Neck & Back Pain
Neck and back pain are the top two reasons people visit a chiropractor. The pain can start quietly while you sleep, suddenly with an injury or gradually over months. There is plenty that can be done to prevent spinal pain from developing but sometimes pain comes about no matter how careful you are.
So what causes pain to develop in the back and neck?
Pain’s purpose is to protect you and to tell you what activities are damaging your bodies tissues. If a certain area hurts, your body is designed to do everything it can to prevent further injury and to allow the area to heal.
Nociceptors work as detectors to sense pain. They detect a variety of stimuli related to tissue damage. Once stimulated they cause signals to be sent up nerves, through the spinal cord and into the brain, where the signals are processed and interpreted as pain. A problem with this pain detection method can also cause pain, such as with nerve compression or if the brain is inaccurately processing incoming information.
The back itself is a complex structure built of multiple moving parts. There are 24 uniquely shaped vertebrae, 24 ribs, a sacrum and a coccyx, with over 80 joints and 23 vertebral discs connecting them all together. The spine has many functions; housing and protecting the spinal cord, weight bearing, allowing movement and serving as an attachment point for many bones, ligaments and muscles. If just one of these parts malfunctions or become injured, pain can develop.
It would be difficult to list every possible cause of back pain and neck pain because of this complexity, but below are the most common causes we see in practice.
Common causes of neck and back pain include:
- Muscle spasm
- Muscle strain
- Ligament sprain
- Osteoarthritis
- Intervertebral disc injury
- Spinal joint injury
- Nerve irritation/injury
- Bone injury
- And other less common medical conditions such as spondylolisthesis, ankylosing spondylitis, inflammatory arthritis, kidney stones, cancer, infection, cauda equina syndrome and abdominal aortic aneurysm.
It has been shown that chiropractic care is an effective form of treatment for neck pain and lower back pain. Chiropractors use manipulative therapy and other techniques with the goal of restoring normal function to the body and allowing the painful areas to heal.
Karori Chiropractic is rehabilitation focused, our aim is to get you out of pain and back in action as quickly as possible. We have seen a variety of people from Wellington and beyond and have helped them reach their goals. Whether your pain is minor or severe, we will endeavour to find out what is causing your pain and give you treatment and advice tailored to your unique condition.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch today or book online now!