Are you struggling with neck pain? Learn about cervicalgia, a condition affecting 30% to 50% of adults each year, and discover its common causes, such as poor posture, injuries, and repetitive strain. This guide explains how these factors contribute to chronic neck pain and highlights the importance of seeking professional help in Boulder, Longmont, and Erie areas when symptoms persist. Explore the benefits of chiropractic care, specifically upper cervical chiropractic techniques, which have been proven effective in alleviating neck pain.

Read inspiring real-life success stories of individuals who have found lasting relief and improved their quality of life. Don’t let neck pain control your daily activities—find out how to manage and treat your pain effectively with the right approach. For a comprehensive understanding and actionable solutions, dive into our detailed guide to managing neck pain. Wow!

Neck pain can affect your life in a negative way and make it hard to do even the simplest daily activities.

Some of the many causes of neck pain:

  • Whiplash
  • Sprain or strain to the cervical spine
  • Sport injury
  • Car accidents
  • Computer work
  • Poor posture
  • Repetitive trauma

So, when is it time to seek help from a neck doctor near you?

You should make an appointment with a neck specialist when you are experiencing:

  • Constant headaches
  • Dizziness or vertigo
  • Pain when moving your head up and down
  • Pain when rotating your head side to side
  • Fatigue in your neck
  • Difficulty holding your head up
  • Numbness or tingling in your hands or arms
  • Swelling in your upper shoulders or lower neck
  • Recovering from an whiplash injury
  • Feeling a pinch or kink in your neck

Understanding Neck Pain

The first step to understanding neck pain is to know what the common causes of neck pain are. Poor posture, muscle strain, neck injuries, and cervical spine misalignments are all common causes of neck pain.

In today’s society, it can be very challenging to combat poor posture. Most people sit at a desk for the majority of the day or they are constantly hunched over looking at their phone. Prolonged exposure to bad posture can lead to an anterior head lean and chronic neck pain. You may have heard of “text neck” which is also a common issue that people are suffering from. It creates tension in the muscles of the neck due to constantly looking down at screens. The average American is on their phone for four and a half hours a day! Yikes!

A muscle sprain or strain happens when damage is done to a muscle or tendon. This can be a minor or major tear in the muscle fibers. Muscle strains can occur after a sports injury, a car accident, or even minor repetitive trauma from work or exercise.

Neck injuries can range from minor to very serious. The most common neck injury is caused by a car accident. Here in Colorado, there are over 100,000 auto accidents a year! Whiplash is the description of the neck quickly accelerating forward and then backwards. Whiplash can not only lead to sprains and strains, but it can also lead to long-lasting neck pain, headaches, and vertigo.

Cervical misalignments or imbalances in the spine can also lead to neck pain. A chiropractor is the best person to go to for cervical misalignments. An upper cervical chiropractor specializes in the biomechanics of the neck and can properly address issues like neck pain and headaches. Upper cervical chiropractors are essentially neck doctor specialists.

Should surgery be considered?

Surgery should be your absolute last option after you have tried everything else. There is a time and place for surgery, however it should only be used when all other options have been exhausted. The option for surgery is always there, but you can never undo surgery once you have done it.

Research And Evidence For Relief Of Neck Pain Utilizing Chiropractic Care

There have been many studies done about chiropractic being an effective modality in treating neck pain. There have been even better results when specific upper cervical chiropractic was the technique being applied.

A study performed in 2009 showed Statistically significant clinically meaningful improvements in neck pain NRS (P < 0.01) and disability NDI (P < 0.01) after an average of 13.6 days of specific chiropractic care including 5.7 office visits and 2.7 upper cervical adjustments were demonstrated. There were no serious adverse events.

Real life success stories

We have had so many success stories of patients getting better from their neck pain over the last 15 years. I want to share Carol’s story with you.

Carol is a 64 year old woman that had been suffering from chronic horrible neck pain and headaches for over 5 years. She had tried everything to get better with little to no success. She went to her medical doctor who did an x-ray and some other test and told her she had a little cervical arthritis and that was normal at her age. Carol just thought there was nothing that could be done and that she was going to have to “just live with” this neck pain. Luckily her daughter found an upper cervical chiropractor and loved the results that she was getting. She suggested that Carol find a neck specialist chiropractor near her.

