Spinal problems can cause trouble for more than just your back. The human spinal column includes a series of vertebrae that run from the upper spine and up through your neck. This area, known as the cervical spine, can experience a variety of different issues that leave you struggling with pain, stiffness, and other debilitating symptoms.
Thankfully, you can often rid yourself of those symptoms with the aid of a skilled, experienced chiropractor who knows how to correct any imbalances in the cervical spine. Take a look at four common cervical spinal issues your chiropractor can help you overcome.
1. Whiplash InjuriesWhiplash injuries are one of the most potentially devastating injuries you can experience in the neck. A forceful jolt from a sport, vehicle, or workplace accident can throw your head forward and back at a rapid speed. This action may damage the neck's soft tissues and push the cervical vertebrae out of their normal positions.
Your chiropractor can order an X-ray of your spine to evaluate whether your cervical spinal column has fallen out of alignment. If this is the case, chiropractic adjustments can carefully shift the errant bones and joints back into their preferred positions, relieving acute pain, dizziness, and other symptoms associated with this kind of injury.
Since whiplash can impact the neck's muscles, tendons, and ligaments as well as its vertebrae, you may benefit from a comprehensive treatment plan that includes multiple forms of care. Your chiropractor might recommend physical therapy, massage therapy, and other techniques to help your neck heal completely.
2. Chronic Neck StiffnessYou may experience an occasional wave of neck stiffness if you pull a neck muscle during physical activity or sleep with your head at an awkward angle. However, if you suffer from chronic neck stiffness that makes turning your head difficult, you may need to get the underlying cause diagnosed and treated.
Your chronic neck stiffness may stem from a cervical spinal misalignment that causes your head to sit at an asymmetrical angle, which then places undue strain on your neck muscles. A chiropractic adjustment can straighten the alignment between your skull and your cervical spine, which will help ease this burden and its painful symptoms.
3. Tension HeadachesIf you suffer from chronic headaches, the real problem may lie with your neck, not your head. The most common kind of headache, known as a tension headache, usually develops when abnormal stress at the top of the neck pulls on sensitive tissues, which then send pain signals through the head.
The soft tissue strain that triggers tension headaches can occur due to a cervical spinal misalignment, poor head and neck posture, holding the head in a fixed position for an extended period of time, teeth clenching, dehydration, and nutritional deficiencies. A detailed examination by your chiropractor can determine whether or not your headache is caused by misalignment in the cervical spine.
Chiropractors do more than adjust your spine to ease pain; they also offer detailed health and wellness advice to help their patients avoid future pain. Your chiropractor may suggest that you take more frequent work breaks, perform stretching exercises, drink more water, or alter your nutritional intake.
4. Cervical RadiculopathyYour vertebrae envelop the spinal cord while permitting major nerves to extend through small spaces and into your upper extremities. Alignment problems in the cervical vertebrae or a bulging cervical disc can result in cervical radiculopathy, which causes numbness, tingling, weakness, and/or pain in the arm or hand.
Cervical spinal adjustments can relieve pressure on the nerve roots that send signals to your arm and hand. If a bulging disc causes the problem, a technique called spinal decompression therapy can draw the disc away from the pinched nerve root through a safe, gentle vacuum pressure.
If a cervical spinal problem gives you grief for any reason, seek out the specialists at Corner Chiropractic Center. We can examine your cervical vertebral alignment, provide state-of-the-art adjustments and other treatment techniques, and help you keep this critical part of your body in optimal condition.
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