Neck pain and posture

Neck pain will affect 7 out of 10 people in their lifetime and can be quite painful. The most common types of neck pain include: 

• muscle pain or spasm
• nerve pain
• bone or facet joint pain
• referral or radicular pain

If you have neck pain, you might have been diagnosed with any of the following: 

• herniated disc or prolapsed disc
• spinal stenosis
• degenerative disc disease or bone spurs
• osteoarthritis
• whiplash
• facet syndrome 
• fibromyalgia 

It's important to remember that the diagnosis doesn't tell us what caused the problem or how to fix it. Let me explain...

Lets say you have neck pain and were diagnosed with a herniated disc. That's great information to have, but it doesn't tell you what caused the herniated disc. You can treat the herniated disc, but if you don't find and fix the underlying cause of the herniation you're just kicking the bucket down the road. 

Contrary to popular belief, herniated discs don't show up from one bad move, fall, or accident. They also aren't caused by genetics, old age, or bad luck. Spinal discs are extremely strong, resilient, durable, and tough. It takes years of abuse to slowly beat them up and wear them out. An accident or fall might have been the straw that broke the camels back, but it wasn't the whole picture. 

Surgery for a damaged cervical disc, whether herniated or degenerative, might fix the immediate problem, but does nothing about the underlying, and much bigger, issue. 
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The most common types of neck surgeries include: 

• anterior cervical discectomy and fusion
• cervical disc replacement
• posterior cervical laminectomy

Even after a successful surgery, the cause of disc herniated still has to be addressed. Neck issues are caused by the neck or cervical spine not being in the most efficient alignment and movement patterns. When evaluating neck alignment and movement, it's important to remember the neck is balanced on top of the thoracic spine, lumbar spine, pelvis, and legs. An imbalance in the neck is most likely caused by imbalances down the chain somewhere else. That's why it's so important to look at the entire body - both alignment and movement - to figure out what is actually the underlying cause of the neck problem. 

Things like a weak and pronated foot can cause the knee and hip above it to collapse, which causes the torso to rotate and tilt, which then causes the neck to move out of alignment and can cause neck pain. As a posture alignment therapists, I always look at the entire body to make sure we are addressing the underlying cause of pain and damage and not just treating the symptom. 

If you would like to learn what is causing your neck pain and how you can make sure it goes away and stays away, contact me today for a free evaluation on Zoom.