Neck Pain Treatment in Suwanee
Neck pain can be the result of aging, trauma, bad posture, degenerative conditions like osteoarthritis, bad sleep positions, a pinched nerve, herniation, and much more. Developing an effective chiropractic treatment plan for neck pain often requires first identifying the source.
The chiropractors at Optimum Health Rehab possess the extensive experience necessary to treat neck pain and a comprehensive array of technologies and techniques that allow us to accurately diagnose the cause of your neck pain.
It’s the philosophy of Optimum Health Rehab to offer a comprehensive solution to health and wellness. Your neck pain management plan could include physical therapy, and chiropractic care.
Chronic neck pain often has an easily identifiable root cause, but it can also be a symptom of more systemic problems with your health. Optimum Health Rehab’s services can help Suwanee patients take control of their health.
What Is Neck Pain Therapy?
The spine is essentially a vertical stack of bones. Between the bones are rubbery discs for cushioning the bones and facilitating movement and flexibility. Inside the bones run the nerves of the central nervous system, which the bones protect. Attached are the tendons, ligaments, and muscles that protect the whole thing. If it sounds like a complex system, it is, and there are many ways that pain can occur.
When one of the bones of the cervical spine or neck comes out of alignment, nerves get pinched, and tendons, ligaments, and muscles might tighten, all of which can lead to neck pain.
Neck pain treatment usually consists of manual adjustments to the cervical spine. Electrical pulsing may also be recommended to relieve tight muscles. Your chiropractor might recommend stretches and toning exercises to strengthen the neck muscles and prevent the pain from progressing.
The course of chiropractic therapy recommended by your Optimum Health Rehab doctor will likely depend on your neck injury, posture, and your overall health. Our comprehensive services include things like trigger point injections and regenerative medicine, all of which can aid in minimizing your pain over the course of your chiropractic and physical medicine treatments.
Neck Pain and Car Accidents
It’s very common for patients to experience neck pain after a car accident. Neck injuries are often missed because the patient may not experience pain or symptoms immediately, and there is usually no direct contact (in other words, there is no blow to the neck).
Whiplash is the most common neck injury resulting from car crashes, although some patients may experience fractures, spinal misalignment, herniated discs, and other injuries. This condition occurs because of a sharp jerking motion that yanks the head forward and then throws it back. Typically it happens when a car brakes quickly during a collision or when there is an impact from behind (like a rear-end accident). The seatbelt stops the forward motion of the person’s body, but the head is thrown forward and back violently, causing strain and sometimes small tears in the neck muscles and ligaments. This leads to pain and inflammation.
Because whiplash pain may not show up for a few hours or even days after an accident, it’s often missed. If the patient has other injuries and goes to the emergency room, they probably won’t mention their neck if it doesn’t currently hurt. This is understandable because people want to focus on the most painful or pressing problem when they’re at the hospital.
Even if whiplash is diagnosed, the usual treatment is rest and painkillers. For some patients, that’s all it takes to relieve their pain. But for others, whiplash can become a chronic pain problem. Doctors aren’t usually equipped to do anything but treat the symptoms with pain medication or muscle relaxers. The problem with this plan is twofold:
- It doesn’t treat the root cause of the pain.
- It doesn’t always relieve the pain or restore function.
If you’ve experienced prolonged neck pain after a car accident, an experienced chiropractor may be able to help. We will work to get to the bottom of your pain, whether the problem is unresolved muscle damage from whiplash or another injury like a compressed nerve or herniated disc. (You may have more than one root cause for your neck pain.) Then we will prescribe a customized treatment plan to address your needs, adjusting and adding new treatments as necessary.
If you have concerns about paying for your treatment, remember that you may be able to seek compensation from the insurance carrier for the driver who caused your accident. If you’re not sure how or don’t know who caused the accident, we recommend speaking with a personal injury lawyer right away, and we can put you in touch with one.
Choosing the Best Neck Pain Chiropractor for Your Needs
Experience matters when selecting a healthcare provider. You don’t want to see a doctor who charges the least amount of money, has only had a license for one month, or has been reprimanded by state agencies. Do some research on Google and consider the reviews of past patients.
Learning what a chiropractor’s past patients say about their results and researching the doctor’s experience and credentials will help you find the best neck pain chiropractor for your needs.
During your initial appointment, be sure to ask:
- Do they participate in continuing education? Chiropractors never get out of school. They must keep up with the latest science and techniques to continue providing effective neck pain relief.
- Are they willing to develop a customized neck pain treatment plan for your particular circumstances?
- What would they recommend if a specific treatment doesn’t work or isn’t a good option for you? A good chiropractor should have more than one way to treat your neck pain because each person is an individual. Even two people with the same root cause of neck pain may need different treatments due to individual responses or other conditions that might affect their care. If a chiropractor seems fixated on one treatment and doesn’t have any other ideas, they may not be the best fit.
What is their treatment philosophy? Every chiropractor has one but be careful of a specialist who only says you have a subluxation or misalignment philosophy. Look for chiropractors who are willing to perform diagnostics and make evidence-based recommendations.
Visit One of Our Georgia Clinics for Neck Pain Management
Find Relief from Your Neck Pain
The chiropractors at Optimum Health Rehab are dedicated to helping every patient find relief from their pain and maximize their overall wellness. If you’re looking for an honest assessment of your neck pain relief options call us at (678) 546-0550 or request an appointment online.