Neck Pain Treatment in Hartland, WI

Every inch your head creeps forward into a less-than-ideal posture (anterior head carriage), it adds an additional 10 POUNDS of pressure onto the anterior parts of our neck bones. Over time, this can cause:

• Aches and pains
• Muscle tightness
• Early or accelerated disc or bone degeneration
• Bone spurs,
• Heart palpitations
• Infertility
• Stress overload
• Digestive issues

You name it, we’ve seen it. That is why it is so important to figure out the root cause of your neck pain so that you can put a stop to it before it causes significant problems down the road.

The root cause of neck pain can be dysfunction with a bone, muscle, joint, disc, or a combination. If a bone in your neck is out of place, or subluxated, it can put pressure on a nerve, disc, or muscle that can ultimately cause pain or disease in your body. The longer the bone is out of place, the worse the effects can get. Conventional medical treatment for neck bones being out of place and causing pain is medications to make the pain “go away”. However, medication can’t get to the root of the problem; instead, it’s just a band-aid offering temporary relief. Eventually, your body will get used to the medications, and you will be faced with the decision to try another drug, go a more invasive route like injections, nerve ablations, or surgery, or just live with the pain forever.

That is why Chiropractic is so widely used for neck pain. We take X-rays to ensure we know exactly what is going on in your neck. We measure your neck bones down to the exact millimeter and degree of misalignment to ensure precise accuracy. We also have a variety of tools to quickly, gently, and effectively put your bones back in place and get you feeling and functioning better again, the way your body was designed!

How We Treat Neck Pain In Hartland, WI

Digital X-rays

If you want to properly address the root cause of your neck pain, X-rays are essential. The bones in your neck are very small and can move in all different directions. It is for this reason that we here at Perfect Touch Chiropractic take several precise X-rays of any region we plan to adjust. We actually even measure down to the exact millimeter and degree of misalignment, and practice a specific cervical adjustment technique practiced by less than 2% of the Chiropractic profession!

Beyond knowing exactly how we need to adjust you, X-rays allow us to see other sorts of things like pathologies, degeneration, posture abnormalities, old and new injuries, and things that you cannot see with the naked eye or sometimes even feel for yourself. X-rays are not dangerous, and our state-of-the-art equipment produces phenomenal image quality. If you are scared about radiation exposure, rest assured, you actually get more radiation exposure going through TSA than you will in this office. X-rays are safe, quick, and effective, and allow us to create a tailored treatment plan to fit every unique need that you have. They take Chiropractic care to the next level!

Massage Therapy and Soft Tissue Work

At Perfect Touch Chiropractic, we offer in-house massage therapy by a licensed massage therapist! We believe in treating the whole body as a unit, and because everyone’s needs are so different, sometimes massage therapy is used in conjunction with Chiropractic care to provide more efficient, well-rounded care. We are not just floating bones in space, so it is important to address the musculoskeletal system along with the nervous system to ensure we are treating you as a whole and getting to the root of your problem.

When bones in the neck are out of place or misaligned, they can create muscular tension. This muscular tension can sometimes cause Chiropractic adjustments to not hold, be uncomfortable, or take longer to be successful. Massage therapy, when used in conjunction with Chiropractic care, speeds up the healing process and gets you back to your normal before you know it!

Custom Therapeutic Exercise Plan

The human body is an amazingly complex system. Because we are not just floating bones in space, it is essential to address the body as a whole, and not just individual parts. It is for this reason that we provide therapeutic exercises to help aid in the healing journey. If you have either weak or spastic muscles anywhere within the neck it can pull bones out of place (or subluxate them) and sometimes cause a lot of pain. Making sure that we are moving correctly, stretching out proper muscles, and strengthening in the right areas can help adjustments hold faster and for longer.

There are so many exercises out there, and we help not to overwhelm you in the process but instead enlighten you in which areas you need to focus on, teach you how to move properly, and ensure you are doing exercises correctly. We are your partners in health and want to make sure you take some healthy habits home with you when you leave! Healing occurs between the visits, and we want to ensure you maximize that potential.

Common Causes of Neck Pain In Hartland, WI

Bulged Cervical Discs

Did you know that every bone in your neck has a spinal disc? Did you know that you could have a malfunction of that disc (i.e., a disc bulge) and not even know it? While some disc bulges fly under the radar symptomatically, most cause very severe and sometimes even debilitating pain. Common symptoms of a disc bulge include, but are not limited to:

• Pain
• Weakness
• Achiness
• Burning
• Itching
• Numbness
• Tingling
• Loss of sensation
• Loss of function

Disc bulges are most commonly caused by a traumatic blow to the head or neck; however, sometimes they can come from simple wrong movements, poor posture, dehydration, and other processes like osteoarthritis, tech neck, or muscle strains. This is why it is important to be assessed by a Chiropractor to address the root cause of your disc bulge, create a treatment plan best suited for your individual needs, and specifically and lightly adjust you to help nurse your disc bulge back to health!

