Neck Pain and Chiropractic Geelong

Do you suffer from neck pain and headache?

Neck pain combined with lower back pain continues to be the leading cause of disability on the global burden of disease index. ¹ Neck pain and headache is also one of the main reasons people seek Chiropractic services both in Geelong and Australia. ² 

Whats causes my neck pain and headaches?

Neck pain and headache are often a result of Acute injury (such as a blow to the head in football or head trauma in a motor vehicle accident) or can gradually manifest over a longer period of time and be a result of poor posture/bio-mechanics or degeneration of the spine (Wear and tear). Other considerations for neck pain may also include lifestyle factors which include your diet and level of physical activity as well as consumption of Alcohol, caffeine and tobacco products but the science is not clear on this. ³

Most commonly headache and neck pain are simply brought on by a lack of physical movement and sustained poor posture/body positioning while sitting at a desk or driving in the car. In saying that here at Shannon Avenue we pride ourselves on doing thorough workup for all patients that includes  physical, orthopaedic and neurological examination to determine exactly what the cause/diagnosis is so that it can be treated to the highest standard of care.

What are some of the more common diagnosis’ of neck pain and headache that chiropractors treat?

• Whiplash injury (Sustained from sport or from motor vehicle accident)
• Torticollis  / Acute wry neck
• Cervical (neck) disc bulge and disc injury
• Cervical facet dysfunction
• Cervicogenic headache
• myofascial pain (muscle disorders)

Condition in focus: Cervical disc bulge/herniation/radiculopathy:

Recently we have seen a number of patients presenting to our office with cervical disc bulge and or herniation. This condition can be serious in nature and will often result in severe pain in the neck/shoulder and arm. It may also result in muscle spasm and weakness into the affected arm/arms depending on how bad the disc issue is. It is again imperative that a thorough assessment be done to diagnose these conditions. Often patients are referred for further imaging studies (X-ray, CT or MRI) to confirm this diagnosis. If severe enough to the point where pain is intolerable or numbness/weakness is widespread or through both sides of the shoulders/arm then we would seek the opinion of a Neurosurgeon, however if strength and sensation is maintained and pain levels are manageable then conservative management such as Chiropractic may be of benefit.  A recent study published in 2016 compared High Velocity Low amplitude thrust joint manipulation (Which is the most common form of Chiropractic treatment) to cervical nerve root injections found that acute patients (pain for less than 4 weeks) both treatment groups reported equal improvement, however sub-acute and chronic (Pain lasting longer than 4 weeks) patients reported significantly better improvement with spinal manipulation compared to spinal injections. ⁴

So if you have a disc bulge or radiculopathy in the neck and have been told the only option is spinal injections then considering a trial of Chiropractic spinal manipulation may be another option.

How will Shannon Avenue Chiropractic relieve your neck pain and headaches?

The short answer is that it all depends…. But depending on the diagnosis of your complaint typically one or all of the below modalities will be used:

• Joint manipulation/mobilisation.
• Lighter joint modalities if joint manipulation is contraindicated.
• Exercise prescription to help strengthen weak area’s and release tight muscles/joints.
• Soft tissue therapy directly with us or referred to our in house myotherapist.
• Postural advice to keep you up straight and functioning well.
• Advice on supports such as your pillow.
• Work closely with other allied health professional and your General Practitioner where your condition requires it.
• Refer you directly for additional screening when required such as X-ray, Ultrasound, CT and MRI.

If the team at Shannon Avenue Chiropractic can help you with your neck pain or headache or if you would simply like a thorough examination to determine the cause of your neck issues please contact us here.

If you would like to know a little more about our Chiropractor please click here.

Kind regards

Dr Matthew Gooch (Chiropractor)

References:

¹ Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

² Who consults Chiropractors in Victoria, Australia? Reasons for attending, general health and lifestyle habits of Chiropractic patients. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2016 24:28

³ Association between lifestyle factors and headache J Headache Pain. 2011 Apr; 12(2): 147–155

Risk factors for the onset of non-specific neck pain: a systematic review J Epidemiol Community Health. 2010 Jul;64(7):565-72

⁴  Symptomatic, Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Confirmed Cervical Disk Herniation Patients: A Comparative-Effectiveness Prospective Observational Study of 2 Age- and Sex-Matched Cohorts Treated With Either Imaging-Guided Indirect Cervical Nerve Root Injections or Spinal Manipulative Therapy. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2016 Mar-Apr;39(3):210-7