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Neck & Shoulder Pain. The Solution.
THE most common issue I see in my office is pain and stiffness at the base of the neck. I specialise in this problem and get great results with it. The modern lifestyle of spending a lot of time with the head forward and down causes joints to seize up in this ‘flexed’ position. The joint restriction (or subluxations as chiropractors call them), causes muscle tightness and can cause inflammation or nerve irritation that can result in headaches, dizziness and/or other health issues.
Often people just put pain and tightness at the base of the neck down to stress and tension, but if the joints are jammed, it’ll just keep coming back. Massage will only improve it for a day or two and you’re back to where you started. So, what can you do? Two things—free up the restricted vertebrae and change your postural habits.
Chiropractors specialize in freeing up restricted, jammed joints. We do this by gently pushing on seized joints to work them free. How long this takes depends on how long you have had the restriction. The key is to be specific: loosening the right joints, in the right direction. This skill takes years to learn and perfect, but it is what chiropractors do every day. When the joints and moving are functioning correctly, you will feel light and loose in the area, instead of tight and sore. We reduce irritation to the central nervous system when we correct this problem, so sometimes the associated changes in the general health and well-being can be amazing.
Preventing Neck Pain from Reoccurring.
As I am working on the underlying joint restriction, I also give exercises to prevent the neck pain from reoccurring…
Firstly, you need to be aware of, and change, the culprit postural position. (Mobile phone posture, laptop posture, sitting to read in bed, leaning back on the sofa so much that your head is pushed forward by the sofa backrest.) Good neck posture involves keeping the chin back, not forward and down.
Secondly, I give stretches to lengthen muscles that shorten from years of poor posture (eg. Sternocleidomastoid muscle stretch).
Thirdly, I give my clients a simple exercise to strengthen the muscles that hold the neck more upright. If these muscles are weak, you can’t maintain good posture!
More on poor posture here.
Stefan Becker
Sarrià Quiropràctica
