Neck Stiffness

Many patients I see complain of neck stiffness and pain. They may have trouble turning their head without feeling pain. Many times this pain can radiate into their shoulder, arm, jaw and/or head. Their range of motion in their neck is often times limited causing them to turn their entire body just to look to the side. What’s happening is one or more of the nerves that exit from their spine between the vertebrae is getting compressed. This can happen when one or more of the vertebrae are misaligned or fixated. This misalignment will make the hole the nerve exits from smaller and then when a person goes to bend or turn their head, the nerve gets compressed or pinched. Pain can then radiate down the nerve into the arm or into the head.

The whole reason you have a spine is to allow you to bend, twist and move in different directions. When a vertebrae becomes misaligned or fixated, this region of the spine doesn’t function the way it was intended to. Many times an adjustment to this vertebrae will realign and/or ‘free it up’ so that it then works the way it was designed to work within the spine.

I am also a big proponent of stretching and have a specific set of stretches I like to show all patients with neck problems. I relate stretching to brushing your teeth. It’s a routine that if followed daily will help keep your neck pliable and functioning smoothly.

If you are experiencing neck stiffness and pain, or any other neck problems, feel free to call me as consultations are always free.