Common causes of neck pain that the average sufferer is aware of are, “sleeping crooked, wrong size pillow, no pillow, draft on neck, etc.” These and other factors are usually only triggers to an underlying problem involving the neck vertebrae and spinal muscles.
Many structural problems are the result of whiplash-type injuries similar to those caused by rear-end auto accidents. Neck problems can also be caused by direct injuries or blows to the head and neck. Following a whiplash or neck injury, there may be little or no symptoms, sometimes for years, other than an occasional recurring soreness or stiffness. Then all it would take to aggravate the old injury and bring on the symptoms of pain and discomfort would be physical and/or emotional stress.
Physical stress can be produced by holding the head in a contracted position for an extended period of time. Some examples would be painting ceilings, pruning trees, holding the telephone between the shoulder and the ear. We see the emotional effects on the neck and back muscles when we see the unfriendly interaction between cats and dogs when their fur stands on end.
We are taught to hide our emotions, but our spinal muscles also contract whenever we are subjected to the emotions of fear, worry, hatred, anger, jealously, etc. We just don’t have any fur standing on end that you can see.
The upright skeletal structure of the human body, especially the spine, is easily curved, twisted or misaligned by the various mishaps of our daily living. Then all it takes to aggravate the misalignment is the prolonged or repetitive contractions of the muscles that are attached to the vertebrae in the neck and back.
Prolonged contractions of the spinal muscles have an effect on the vertebral alignment somewhat like thumb sucking does on the alignment of the teeth. The prolonged pressure behind the front teeth will cause them to protrude. It is necessary to put braces on and gently force the teeth back into their normal position.
When the vertebrae in the spine are structurally misaligned, they need physical help in the form of chiropractic spinal adjustments. So even is we allow someone to “get under our skin”, especially in the neck, the best way to obtain relief and correct the problem is with gentle chiropractic adjustments. Call us for a stress-relieving appointment today!