Carol called the office and we listened to her history and explained how we could help her. She was a little scared and skeptical at first because she had never seen a chiropractor. At this point Carol was in so much pain that she knew she had to do something. So, she committed to care and slowly started to see results. Oh, and by the way, Carol drives 100 miles one way to make her appointments. Unfortunately, we are the closest upper cervical office to where she lives. That is actually not uncommon for our office to see people in different cities, states, or even out of the country.

Now Carol goes days without any pain, her range of motion is better and she is sleeping better. This has been an amazing experience for Carol and her only regret is that she waited 5 years to start.

If this story sounds familiar to you, please don’t wait to get help. Neck pain relief is only a phone call away. You can always call the office and speak directly to one of our doctors. I promise you that we will listen to you and tell you if we can help you or not.

Addressing Common Concerns and Misconceptions about chiropractic

There are so many misconceptions when it comes to chiropractic. Mostly these misconceptions come from a lack of knowledge on what chiropractic is and why you would want to see a chiropractor.

Let’s start with what chiropractic is and what the goal of a chiropractor should be. A chiropractor is a doctor of the nervous system. That’s right, a chiropractor is not a back doctor. This first point is the foundation for most misconceptions. What I mean by saying a doctor of the nervous system is a chiropractor is mostly concerned with how the nerves are firing to and from the brain. Your spine protects your spinal cord and nerves, so if you do not have proper movement in your spine this disrupts the way your body sends messages to the brain. Most of the time when your joints get stuck your body sends pain signals to the brain to tell you that something is wrong. This is why chiropractic is so effective in dealing with neck and back pain. However, getting rid of your pain is a “side effect” of having proper movement in your spine and incorrect neurological input to your brain.

Another aspect of chiropractic that is unknown to the public is that chiropractors can specialize in different techniques and populations. Just as in medicine there are general practitioners and others that have advanced training in their area. When it comes to neck pain you should definitely seek out a chiropractor who specializes in the neck and biomechanics of the upper cervical region (top of neck)

Anytime that I tell people that I am a chiropractor they usually have some questions. Here are the top questions I get asked all the time.

Does it hurt to get adjusted?

No. It might be a little uncomfortable in the beginning, especially if your joints have been stuck for a long time. In our office we also have modifications if a patient needs a more gentle adjustment.

Once I start going, do I have to go forever?

No. You don’t have to go forever. But just like you go to the dentist to get your teeth checked, you should get your spine checked on a regular basis to make sure you don’t develop a bigger problem down the line.

Can getting your neck adjusted cause a stroke?

NO. This one drives me insane. There has been research article after research article done by medical doctors showing no causation with neck adjustment and stroke. Here is the research article done by the national Institution of Health showing this outcome.

What’s the popping sound?

The popping or cracking sound is just a release of gas. When you move a joint to end range motion gas is released and you can hear a cracking sound. However, you don’t have to hear a “crack” for an adjustment to take place.

Is it chiropractic safe for kids?

Yes, chiropractic is safe for children and is recommended. Imagine if you never took your kid in to get their teeth checked. They would have a ton of cavities and would need a lot of work. If you get your kid’s spine checked when they are little, they will grow up with less issues later in life in their neck and back.

Is chiropractic safe for pregnant women?

Yes, in fact it is shown that women who see a chiropractor during pregnancy have less pain and an easier birth with decreased birth times than women who do not see a chiropractor.

How much education does it take to be a chiropractor?

Chiropractors are doctors. So they have a bachelor’s in science in pre med and then attend a 3-4 year doctorate chiropractic school. Some chiropractors, like upper cervical chiropractors, have an extra year of certification in cervical biomechanics and neurology.

Are you ready to take action?

There is no reason that you need to suffer with neck pain anymore. Even if you have tried traditional chiropractic with little to no results. We are different.

What it looks like to start care at Altas Chiropractic

First you can call the office to speak directly with one of our neck specialists chiropractors. We promise we will listen to you and let you know if we can help you. Once we have decided that you are an ideal candidate we will get you scheduled for an initial appointment. At that initial appointment we will take an in-depth history, perform orthopedic tests, and use our diagnostic infrared thermography. Once we have an overview of your health and nervous system we will take digital motion x rays to assess the biomechanics of your neck. This is how we determine the specific adjustment you need to get better.

After your initial exam we will bring you back to go over all your test results, answer any questions you may have and come up with a tailored treatment plan for you. There are no surprises and we will always answer any questions that may come up during the course of your care. Our main goal is to provide you with the best care possible so you can get back to being you as soon as possible.

If you are ready to make a change in your life and get rid of this neck pain once and for all, contact us or call our office at 303-442-5911.