Neck pain is a common problem in society today.

Stiff Neck Pain

More often than not, stiff neck pain is a result of posture. With over 70% of occupations being “desk” jobs, the steady rise of stiff neck pain cases is expected. Obviously, cervical spine conditions lead to or contribute to other conditions such as; headaches, carpal tunnel like symptoms, etc. However, I am going to focus on neck pain only. Even though these cases sound simple, there is a substantial level of complexity to properly diagnose neck pain.

Lets start with the basics; pain is always the result of a pain generator, so it is essential to determine the sources that cause neck pain. Research has revealed that inflammation is the number one pain generator by a long shot. Therefore, the primary focus to treating neck pain is to determine the source of inflammation. Once the source is determined, the proper treatment can be administered. Inflammation can be a result of multiple conditions including the following:

• Discogenic syndromes, which involve damage to the intervertebral discs located between each vertebrae.
• Joint imbrication, which involves compression or jamming of the joints between the vertebrae, and neuritis, which is nerve root irritation at the spinal level.

Things That Cause Neck Pain

Some other sources that cause neck pain include:

• muscle contracture
• arthritic degeneration
• chronic stress
• vitamin deficiency
• acute injury

Once the inflammatory cause is discovered, then and only then can the symptoms/condition be treated properly at the source.

By treating the source of stiff neck pain or severe neck pain, patients will receive long term benefits rather than periodic medical symptom treatment. In the majority of these cases, chiropractic manipulation, along with other therapies, is the most conservative treatment.

Severe Neck Pain

However, the severity of each condition could possibly warrant a more invasive treatment. In order to prevent more invasive treatment for severe neck pain, cervical spine pain cases must be addressed and treated without procrastination. If these conditions are not addressed as soon as possible, they will progressively deteriorate leading to a more extensive and costly solution.