Neck Pain

Understanding Neck Pain, Diagnosis, and Treatment

One of the most common areas of wear and tear and joint inflammation (aka, arthritis) in the human spine is C5/C6 joint of the neck (5th vertebrae down from base of the skull). Thus, severe wear on the neck can easily cause spinal misalignments (subluxation) of the bones.

Neck Pain Can Get Worse

In time, these misalignments begin to affect the spinal discs and cause Degenerative Disc Disease of the joint. 

Afterward, spinal nerves can easily be pinched by these degenerative changes and create severe neck pain, amongst other health issues.

At Good Life Chiropractic, we take neck pain seriously (i.e., neck pain symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment, and relief).

Diagnosing Neck Pain

The possible diagnoses for neck pain are a long list. It can be as simple as a muscle spasm or as severe as a disc herniation that may lead to surgery.

X-rays are almost always needed to rule in or rule out the possibility of disc degeneration. 

We also prefer to do electromyography scanning and thermography to check muscle and nerve function. 

The treatments for neck pain vary greatly at our office.

The primary reason for that is the fact that many people do not like their necks to be manually adjusted by a chiropractor.

Hearing the sound of an adjustment makes some people cringe.

The doctor must go over the treatment before performing the neck adjustment.

Our Neck Pain Adjustment Techniques To Ensure Patient Comfort

• Diversified Cervical Adjustment (usual manual adjustment)
  • Seated adjustment
  • Supine adjustment (Rotatory Break Adjustment)
  • Prone Adjustment
• Impulse Technique Adjustment (using a unique electrical adjusting tool)
• Activator Method Adjustment (using a non-electrical adjusting tool)
• Thompson Drop Table Technique

Active Involvement of the Patient

It is almost impossible to win the "neck pain war" without patients changing their home and work ergonomics, learning some stress management techniques, completing spinal soft tissue therapy, core muscle stretch and strengthening, and assessing sleeping habits.

All new patients must attend an orientation talks talk designed to address some of the issues noted above, such as home and office ergonomics and sleeping habits.

All neck pain patients are scheduled for massages, core muscle exercise training, and more.

Winning the war against neck pain changes the overall health of the patient.

Neck diseases can easily lead to numbness in the hands, loss of arm strength, headaches, and even in some cases, difficulty swallowing, anxiety attacks, depression, and more.

What To Do...

Contact us to help you get relief from your next pain. 

Do not ignore your neck pain. Do not minimize your neck pain by saying:

• "It's only neck stiffness"
• "It's not pain...it's just some discomfort"
• "It's just normal neck pain"
• "It's just because I use computers so much"
• and so on

In a couple of years, the stiffness becomes discomfort, then low-grade pain, then pain managed by Advil, then you seek help only to find out you are dealing with progressive disc degeneration.

The good news is that a lot can be done if we just begin aligning the spine and improving joint mobility.

But without a beginning, the end is inevitable.

With reasonable gentle adjustments, core muscle work, and proper ergonomic changes, you can be like some of our patients who are now enjoying a pain-free, drug-free, and surgery-free life.

I look forward to helping you get neck pain relief, including from "stiff neck".

Dr. Sun Hwang, D.C.