Three Head And Neck Problems That A Chiropractor Can Treat
There are many head and neck problems to be aware of. Many of them cause discomfort or pain, while others just create really horrific posture. For all of these, a chiropractor has several treatment options, which are outlined in your personal treatment folder when you choose to see a chiropractor. Here are three examples of head and neck problems (which you may or may not have known about), and how your chiropractor will treat each of them.
Cervical Subluxation
There are seven bones in the human neck. These seven bones stacked on top of each other like puzzle pieces, with only vertebral discs separating the bones and cushioning them against the next bone above and below each. A subluxation is an injury to the bones and soft tissues in the neck that cause the neck bones to move out of alignment. The pain can be quite excruciating since the bones do not have a lot of room inside the neck to move.
Your chiropractor has to carefully manipulate the out-of-place bones back into position. This process may need repeating over a few months until the cervical vertebrae accept the position into which they have been gently pushed. Since these bones will no longer hamper the nerves inside the neck or the nerve impulses themselves, you should have a lot less pain. Use whatever home treatments your chiropractor orders to deal with the pain until the required number of treatment sessions are complete.
Forward Head Posture Treatment
This sounds like a completely made-up disorder, but it is not. In the modern day, adults, teens, and kids are bent over phones, tablets, and laptops most of the day. As such, their posture tends to conform to a very awkward position. The shoulders round and slump forward, the top of the back starts to "hunch," and the neck and head curl forward.
Of course, the ideal solution and treatment for this is to stop using all of these electronic devices and sit/walk upright. Not too many kids, teens, and/or adults are willing to do that. Chiropractors have developed a way to treat this growing postural problem.
You are given weighted headgear, which includes a head strap, chin strap, cheek straps, and a strap on the top of your head with a metal ring on the end. You have to lay on a flat surface for several minutes, while a bean bag attaches to the metal ring on your head. The bean bag weight hangs down, pulling your neck and head in the opposite direction. A foam triangle and super-stretchy cord with a rubber roll that rests on your forehead may be substituted and used in a similar manner. Both pieces of home-use equipment are meant to pull your head and neck back into the proper position.
Tight Ligaments That Pull Your Head to Your Shoulder
You may have seen some senior citizens with this problem. The ligaments in one side of your neck become so tight that they pull your ear or cheek to your shoulder. It is very hard to get your head to come back up straight. Many patients resort to such treatments and muscle relaxants so that they can regain control of their heads.
If you are in the first stages of this disorder, you can still fix it. The chiropractor makes adjustments, and then you are responsible to use the exercises he/she gives you to keep your neck ligaments loose. Continued use of these exercises combined with a little massage therapy will prevent your own head and neck from getting permanently stuck in a sideways position.
For help understanding neck and head treatment options, visit with a medical professional.