It isn’t uncommon to have neck pain from time to time, but some discomfort signals a serious problem that needs medical attention or therapy. Everyday activities can cause neck strain, including sitting at a computer too long or sleeping in an uncomfortable position. These aches may go away over time, but if you have chronic pain affecting the neck’s bones, joints, muscles, or nerves, you likely need an exam that provides some answers.
If you have tried everything for your neck pain and nothing is working, our team at Specific Care Chiropractic can help you find relief. We offer North Lauderdale neck injury treatment options if you have experienced a neck injury from:
- A motor vehicle accident
- Slip, trip, or fall accident
- Head or neck trauma
- On-the-job accident
We welcome you to make an appointment to learn more about how chiropractic treatment methods can help you.
Our Chiropractors Treat Various Types of Neck Injuries
Your neck pain can happen for many reasons, and some of them may not be easily apparent. Before we can recommend which therapies could work for you, we will first examine you and ask questions to learn more about your neck injury so that we can determine the source.
We commonly see injuries from the following:
- Whiplash, which commonly happens in rear-end motor vehicle accidents
- Pinched nerves, which commonly happen during sports-related activities
- Disc injuries, which commonly happen when lifting heavy items
- Neck strain from repetitive movements or poor posture
- Fractures that can happen from a fall
- Spinal cord injuries that affect the cervical area
Neck pain can involve several symptoms, including:
- Headache
- Muscle tightness and spasms
- Limited to no ability to move one’s head
- Persistent pain that occurs when the head is still and held in one position for a considerable time
When Is Neck Pain Serious Enough for Professional Treatment?
As Mayo Clinic advises, you should seek medical care if your neck pain is severe and lingers for several days. If home care doesn’t work, you may want to consider professional treatment. If you have neck pain in addition to numbness, tingling, or weakness affecting your arms or legs, especially after an accident of any kind, you should get medical care right away.
What to Expect on Your First Visit to Specific Care Chiropractic
A visit to our office serving the North Lauderdale area can give you a better idea of what to expect from our chiropractic clinic. During your time here, you will:
- Complete a survey about your neck injury so we can evaluate your general health and injury
- Undergo a physical exam and possibly take diagnostic tests, such as X-ray exams
- Receive a follow-up appointment so that we can review your test results and treatment plan with you.
Our physician will talk with you more about:
- Your neck injury’s cause: If you fell recently or were in a car accident or another incident that caused your neck to hurt, we want to hear about it so we can understand what kind of neck injury you have.
- The kind of neck pain you are experiencing: Although pain is challenging to deal with for most people, it doesn’t always feel the same. The kind of pain you have can also help us understand what’s causing it. For example, if you have a burning sensation in your neck, it could be a sprained, strained, or torn muscle. Shooting or sharp pain could indicate nerve damage.
- When your neck pain started: The timeline of your neck pain can help us understand how serious your injury is and what approaches could treat it. If you’ve been in pain for a few days, that can tell us one thing, but if it’s been a few months or even a few years, that can tell us something different. Chronic neck pain is common, too, so we will examine further to understand why your neck pain persists.
- If your neck pain affects other parts of your body: It is common for neck pain to start there but spread to other areas, such as the arms, back, head, or shoulders. If your neck hurts, it can also affect how you move your body, injuring other areas. We will want to know if you have noticed pain in other parts of your body since dealing with your neck injury.
- If at-home treatment makes your pain better or worse: If you have been treating your injury at home, we will want to know what methods you used, such as warm or cold compresses or over-the-counter pain medication. You can also tell us if any of these approaches or others have helped you or brought on more discomfort.
Once we locate the source of neck pain and determine why your neck injury is happening, we will take all this information and create a treatment plan specifically for you. During your second visit, our doctor will review how chiropractic treatment works and assess your imaging tests with you. We will also discuss the therapies we recommend. From there, we administer your first treatment.
Therapies We Offer for Our North Lauderdale Neck Injury Patients
We use physiotherapy treatments to alleviate our patients’ neck pain. These include:
Corrective Chiropractic Care
This level of care involves chiropractic adjustments that manipulate the cervical vertebrae to help reduce neck pain. This approach can relieve pinched nerves, muscle spasms, and other types of pain.
Electrical Muscle Stimulation (E-STIM) Therapy
This treatment is ideal for people facing muscle weakness, post-surgical pain, bursitis, or spasms, among other conditions. During your E-STIM therapy treatment, we will use tiny, electric pulses in the area where your neck hurts to repair damaged muscle tissue.
Massage Therapy
Massage helps relax the muscles and improve the functioning of the neck by relieving muscle spasms and tension. As a result, patients can move the neck around more without pain or stiffness.
Ultrasound Therapy
During this therapy, ultrasound technology is used to emit sound waves into the neck to reduce pain. According to a study published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, therapeutic ultrasound is a safe treatment that can reduce the intensity of pain.
Additional Treatment Approaches We Could Use for a Neck Injury
We may also prescribe rehabilitative therapy for you, which involves using various exercises designed to treat neck pain. Some involve exercise balls or the use of a vibration plate. We may also show you how to perform exercises that stretch and strengthen your body.
Rehabilitation for Your Neck Injury Will Occur in Four Phases
Although we use various treatment methods, your care plan will be tailored to your specific injury and needs. We also will ensure that you are comfortable with the recommended treatments so that you find the experience helpful. Rehabilitation for your neck injury will involve four phases: acute, rehab, strengthening, and maximum medical improvement (MMI).
We will make adjustments that target your area of pain during the acute phase. You may continue to get adjustments and do light exercises as mobility and function are restored to your neck. We will show you additional ways to strengthen your neck muscles and joints, depending on your rate of healing.
In the strengthening phase, you will likely feel better than you did before your neck injury occurred. During this time, you will receive final corrective adjustments. Finally, in the MMI phase, you should be free of pain and able to move about normally.
Call to Make an Appointment for North Lauderdale Neck Injury Treatment
Neck pain can be hard to live with and affect one’s quality of life. It can make moving around difficult, causing you to put pressure on other areas of the body that can also cause additional discomfort and injuries. Whether your pain stems from inflammation, disease, or another cause, we will find out what is happening so that we can help you find relief as soon as possible.
Call (239) 369-9109 to schedule an appointment for your North Lauderdale neck injury treatment today.
