Calgary Neck Pain

I have persistent or recurrent neck pain and headaches. I can get some relief from:

• My chiropractor adjusting me
• My physiotherapist doing IMS or dry needling
• My Massage Therapist massaging my sore, stiff muscles

Unfortunately, the pain keeps coming back. I also don’t seem to be getting the same relief I used to from those treatments.

If this sounds like you, it may be that no one has diagnosed an underlying weakness in your neck.

Here’s the thing. Your neck muscles protect the underlying ligaments, bones, and nerves of the neck. If they are weak, they offer less protection.

Have you ever tried to start exercising after not doing it for a while? Those weak muscles hurt quite a bit, right? Apply that idea to your neck. It makes sense that if your neck is weaker than it is supposed to be, it will fatigue quickly during normal activities. That muscle fatigue will be felt as pain.  Your Chiro, Physio, or Massage Therapist can relieve your muscle pain, but they can’t rebuild your strength. Once you resume your activities, your muscles have to go back to work. Once working, they fatigue, cause pain again, and the pattern repeats.

A simple, 30-minute test on the neck machine (MCU) will tell you if your neck is weak.

MCU™ Multi-Cervical Unit is considered the most effective and complete system for the assessment and rehabilitation of patients suffering from neck pain, whiplash associated disorders (WAD), and general cervical spine disorders. The MCU is a technology-based machine specifically designed to assess objectively and treat chronic neck pain and related conditions.

• Neck pain or stiffness
• Headaches
• Pain or stiffness in the upper back or shoulder girdle
• Tech Neck
• “Heavy Head” Syndrome
• “Whiplash”
• Pain or numbness in the arms, hands or fingers
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Pain in the jaw or face

Your neck is also known as the cervical spine. It connects your skull to your upper back by way of 7 bones (called vertebrae) which are held together by several ligaments and moved by dozens of muscles and tendons. It’s an area full of moving parts which allow it a broad range of motion. So when something goes wrong with the neck, it can be painful & debilitating.

A sprain to muscles, ligaments, or tendons within the neck area is the usual cause for neck discomfort. Most minor muscle, ligament, or tendon injuries within the neck will subside with some manual therapy by our Chiropractors, Physiotherapists, and Massage Therapists. Remaining pain-free happens with improved lifestyle factors such as posture & exercise.

One common characteristic of chronic neck discomfort is pain that radiates down the arm, sometimes into the palm and fingers. There may also be numbness or tingling. These symptoms are a signal that a nerve is being “pinched,” and they can make daily tasks exhausting. Chiropractic and physiotherapy techniques can often effectively release the pinched nerve to eliminate these painful symptoms and let you feel your best again.