Neck pain is a growing concern for our modern world. The amount of time we spend on our phones and computers increases the stress placed upon the cervical spine (neck).
Every inch we move our head forward – it increases the amount of stress on the spine by 10 pounds! This creates a stressful demand on the neck and shoulder area. The spine protects our spinal cord (bundle of nerves), the connection from our brain to the rest of the body. If we place the spine in an inappropriate position it can actually put pressure on different nerves in the spine causing dull annoying pain to sharp debilitating pain. What is also interesting about this type of injury is the pain can actually travel into our arms and shoulder blades (scapula) which is caused radiculopathy, a fancy word for pain that travels.
The analogy of a circuit breaker in your house is similar to how your spine works. Think of the circuit breaker as your spinal cord. If you were to sustain an injury or chronically have bad posture – which causes a misalignment / pressure on your spinal nerve – the nerve would become symptomatic. Symptoms vary depending where you pinch the specific nerve. Similar to the circuit breaker at your house, depending which fuses you disconnect determines where the power doesn’t function in the house.
Not every patient that has neck pain has a pinched nerve. If neck pain goes untreated it commonly leads to more severe conditions. If the neck is not functioning correctly because of a misalignment a lot of conditions can arise which is why we always do a complete examination to determine what is causing the patients dysfunction and what treatment method is best.
We offer multiple treatment options for patients. Even though lots of patients have neck pain, not everyone is suffering from the same condition. We offer more treatment options than the average chiropractic clinic. Some patient respond to the “old school” type of manual adjustments which has always been a great tool to help patients. Other patients want a more gentle approach and we offer adjustments that are slow and controlled by the use of a small instrument (not cracking sound during these treatments). Patients benefit from both type of adjustments and Dr. Barnes is only interested in doing the appropriate technique that not only helps you get better but also is comfortable.
For more severe conditions Dr. Barnes not only utilizes chiropractic manipulations (adjustments) but also class IV laser treatments, spinal decompression therapy and nutritional support.
