Neck & Back Pain Treatment in Charlotte, NC

Upper Neck Pain

The neck, known as the cervical spine, is the area of your back that runs from the base of your skull down to just below your shoulders. This area is made up of 7 vertebrae. The cervical spine has the highest concentration of blood vessels and nerves throughout your body. When you combine the amount of anatomy in this area with the multiple directions and flexibility that occurs in the neck, one can see why it is an area of the body prone to tension, fatigue and injury.

The most common causes of neck pain range from trauma (whiplash), degenerative joint disease (arthritis), to poor posture. Chiropractic therapy, including spinal adjustments and rehabilitative therapies have been proven in multiple research studies to decrease neck pain naturally without drugs or surgery.

Mid Back Pain

Starting around your shoulders and running down a few inches below your shoulder blades are the 12 vertebrae that make up the Thoracic Spine, or mid back.

Upper thoracic syndrome (AKA T4 syndrome) is categorized as an overuse injury to the T4 vertebrae and the surrounding nerves and muscles. Working at a computer all day can be a perfect example although sudden traumatic injury can be a cause as well. Symptoms include stiffness in the middle back that radiates down into the arms. This arm pain is commonly accompanied with numbness or tingling.

Chiropractic care treats T4 syndrome through adjustments to the segment as well as physiotherapeutics such as ultrasound, electric muscle stimulation, stretching and strengthening exercise. Exercises that focus on proper posture are essential for the treatment of T4 syndrome.

Although there is little research surrounding T4 syndrome in the medical community, there is a substantial amount of anecdotal evidence that supports chiropractic care as one of the few options of treatment whereby patients experience relief.

Low Back Pain

The Lumbar region or low back area of the spine is made up of 5 vertebrae and starts a few inches below your shoulder blades and runs down to your Sacral Spine. This is the area of the spine that curves inward towards the abdomen. It is built for both strength and flexibility as it does a majority of the your lifting, twisting, and bending as well as acts as a shock absorber.

Although there are many causes of low back pain the most common are injury and overuse. Stress on the joints and surrounding ligaments caused by injury and overuse can lead to a chronic inflammatory response that can range from nagging to debilitating pain.

In a recent study of low back pain it was ranked the 3rd most common reason people visit the doctor ahead of high blood pressure, diabetes, and other disorders. 80% of adults at some point in their life have been affected by back pain.Consumer Reports ™, a non-biased consumer reporting agency performed an analysis of 14,000 participants on the 5 most common providers that treat back pain (Chiropractic, Physical therapist, Orthopedic doctor, Primary doctor, and Acupuncturist). Chiropractic scored the highest in the group for patient satisfaction.

Chiropractic care works so effectively for low back pain because it addresses the most common cause, joint dysfunction. Specifically, the chiropractic adjustment works to restore joint mobility and function by delivering a specific mobilization to the affected joint. As well as scoring the highest in aforementioned patient satisfaction study, the benefit to the surrounding nerve and vasculature tissue is well documented in scientific literature.