Most
neck and upper back pain is caused by a combination of factors,
including injury, poor posture, chiropractic subluxations, stress,
adrenal fatigue, food sensitivities and in some instances, disc
problems.
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, adrenal fatigue, food sensitivities 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 chiropractor.
Forward head
posture is very common for people who are stooped over their
computers all day long. If not taken care of with chiropractic care,
subluxations like this can worsen over time.
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.
Stress
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.
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