Neck pain

What it usually is

One day I went to bed feeling perfectly fine, and the next morning I couldn't move my neck! I have heard this story in my practice more times than I can count. Most neck pain is the ordinary, mechanical kind: joints and muscles that got cranky, not something broken. It can be scary, but scary and serious are not the same thing.

What it often feels like

Stiff and sore, worse turning one way, maybe a sharp catch when you shoulder-check. Sometimes it spreads into the shoulder blade or up into the head. If it runs down the arm with pins and needles, a nerve may be getting grumpy too.

What we look at

I want the story first: what you were doing, how you slept, what makes it better and worse. Then we test how your neck moves, which joints and muscles are sore, and how the nerves to your arms are working. Screening for the rare serious stuff is part of every first visit.

What usually helps

The usual mix is adjusting or gentle mobilization, soft tissue work, and exercise you can do at home. When a nerve is involved, neurodynamics is one of my favourite tools: gentle movement that gets a sensitive nerve used to sliding again. Sometimes we add tape, and we always talk about posture and sleep. And we talk about understanding pain, because a neck that has been sore for a while can stay protective long after it has healed.

What you can do at home

Keep it moving, gently, within what is comfortable. Resting it completely usually makes it stiffer, not better. So ice or heat? Use ice if it works to decrease the pain, or use heat if that works better, or do both at the same time! Change positions often at your desk, and have a hard look at your pillow.

When it's not a chiro problem

After a car crash, fall or sports hit, get checked by a medical doctor first if you have pain right in the middle of the back of your neck, numbness or tingling in your arms, or you can't turn your head. Call 911 if neck pain comes with sudden dizziness, double vision, trouble speaking or swallowing, a droopy face, or a sudden severe headache. See your doctor for neck pain with fever, unexplained weight loss, a history of cancer, or weakness or clumsiness in your hands or legs.