Shoulder and neck pain are among the most common complaints we receive from patients arriving at our clinic. Neck and shoulder pain can make even the simplest of movements excruciatingly difficult. It can lead to headaches and difficulty using your body. Moreover, immobility from your pain can cause the muscles to become weak and to degenerate over time. Understanding the cause of your pain is a must if you hope to receive treatment that is actually effective in both short and long-term recovery. In this post, we explore ways you can treat neck and shoulder pain naturally without using drugs or surgery.
Causes of neck pain
Although the neck is a relatively small area of the body, it contains complicated structures that keep your head upright. The small size of the vertebrae of the neck allows for a lot of mobility, but can also make the neck more vulnerable to injury and pain. Some of the causes of neck pain include:
- Trauma, like whiplash
- Sleeping position
- Poor posture
- Repetitive stress
- Abnormalities in bone structure
- Joint issues
- Muscle strains and pulls
Most of these issues stem from, or impact, the alignment of the spine. When muscles in the neck go into spasm, the spine gets pulled out of alignment. When this happens, the nerves become irritated and causes further tension and other systemic problems. Because every nerve in the body has its root in the spinal column, issues that have their source at the neck can have a major impact throughout every other system.
Many people let spinal problems go uncorrected. They hope that if they wait long enough the pain will simply go away. In some cases it will, but the misalignment that caused the problem is usually still there. Over time, that area can become aggravated, and the pain can return. Left uncorrected, your condition can become much more serious. Some patients even let things go to the point where surgery may be the only option! We recommend seeking treatment long before this.
Causes of shoulder pain
Shoulder pain (and symptoms like numbness and tingling) is caused by any number of different factors including:
- acute injury
- chronic, degenerative condition
- torn cartilage or labrum
- bursitis
- osteoarthritis
- rotator cuff injury
- tendinitis
- dislocation
- auto accidents
- sports injuries
- cervical disc degeneration
- herniated disc
- repetitive movement using your arms
Many people fall into a dangerous cycle of using painkillers to be able to carry on their day-to-day activities and keep shoulder pain at bay. But when you opt for treatments like regenerative medicine, chiropractic care, laser therapy and platelet-rich plasma, long-term healing becomes a possibility.
Conventional v. natural treatment
Most commonly, people try to deal with their neck and shoulder pain using prescription or over-the-counter medications. This may help to relieve the symptoms in the short-term. However, patients not only aren’t dealing with side effects, but also the underlying issue goes unaddressed. Massage therapy has become more popular over the years and this can help to relieve some muscle tightness. If the issue is in the bones or joints, though, the problem will remain.
Chiropractic care is an effective natural treatment for most cases of neck and shoulder pain, one that holistically addresses the structural cause that leads to most neck and shoulder pain. Gentle adjustments to the spine can bring instant relief and restore long term health to the entire body.