If your neck pain is severe enough to keep you from sleeping comfortably at night or completing your daily responsibilities, see a chiropractor for an exam and treatment. Severe neck pain can be a sign of a pinched nerve. Here's how a pinched nerve can cause or lead to severe neck pain and how you can diagnose and treat it.
How Can a Pinched Nerve Affect Your Neck?
Your nervous system is a complex network of nerve cells, fibers, and other critical tissues. If one of the bones in your neck pinches or irritates a nerve, it can send pain signals throughout your neck, shoulders, and upper back. The muscles in your neck and shoulders may also lose sensation (numb) or feel weak. Some individuals even experience problems in their arms, hands, and fingers from pinched nerves.
It can be difficult to treat a pinched (compressed) or irritated nerve at home, even if you take OTC pain medications. Some medications need to pass through your digestive system before they enter your bloodstream and travel to the sources of your pain. If you take more medications than recommended by the products' manufacturers, you may make your pain worse or risk an overdose.
If you try to massage the pain away, it may cause issues with the muscles in your neck. Muscles rely on their own nerves to function. If you massage your neck muscles in the wrong way, you may accidentally pinch one their nerves. You can possibly develop spasms in your neck as a result.
You can find real relief and treatment by visiting a chiropractor.
What Will a Chiropractor Do?
A chiropractor can do a number of things to relieve the pain in your neck, including adjusting or manipulating your spine. Spinal adjustment relieves pressure on the nerves in your neck by repositioning the bones of your neck and spine. Sometimes, the bones of the spine move out place, which causes pressure on the nerves traveling through them. Poor posture and auto accident injuries are things that can move the spine out alignment.
If your neck pain is a result of something else, such as back pain or a herniated disc, a chiropractor may use spinal decompression treatments. This chiropractic treatment separates compressed or injured spinal bone by stretching them. Certain conditions, such as arthritis, trauma, and disease, can cause the bones of the spine to weaken, inflame, or collapse. Some spinal bones can actually break from stress and squeeze down on the nerves and soft tissues traveling through them. The pain can spread upward in the spinal column and affect your neck.
After providing the correct treatment for your neck pain, a chiropractor may suggest that you come in for regular visits. The visits allow a specialist to monitor your condition properly. If you experience a setback or develop new problems in your neck, muscles, or spine, a chiropractor can address them right away.
A chiropractor may also offer other advice or treatment options for your neck pain. For instance, if a chiropractor recommends that you sleep with a neck or back pillow at night, be sure to use it as instructed. Some specialists provide physical therapy to their clients. Physical therapists can teach you different ways to manage your pain without damaging the muscles and bones in your neck and other upper body tissues. If you experience any discomfort with your pillow or therapy, tell a chiropractor immediately so that they can make adjustments to your treatment plan.
If you need more information about neck pain and how pinched nerves can possibly cause it, contact a medical professional like Dr. Shirali Kianian for an appointment.
Share7 December 2017
After struggling with months and months with back pain, I could tell that things weren't getting any better with my DIY methods. I was tired of having trouble every time I needed to move, so I decided to start working with a chiropractor. When I arrived, the doctor worked really hard to diagnose my condition, and then he talked with me about treatments--letting me decide how to proceed. It made me feel really great about working with him, and within a few treatments my back was feeling a lot better. This blog is all about improving your back pain by talking with the right professionals.
