Neck Pain Correction by Dr. Janet Jeranek, Our Kenosha Chiropractor
If you are suffering from an ache in your neck that has you looking for a chiropractor in Kenosha, you are not alone. Neck pain affects nearly 50% of those in the workforce, and at any point in time, it's estimated that 12% of women and 9% of men are experiencing neck pain, which often includes shoulder pain and can lead to headachesas well. At Jeranek Family Chiropractic, our Kenosha chiropractor, Dr. Janet L. Jeranek treats a variety of ailments, including neck pain, in both adults and children, but the first step in treatment is to take a close look at the symptoms and perform a thorough examination to determine the cause of the symptoms.
Common Sources of Neck Pain
Some of the most common sources of neck pain include
- Soft tissue injuries to the muscles, tendon, and/or ligaments
- Whiplash
- Arthritis of the spine, which irritates nerves in the neck
- Spinal injuries and conditions
- Disc problems
- Degeneration
- Poor Posture
- Text Neck
- Stomach Sleeping
- Reversed curvature
- Computer posture
Determining the cause of neck pain is not something to simply guess at. At Jeranek Family Chiropractic, our diagnostic evaluation is very thorough and we will examine the spine, joints, ligaments, muscles, and discs as well as ask you several questions about your history to get a clear picture of what factors play a role in your neck pain, so the most effective treatment possible can be administered.
What Neck Pain Means for a Child
Whenever a parent brings a child in for chiropractic care, the process for evaluating the child's symptoms is always a bit different than if an adult were to come in with the same issue. Since a child’s body is still growing, more care needs to be taken when delivering Chiropractic treatment to help the child both short and long term.
Most instances of neck pain in children are similar to what an adult experiences, and are caused by muscle strain, awkward sleep position, turn the head too fast, holding the head in a still position too long, texting, or falling while playing.
While some may suggest giving a child over the counter pain medicine when they have symptoms of a neck ache, there are several reasons to give chiropractic care a chance. At Jeranek Family Chiropractic, Dr. Janet Jeranek, our Kenosha chiropractor looks at the whole person when she decides which service or services a patient needs to correct the cause of pain and help patient’s recover from their injuries. She uses this approach with a child as well as with adults. In caring for a child’s neck pain, she may try a variety of approaches including
- Traditional chiropractic care
- Thompson Technique
- Pettibon Technique
- Activator
- Corrective exercises
- Physiotherapy techniques
- Lifestyle advice and nutritional counseling
One thing that we don’t prescribed is medication. In many cases the treatment Dr. Janet Jeranek delivers is enough to take care of symptoms and have the child back to their regular activities in no time. When a child sees how chiropractic care from Dr. Janet Jeranek, a Kenosha chiropractor can make them feel better, they learn an important lesson that relief from discomfort is a two-way street, and lasting relief requires participation and commitment from the health care provider as well as the patient.
Common Causes of Headaches and Migraines
Headaches and migraines can stem from a number of underlying causes. Temporary, acute headache symptoms can occur in association with overexertion, high blood pressure levels, sudden withdrawal from caffeine, or hormonal imbalances. Some people even suffer from inexplicable headaches that wake them out of a sound sleep. The primary types of chronic headaches, however, can be categorized as:
• Tension Headaches - Tension headaches and neck pain or tenderness frequently occur together -- which is no surprise, since a typical tensions headache begins as a muscle spasm in the neck. Tight neck muscles can pull on sensitive membranes such as the dura mater, a tissue that envelopes the brain. The dura mater responds by relaying the feeling of pain, pressure or tenderness to the head and neck. A cervical spine misalignment can place the neck under constant strain as it struggles with the unbalanced weight of your head.
• Migraines - Migraines can causes extraordinarily painful headaches that last for up to 72 hours. Other disabling symptoms may include dizziness, nauseam light sensitivity, and blurry vision. Although migraines can be set off by a number of stimuli, from ingredients in food to changes in weather, they can also be trigged by physical strain, this means that the same neck stresses that cause tension headaches could also be behind your migraines.
• Cluster headaches - Cluster headaches cause multiple agonizing bouts of pain on one side of the face, it's believed that these headaches can originate from upper cervical imbalances, upsetting the balance between the skull and the first two spinal vertebrae.
Whiplash as a Cause of Headaches
Headaches can also occur as a complication of a neck or head injury. Whiplash is a prime example of such a cervicogenic headache. When the cervical spine is violently jolted in an impact, the forceful motion of the head can push cervical vertebrae out of alignment while also straining neck tissues and joints. The resulting nerve impingement and tissue damage can manifest itself as both neck pain and headache pain. Concussions (which may be sustained in the same kinds of impacts) can also produce headaches.
How Chiropractic Care Relieves Both Neck Pain and Headaches
If you have headaches that simply refuse to leave you alone, you need to treat their underlying cause. For that kind of relief, turn to chiropractic care. Dr. Jeranek can evaluate your headache symptoms, patterns and history while also looking at your cervical spinal alignment. You may need gentle, subtle chiropractic adjustments to bring your neck and head into a more symmetrical balance, allowing your neck muscles and nerves to function more normally. These changes can prove effective in managing tension, cluster and migraine headaches.
Our headache relief methods don't end with spinal adjustments. We can also ease neck muscle strain and spasms through a variety of physiotherapy techniques. Examples include:
• Whirlpool sessions that warm, massage and relax the neck
• Cervical spinal traction, which gently and safely relieves nerve compression and cervical disc problems
•Electrical muscle therapy, a technique for increasing blood flow to damaged neck tissues and stimulate healing responses for faster, more complete recovery.
• Corrective exercises to help you banish neck stiffness or overcome weaknesses that promote chronic headache pain.
If your everyday activities make you especially vulnerable to neck pain and headaches, we may recommend lifestyle modifications to help you avoid postural problems or repetitive motion strain in the neck. Tension headache sufferers, for instance, may benefit from adjusting their monitor position at work or holding their smartphones higher. Migraine sufferers may benefit from nutritional suggestions and other measures for avoiding their specific migraine triggers. These smart strategies can keep your headaches under control while also protecting you against chronic neck pain.
Contact Your Neck and Headache Chiropractor in Kenosha
To learn more about how Dr. Janet Jeranek, a chiropractor in Kenosha can help you or your child's neck pain Call Jeranek Family Chiropractic at (262) 694-7833, today!