Research Paper: Neck Pain
What is Neck Pain?
Parts of the Cervical Vertebrae
Cervical Vertebrae is composed of 7 discs ranging from C1 to C7. It is in charge of protecting the spinal cord while supporting the weight of the head that averages at about 10 pounds. The vertebrae is also tasked with enabling the head to rotate and move. The intervertebral discs in between the vertebrae are said to be gel like and allows the parts of vertebrae to move past each other. They also act as shock absorbers. The Spinal Cord sends signals throughout the body that allows us humans to move via the spinal nerves.
Fig 1: This is the Cervical Vertebrae it is composed of many parts and is located in the neck region.
What is Neck Pain / Introduction
Neck Pain has a multitude of causes
Neck Pain can derive from many possible causes from the many parts that near or inside the neck: vascular, nerve, airway, digestive, and musculature / skeletal
Neck pain affects about 330 million people globally as of 2010 (4.9% of the population). highest in middle age
Many Variants of Neck Pain WhipLash: “Whiplash occurs when the head is suddenly forced forward and then snapped backward (or vice versa)” This may tear the muscles and ligaments in the neck. The pain and length of the recovery depends on how severe the whiplash was.
Muscle Strain: From overuse or over stretching and can range from minor to torn muscle or tendon.
Spinal Stenosis: Narrowing of spaces in the spine that
This is part of a group of group of injuries called “overuse injuries”, which are most prevalent in runners and athletes who practice strenuous exercise.
One of the most important parts of the body is the spinal column. It is made up of individual bones called vertebrae. Joints connect all of these individual bones together and ligaments connect to bones to support joints.
This can be due to several causes such as fatigue, overuse, or improper muscle use. Muscle strains usually occur in the back in the lower back, neck, or shoulder (Healthline, 2015). The mid back, or thoracic back, is both a unique and complex anatomical structure. The complexity that makes the back so unique also predisposes the back to injury. Twelve vertebral bones comprise the thoracic spinal column, the ribs, muscles, tendons, nerves, discs, and blood vessels according to Martini (Martini et al, 2014). These tissues function to give support to the upper body while aiding in the movement of the upper body and arms. Vertebrae T1-T10 articulate with each rib in two locations, and restricts mobility of this area of the spine (Martini et al,
The cylindrical, linked vertebrae of the spinal column offer strong, bony protection for the spinal cord. Aided by muscles and ligaments, the vertebrae support the skull and hols the body upright. The spin has a
When it affects your neck, it takes place in the top seven vertebrae in your spine, known as the cervical spine. Over time, or if you suffer an injury, your discs can break down. Oftentimes, the proteins contained within the disc space can cause a good amount of inflammation, which can result in pain, tingling, and numbness in your neck, shoulders, arms, and even hands.
Eight out of ten are suffering from head, back, and neck problems. And each of them has different reasons for being affected. The most common ones are sedentary lifestyle, long working hours on a chair, and bending and lifting weight suddenly and with a jerk. As an experienced chiropractor in Ivanhoe, we have researched thoroughly on all these reasons and come out with unique techniques to overcome pain and stop it from recurring.
injuries will have their origins in everyday activities, some will be related to incorrect walking, or
Out of the 35 who developed CINP, 15 were recurrent neck pain, while only 20 were chronic persistent neck pain (CPNP). Shahidi et al mentioned that one of the limitations of their study is that they did not do a sample size analysis. When compared to those (secondary analysis of a subgroup of 90 out of the 132 participants who did not develop CINP out of the original 171
Strains affect the muscles, typically caused from pulling the muscle or tendon. When it happens, you can actually feel the tension. There are several causes, one of course is repetitive movement, but a lack of resting between workouts is a critical culprit, especially when the movement is excessive. Muscles and tendons are fibrous allowing them to be torn or ruptured with serious consequences such as the loss of muscle function or long term therapy for recovery.
There are five phases that make up the pain pathway, first, it is transduction of pain at the receptors, the second phase is signal conduction at peripheral nerves, and modulation at the spinal cord level. These steps are further succeeded by descending inhibition and perception at the supra spinal sites.
Stiffness and soreness are usually the most common symptoms associated with whiplash and neck injuries. However, other symptoms may also be present, including but not limited to:
Headaches are common conditions which are seen in 66% of the global population, therefore causing disturbance to both quality of life (QoL) and psychosocial state (Stovner, L., et al. 2007). Cervical Headache or more commonly known as Cervicogenic headache (CGH) is mainly characterized by unilateral headache symptoms which arise from the cervical spine radiating to the fronto-temporal and possibly to the supraorbital region (Pfaffenrath, V. and Kaube, H. 1990; Nilsson, N. 1995). There is controversial evidence on the strict definition of CGH, with some criteria’s including; unilateral headache, neck pain or neck trauma injury (whiplash), reduced cervical range of motion. Although prevalent
The severe neck pain felt after a whiplash injury is due to a strain or sprain of the muscles in the neck. There are ligaments that normally connect the neck to the vertebrae. If these ligaments are torn, it causes a sprain. There are also joins along the spine known as facet joints that can be affected by injuries. On occasion, individuals may experience a torn or herniated disc. The nerves around the vertebrae may become inflamed or stretched out. In severe cases, the vertebrae may even
There are quite a few things that can cause neck pain. This is something that happens to everyone once in a while, and it is usually either accidental injury or improper posture while doing certain activities. Neck pain can ruin your whole day, especially if you can not move your head in any direction without feeling a lot of pain. When you have pain your your neck or even your upper back, most of the time it is a muscle problem and it will resolve within a few days with the right tools. One of those tools should be a pillow for neck pain.
•Torsion occurs when opposite ends of structure twist in opposite directions. It could also result from shearing.