- Home
- Shoulder Pain And Pain Around Neck
Shoulder Pain And Pain Around Neck
Shoulder Pain & Pain Around Neck
Do you constantly find yourself rubbing your neck and shoulders while sitting at work or while driving? Are you one of those people that bends, twists, and rolls their head from side to side hoping and looking for some kind of pain relief? If you are, it’s important to know that you are not alone! Neck and shoulder pain affects millions of people, and although there can be many different reasons that cause it, the solution for pain relief can be the same.
What Causes Neck Pain?
Your neck, also called the cervical spine, begins at the base of the skull and contains seven small vertebrae. Your cervical spine supports the full weight of your head, which weighs about 12 pounds on average.
Because the neck is very flexible and can move your head in virtually every direction, it is highly susceptible to pain and injury.
Some common causes of neck pain include:
• Pinched nerves
• Osteoarthritis
• Herniated discs
• Bone spurs
• Worn joints
• Muscle strains, often from postural deviations
• Injuries, such as from sports or auto accidents
BOOK AN APPOINTMENT
You Don't Have To Live With Pain
Dr. Rahul Bade is a specialist Knee & Shoulder Surgeon.
Neck Pain & Treatment
If you experience neck pain, stiffness or discomfort, you’re far from alone. It’s estimated that acute or chronic neck pain affects anywhere from 16 percent up to 75 percent of people in some areas of the world. In America, the most common neck pain issues stem from our sedentary and technology-heavy lifestyle. Think about it: Most of us sit all day and look at computer screens or mobile devices for the majority of our days. Then we go home and look at television screens or spend more time on phones and tablets. This lifestyle puts a great deal of stress on our neck, often causing posture issues that contribute even further to neck pain.
Can chiropractors treat neck pain?
Chiropractic neck adjustments, called cervical manipulation, loosen up the joints of the cervical vertebrae in the neck. This can reduce pain caused by pinched nerves, muscle spasms, strains and other contributing factors. Most neck pain is associated with poor posture combined with age-related wear and tear. Chiropractors use their hands to manipulate the neck and place the vertebrae back into alignment, combatting the effects of posture and other factors.
Sometimes, neck pain isn’t just local. Discomfort from causes such as pinched nerves can radiate throughout the shoulder and down the arm. Chiropractors can help relieve these pains by repositioning the bones, relaxing the muscles, and reducing the pressure on nerves. In conjunction with your chiropractic treatment plan, continual stretching and home exercises can ensure your neck pain stays at bay. Soft tissue massage can also loosen muscle knots in the neck and shoulders to relieve pain.
Shoulder Pain & Treatment
The shoulder is a common area that is prone to injury due to the makeup of the freely movable joint which provides excessive motion. There are many ways that you could injure your shoulder; any repetitive overhead arm use or unsupported reaching, such as painting, throwing, or even lifting objects out in front of your body, and shoveling snow. Sports have a huge impact on the shoulder pain due to the repetitive motions during practices and games. If there are muscular imbalances or fixations in the muscles that surround the shoulder and shoulder blade, you have a higher likelihood of an overuse injury – causing shoulder pain. Athletes are also at a higher risk of direct impact to the shoulder when playing sports.
The shoulder has a smaller number and size of muscles that surround it compared to the hip joint. It is surrounded by the 4 rotator cuff muscles that form a cuff around the humerus (the bone in the upper arm) and work in combination with the scapula (shoulder blade) to move and lift your arm. It is made up of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis, with the supraspinatus tendon being the most commonly injured or torn. There are also many bursa (fluid filled sacs) in your shoulder that protect the tendons and other soft tissue from rubbing on the bone or over each other which could cause inflammation and pain in your shoulder as well.
The muscles in your arms and shoulders are also supplied by the nerves that exit the spinal cord through your neck. Therefore, if you have impingement or dysfunction in your neck and upper back, it could be causing shoulder/arm pain, achiness, or weakness. When people are on their phones or on computers for long periods of time, it can put stress and strain on their neck, upper back, and shoulders causing pain and stiffness.
Proper alignment of the glenohumeral joint is important in order for the bones to glide smoothly when using our arm and shoulder. One thing that most people do not realize is the importance of the mobility of the shoulder blade. If it is fixated or lacks proper rotator motion, it can put stress on the rotator cuff muscles and the overall function and mobility of the humerus and shoulder. It is important to clear the shoulder blade of adhesions and check/adjust the mid and upper back so the spine and ribs are able to articulate smoothly and take excessive pressure off the shoulder and rotator cuff muscles.