What causes neck pain? Is it something wrong with the neck muscles? Is it because of stress, or trauma? 

Neck pain is attributed by all of the above. For example, when you have a muscle spasm in your neck, you have neck pain. When you have physical or mental stress, you have neck pain. Lastly, when you experience trauma to your neck from a car accident, slip and fall, or a work injury, you get neck pain.

The cause of neck pain is from a subluxation of the cervical spine. A subluxation is when a vertebra (spinal bone), which has become misaligned, or in other words, is out of place. When the vertebra has become out of place, this causes pressure on the cervical nerve. The vertebra out of place caused swelling and loss of function at that particular level of the spine. When this happens, a muscle spasm develops, which causes pain. In other words, an irritated nerve causes an irritated muscle.

Most people get surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome. These people usually end up in a chiropractic office because the symptoms that they had, come back in four months. Why is that? Based on my clinical experience and education, many times the cause of carpal tunnel syndrome is located not only at the wrist, but at the cervical spine, shoulder, and even the elbow. It is important to look at all of these areas when addressing carpal tunnel syndrome. 

Chiropractic care does help carpal tunnel syndrome because the patient is examined thoroughly and given a complete diagnosis. The most important aspect of chiropractic care is that carpal tunnel syndrome is a physical problem, and chiropractic provides a physical solution. The physical solution is a chiropractic adjustment. A chiropractic adjustment takes pressure off of the affected nerve(s), which decreases, and eventually takes away the pain completely depending on the patient's age, mechanism of injury and length of injury.

The first task to complete is to see a doctor for treatment. The question is, what kind of doctor do I see? When a person is involved in a car accident, he/she experiences pain generally in the neck, mid-back, and low back areas.

This pain is caused when the person's car is struck by another car. The force that is applied on the person's body causes a spinal subluxation, which is a condition involving a misplaced spinal segment,nerve and disc pressure. This pressure is caused from swelling, and the vertebra (bone segment) being misplaced, which ultimately causes pain.

Allergy season is upon us, and most people suffer from some kind of allergy. Most people use allergy medication to help reduce allergic symptoms of running nose, sneezing, watery eyes, etc.

Chiropractic can definitely help with your allergies without the side effects of drowsiness and other more severe side effects that usually are thankfully posted on the allergy medicine package.

How can chiropractic help with allergies? Through my clinical experience, and knowledge, the main area of the spine that can affect the body the most is the upper cervical area of the spine. Why is that? Because the upper cervical spine is where the brainstem is located. The brainstem has the highest accumulation of neurons in the nervous system.

So what does this mean? Usually when there is pain, or in this case allergies, the body is not able to function at 100% if there is a blockage of neurons, or interference. By releasing the interference of the neurons, the body functions at,or nearly 100% depending on various factors in each individual. Factors such as quantity and quality of sleep, sufficient exercise, healthy diet, genetic conditions like diabetes, etc.

Please watch the following video on a mother in Denver, CO who knows how to get her kids through allergy season!

http://www.9news.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=86863718001

Whiplash is an event that occurs when someone who is sitting in a vehicle, and gets struck from behind. When this happens, in a split second your head moves forward and then backward. This very quick movement usually causes neck pain. The neck pain is caused by subluxation of the cervical spine. In simple terms, a subluxation is when a vertebra (bone segment) has moved out of normal position, which causes pressure on a peripheral nerve and the disc. So, this pinched nerve causes pain in the neck, and sometimes this pain travels, or radiates down to the hands.

There is a study regarding whiplash, which is titled Treatment of whiplash-associated disorders--part I: Non-invasive interventions found in Pain Res Manag. 2005 Spring;10(1):21-32. The results showed, "Limited evidence, in the form of three non-RCTs, exists in support of chiropractic manipulation." (RCTs are random controlled trials).

What causes low back pain?

Trauma to the spine causes what is called a subluxation. A subluxation by definition is a vertebra (a series of 24 movable bones that make up the spinal column) which has misaligned (bone which has moved out of normal position). This misalignment causes pressure on the disc and a peripheral nerve. Pressure on the disc and peripheral nerve causes swelling. This pressure on the peripheral nerve causes an irritated nerve. An irritated nerve causes pain, and an irritated muscle. An irritated muscle causes a muscle spasm, another cause of pain.

Can chiropractic care help migraine headaches? A medical study came from Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice 2009 (Nov);   15 (4):   192–7.

In this study, it looked at a 24 yr.old female who was pregnant who had chronic migraine headaches since the age of 12. The results of chiropractic care was significant. After just 3 chiropractic treatments, her migraine headache pain level on a 0-10 pain scale went from  9/10 (where 10 is the worst pain ever) to 2/10. The conclusion of this study is that chiropractic care is a safe and effective treatment during pregnancy for the relief of migraine headaches.

The laws have changed in California regarding worker's compensation. Many employers are becoming part of numerous Medical Provider Networks. These networks are similar to HMOs such as Kaiser Permanente. For example, if a person has Kaiser insurance, that person would see a doctor who works within the Kaiser network. Regarding worker's compensation, if your employer is part of a medical provider network, then typically you go to a doctor within that network. The medical network is supposed to have various doctor specialities such as neurologist, orthopedic surgeon, chiropractor, acupuncturist, etc. So a patient can pick what speciality they want to go see for treatment.

What if a patient disputes the medical opinion, or the treatment of the doctor they initially chose in the network? The patient can then choose any doctor in the network. If this repeats, then the patient can choose another doctor. If the patient sees three doctors, and disputes all three doctors, then the patient can request an independent medical review. The patient can also obtain a worker's compensation attorney, who can assist the patient in finding another doctor who can best help the patient with their industrial injury.

Worker's compensation can be a difficult and frustrating ordeal for the patient. However, if the patient educates himself or herself of the inner workings of the worker's compensation system in California, they can make the best choices possible in order to get the best care possible to achieve the goal of improving their physical condition as a result of their unfortunate industrial injury.