If you’re living with neck or back pain, whether it’s chronic or it came on suddenly, that discomfort can seriously affect your day-to-day life. From making it difficult to get a good night’s sleep to interfering with your work and ability to exercise, back or neck pain can have far-reaching consequences.
While over-the-counter pain relievers can help alleviate the discomfort, what they can’t do is solve the underlying physical problem that’s causing the pain. But a chiropractor can. Read on to learn five of the most common signs that your neck or back pain needs regular chiropractic care.
1. You Have a Sedentary Job
The human body really isn’t designed to sit all day. However, if working at a computer is a large part of your job, you might not have much choice. If you hunch while you sit (most people tend to), poor posture is a likely culprit behind your back or neck pain because it throws your body out of its normal alignment.
Fortunately, a chiropractor can help improve your discomfort by fixing your musculoskeletal alignment. Having a properly aligned spine will help you maintain better posture while you sit, so you’ll not only be more comfortable at work but also when you leave for the day.
Your chiropractor can also give you at-home strengthening exercises to work on, and with regular practice, these will also help keep discomfort at bay.
2. You Get Recurring Headaches
Persistent headaches can have a wide variety of causes, from poor sleep and nutrition to dehydration and chronic tension. But one of the most common causes of recurring headaches is a misalignment of the vertebrae in the neck, which a chiropractor is highly trained to treat.
With regular chiropractic adjustments and complementary therapies like massage, a chiropractor can gently bring your cervical vertebrae back into alignment and ease tension in the neck. Aligning the spine and relieving tension in the surrounding muscles helps increase blood flow and nerve conductivity, which ultimately helps alleviate recurring discomfort.
3. You Suffer From Persistent Muscle Pain
Not all forms of neck and back pain are caused by spinal issues. But when there are spinal subluxations present, they can easily cause issues in the surrounding muscle tissue that may result in minor to moderate discomfort. Other muscular problems that may result in persistent pain include overuse injuries, tears, and adhesions.
A qualified chiropractor (like Dr. Bomberg) can address these issues. While chiropractors are most well-known for their ability to perform corrective spinal adjustments, they’re also experts in several other treatment modalities. Movement-based massage, Graston technique, Kinesio taping, and other therapies can all help treat painful muscular conditions present in your neck and/or back.
4. Your Symptoms Are Consistent With Those of a Pinched Nerve
If any of the following symptoms sound familiar, you may have a pinched nerve that’s causing your neck or back pain:
● A sharp, concentrated pain that gets worse with movement
● Pain that radiates outward
● A sensation of pins and needles
● A burning sensation
● Sharp pain that’s accompanied by muscle weakness
● Loss of sensation (numbness) in a specific area
When a nerve becomes pinched, it can’t properly communicate with the brain, which can result in intense pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness. As long as the nerve remains compressed, it won’t function properly and will continue to cause considerable discomfort.
If you feel like you might have a pinched nerve, it may be compressed by a bone, a vertebra, or a bulging disc in your spine may be placing excessive pressure on it. Severe muscle tension (dense knots that feel like bumps under your skin), ligaments, and tendons can also compress nerves that pass through or near the tissue.
Fortunately, a chiropractor can diagnose a pinched nerve and find the root cause of the compression. With regular adjustments, chiropractic treatment can realign bones and joints that may be causing the compression, which will give the nerve adequate room to function.
Other chiropractic treatments, like movement-based massage and Graston technique, can also alleviate excessive soft tissue tension that may play a role in compressing the nerve. TENS therapy can help too.
5. You Have Limited Range of Motion
If your back or neck pain limits your ability to move normally, that’s a good indication you need to visit a chiropractor for treatment. Routine adjustments can help realign the vertebrae in your neck and back, which will help the nerves and soft tissues function as they should. Your chiropractor can also help you work on your flexibility, strength, and mobility to improve your overall range of motion.
6. The Soles of Your Shoes Wear Unevenly
Have you ever noticed that the bottoms of your shoes wear out differently? Perhaps the left side wears more toward the outer sole, and the right wears more toward the inner sole? If this isn’t something you’ve ever paid attention to, you’ll want to take a look.
Place your shoes on a surface where you can get your eyes at the level of each shoe’s sole. If you notice uneven wear, you’re likely suffering from unbalanced movement patterns that need to be corrected. They may be the result of a true or functional leg length discrepancy, an underpronation or overpronation of your gait, lateral pelvic tilt, or a number of other conditions.
Even if you don’t have any discomfort currently, that imbalance will affect your entire body when your feet are unbalanced. If you don’t get evaluated and treated, low back pain will likely result at some point, but your lumbar spine isn’t the only body part that might develop issues.
If you have an unbalanced gait, it's in your best interest to have a chiropractor perform a thorough evaluation and develop a corrective and preventative treatment plan.
7. You Were Recently Involved in an Auto Accident
If you were in a vehicle collision and developed neck or back pain after the incident, getting chiropractic treatment can seriously help. Your discomfort may stem from soft tissue strain or spinal misalignments that were caused by the incident, both of which a chiropractor can effectively treat.
Many chiropractors specialize in treating accident-related injuries, especially whiplash, and are able to both diagnose the injury and address its root cause. With regular treatment, chiropractic care can not only alleviate the pain associated with the injury but also help ensure it heals properly so you can maintain a full range of motion.
To learn more, check out 5 Reasons to Go to the Chiropractor After a Car Accident.
8. You Live With Chronic Back or Neck Pain
Do you deal with back or neck pain every day? Whether it’s mild, moderate, or severe, that pain is not normal, and you need to get professionally evaluated and treated. Chronic pain anywhere along your posterior chain can be the result of several different issues, including:
● Poor posture
● Muscle imbalances
● Muscular adhesions
● Spinal degeneration
● Overuse injuries, like sprains and strains
● Muscle spasms
● Joint problems, such as arthritis or osteoarthritis
● Inadequate muscle tone
● Bulging or herniated spinal discs
● Spinal abnormalities, such as scoliosis
All of the above issues can be addressed with non-invasive chiropractic care. Depending on the severity of your issue, it may be in your best interest to pursue conservative treatment modalities before moving on to more conventional approaches like surgery or pharmaceutical interventions.
Schedule Chiropractic Treatment for Neck or Back Pain Today
If you’re living with neck or back pain, whether it’s acute or chronic, our team at Bomberg Chiropractic in New Hope, MN is here for you. We provide comprehensive chiropractic care designed to help get you out of pain, improve your mobility, and help you enjoy a better quality of life.
To schedule a preliminary consultation or learn more about our services, give us a call today at 763-450-1755 or send us a message with your information, and we’ll be in touch!