Muscle Strain

A muscle strain is an injury to the muscle fibers in the belly of a muscle. Muscle strains can come from all sorts of things, from traumatic injuries to sitting at an office desk with poor posture for too long. Muscle strains most commonly present with pain, stiffness, tightness, weakness, or burning. They can be slow to heal if not acted upon quickly and effectively with proper care. Massage therapy can be extremely beneficial for bringing blood, oxygen, and nutrients to a strained or injured muscle to help speed up the healing process. This is why we use massage therapy at Perfect Touch Chiropractic: to ensure that muscle recovery is done properly!

Tech Neck

“Tech” neck or “text” neck is the new smoking! Tech neck can present differently in everyone, with the most common presentation being a stooped posture, forward head carriage, and sometimes even a hump where the neck meets the shoulders. Cosmetically, tech neck is not pretty, but more importantly, it is detrimental to your overall health.

Tech neck can cause a slew of problems, including but not limited to neck pain, stiffness, headaches, numbness or tingling in the arms, digestive issues, hormone imbalance, dizziness, and nausea. This is why we say it is the new smoking; it is, unfortunately, extremely common, and the results can be very detrimental down the road.

So if you spend a lot of time on your phone, computer, desk, laptop, or reading a book with your head tilted downward, consider booking a Chiropractic appointment. A qualified Chiropractor who takes X-rays can see what’s going on beneath the surface and figure out the best and fastest way to decrease your tech neck and improve your posture.

Osteoarthritis / Degenerative Disc Disease

Neck Osteoarthritis or Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) occurs when there is a breakdown of the connective tissue (or discs) in the neck. Your spinal bones are supposed to have nice juicy pads between them. These are your spinal discs, and they are vital to your health, serving as shock absorbers for your spine. They ensure that every step you take is met with grace, and every move you make in your neck is made with ease. When you lose these spaces, you get bone on bone. Restoring proper motion within the neck region is critical for optimal function and pain reduction.

Besides just a lifetime of pain, another thing that osteoarthritis and DDD threaten is our organ function. If you have no space between your bones, you have no space for the nerves to exit the spinal cord and serve your body. Nerve compression can lead to pain, weakness, aching, burning, numbness, tingling, loss of sensation, and loss of function. That being said, you do not always feel this compression. However, if you start to have thyroid problems, difficulty swallowing, breathing, regulating your temperature, or have heightened anxiety or depression, it may be a sign to get your neck checked out by a Chiropractor to ensure you do not have something as sinister as osteoarthritis or DDD. If you do, a Chiropractor would be able to see this, treat it with specific light adjustments, and help you restore some of your function and feel better again!

Whiplash

Whiplash occurs when the bones in the neck are severely strained into severe ranges of motion. The head is like a bowling ball on top of a string, and if enough force is put into the body, it can cause the head to bounce around very quickly. The muscles and ligaments in our neck are designed to limit extreme, quick movements so that we do not hurt ourselves. In a car accident or a hard hit in football, the head will go backwards and forwards at a very high rate of speed, and the ligaments can get stretched out or become lax/weak. This puts us at a considerable risk of further injury and damage, and it is essential to consult with a Chiropractic physician who takes X-rays immediately. Chiropractors who take X-rays will not only be able to address any ligament laxity, but they will also be able to see if there are any bones out of place or subluxated. Uncorrected subluxation delays the healing process, which can cause future complications.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should you see a chiropractor for neck pain?

You do not have to be in pain to see a Chiropractor, but as soon as you do feel pain, it is a good time to get checked out. Remember, pain is never normal; it is just common!

Is it okay to “pop” my own neck?

Popping your own neck can put you at risk of injury. Consult with a Chiropractic professional on how to alleviate the urge to pop your own neck to ensure you do not put yourself in harm’s way!

How can I relieve my neck pain?

Chiropractic and massage therapy are two of the best natural ways to treat neck pain. When used together, they can help relieve neck pain very quickly!

Why does my neck hurt on one side?

When a bone is out of place, or subluxated, it can put pressure on the nervous or musculoskeletal system. This pressure can cause pain on one side, both sides, or be completely asymptomatic.

How can you tell if your neck is out of alignment?

Abnormal popping, cracking, pressure, pain, burning, itching, numbness, or tingling are all signs that you could have a bone misalignment in your neck. If it is severe enough, you may even experience any of these symptoms in your upper back, mid back, arms, or hands as well.