Neck pain affects 30-50% of people every year and 50-85% of these people do not have complete resolution of their pain. (1) That is close to 100 million Americans suffering from neck pain every year. Shoulder pain is also common and can affect 14.7 of every 1000 patients per year. (2)

What causes neck pain?

• Neck pain can occur due to injuries such as car accidents or falls. Car accidents can lead to whiplash and strain/sprain of the neck muscles leading to severe neck pain and headaches. Patients can also experience neck pain after a fall during sports or slipping on ice in the winter time. Falls and car accidents can also lead to disc bulges or herniations which is very common.
• A vast majority of people work in front of computer screens throughout the day. If their workstation is not appropriately positioned, this can lead to a straightening of the neck curvature leading to neck pain and headaches.
• Consistent use of phones and electronic devices contribute to neck pain.
• Parents taking care of small children eg breastfeeding mothers can suffer from neck pain

What causes shoulder pain?

• Shoulder pain can occur after falls, car accidents and sports injuries
• Poor posture can lead to increased shoulder pain as the shoulder is placed in an unstable position when patients slouch.
• Side sleepers that do not have supportive pillows can have shoulder pain.

How can we help?

At Alternative family medicine and chiropractic, we treat patients with neck and shoulder pain daily. Here are some therapies that we use in the office to help patients:

• Manual therapy (manual adjusting) can help to align vertebrae that are not moving correctly. It also helps to reduce muscle spasms around those vertebrae and increase range of motion.
• We also perform multiple other therapies such as Shockwave therapy to help reduce scar tissue in the area and increase blood flow with dry needling. Cupping is used to bring blood flow to the area and promote healing.
• Correcting posture and strengthening/stretching the muscles around the neck is another component of treatment. We make sure that each patient is equipped with the individualized stretches and exercises for their issue.

References:

1. Prevalence, Practice Patterns and Evidence for Chronic Neck Pain Adam P. Goode, PT, DPT, Assistant Professor,* Janet Freburger, PT, PhD, Research Associate and Fellow,† and Timothy Carey, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine†

A prospective study of shoulder pain in primary care: Prevalence of imaged pathology and response to guided diagnostic blocks Angela Cadogan,1 Mark Laslett,1,2 Wayne A Hing,1 Peter J McNair,1 and Mark H Coates3