Your neck and neck health
If you are reading this, chances are you, or someone you care about, is suffering with neck pain. Perhaps you woke up with a stiff neck this morning and now it's excruciating to turn your head. Or maybe your neck is still sore from a car accident many months or years ago. Or perhaps your neck discomfort has been slowly getting worse over a long period of time for no apparent reason. Your neck pain may be causing you headaches, or may be sending shooting pain down your arm, or numbness and tingling in your hand.
Besides spouses and teenage kids, your pain in the neck can have many different causes. As your chiropractor, my first goal is to diagnose the nature and root cause of your problem. I do this through taking a thorough history and doing a detailed examination. If indicated, I may request pictures of your neck to assess the condition of your spine and to see the alignment of the vertebrae. Once the underlying cause of your pain is diagnosed, I will explain what I found and provide you with my recommendations for getting better.
How I care for patients with neck pain
I have practiced chiropractic for over 35 years. During this time I had the privilege of helping many patients with neck pain relief. Like most doctors, I began with a pretty meager ‘tool box’ of techniques and approaches to pick from. But doctors have good reason to use the word ‘practice’… As the years and decades went by and my experience grew, my tool box became filled with tools and techniques that are not only evidence-based and cutting-edge, but also ones I have found personally, though extensive trial and error, to be the most effective.
Depending on the nature and severity of a patient’s neck problem, I can select the best technique or tool to help them. For most patients, this may be precise chiropractic adjustments or other manual techniques. For example, patients with muscle, tendon or other ‘soft tissue’ conditions, I might use a combination of soft tissue techniques such as TRIGENICS, A.R.T., trigger point therapy or hand-held instruments, among others.
Once a patient’s neck pain is resolving, I will then introduce specific techniques to improve postural and spinal alignment. This stage of care is critically important for long term pain relief and spinal health.
Lastly, I will teach you key neck care exercises, and provide you with the knowledge and on-going support so you can help yourself.
These evidence-based techniques are all part of the movement care approach I use in my office to help patients with neck pain achieve the best possible outcome.