Neck Pain

Your neck (cervical spine) is made up of 7 bones called vertebra.  Between 6 of the vertebra you have discs, which allow for increased flexibility and support.  The discs are made of up of an inner jelly-like ‘nucleus’ and an outer fibrous ‘annulus’. The annulus that wraps around the nucleus like a ribbon wrapped around your finger.  A cervical disc lesion means that the disc in your neck is injured.

Disc lesions start when the outer fibers of the disc become sprained or frayed.  If enough fibers become frayed, this can create weakness. When the disc is compressed, the outer fibers may ‘bulge’ or ‘protrude’ like a weak spot on an inner tube.  If the fibers are damaged, the nucleus of the disc may herniate outwards.  The spinal cord and nerve roots live directly behind the disc. Bulges that are accompanied by inflammation will likely create neck pain that radiates into your shoulder or arm.  If the disc bulge is significant enough it can cause compression of your nerve. This will lead to a loss of your neurological reflexes and muscle weakness.

Surprisingly, cervical disc bulges are present without any symptoms in over half of the adult population. They are also slightly move common in men.  Ninety percent of cervical disc problems occur at one of the two lower discs - C6 or C7.

Certain occupations or activities place you at a greater risk.  These include: extended periods of sitting, driving or looking down, poor sleep positions, frequent heavy lifting, and smoking.  Cervical disc injuries are most common between the ages of 40 to 50, and are less common in children and seniors.  

Treatment strategies

Research has shown that disc injuries may be successfully managed with conservative care like the type we provide.  Our first goal is to reduce the causative factors contributing to the disc lesion.  Next, we strive to reduce the pain and inflammation that are present.  We will show you strategies to take pressure off the disc. Next, we will help you strengthen the surrounding tissues. This will create more tolerance and capacity within those supportive structures.  This will help in reducing the likelihood of re-occurrence and developing chronic pain.

The treatment we provide at Capilano Chiropractic Clinic will help you recover from your injury as quickly as possible.  We work with you to get you feeling great again.  Our first step is to reduce pain and inflammation.  Next, we help improve the quality of motion between the muscles and joints that have been injured.  We assist you in building the strength back into the injured tissues. This will cause the risk of relapse to become significantly reduced.

We understand that each whiplash injury is different. This is why we customize our treatment to meet your needs.  We strive to empower. We give you the tools you need to resolve your injury as quickly as possible.

How You Can Help Yourself

Depending on the severity of the injury you may need to limit heavy activity for a while, but remain active in a limited fashion.  By significantly limiting light activities, you may actually delay your recovery.  Try to ‘act as usual’ and resume normal daily activities as soon as possible.  Avoid heavy lifting and take frequent breaks from prolonged activity (especially overhead activity). If possible, avoid wearing heavy headgear (helmet, hardhat) to reduce the strain on your neck.  It is also important to remember pain is a normal reaction to an injury.  Pain should be your guide when returning to any kind of activity following an injury.  You should only work to the point of pain, and not into pain.  Remembering this detail will speed your recovery and your return to normal activities.