is the trapezius
muscle, where daily stress usually leads to chronic tightness and the
development of trigger points.
The two most effective ways you can reduce the physical effects of
stress on your own are to increase your activity level – exercise – and by
deep breathing exercises. When you decrease the physical effects of
stress, you can substantially reduce the amount of tightness and pain in
your upper back and neck.
Disc Herniations
The discs in your cervical spine can herniate or bulge and put pressure
on the nerves that exit from the
spine through that area. Although
cervical discs do not herniate nearly as often as lumbar discs do, they
occasionally can herniate, especially when the discs sustain damage from a
whiplash injury. Contact us today!
