Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Preventing Non-Traumatic Neck Pain

In the US, our current model of healthcare relies heavily upon responsive medicine. The consumer often seeks medical attention once a problem has developed but in most cases was not aware that simple preventative techniques could be performed to reduce the risk of injury. One of the most common complaints I assess is the onset of non-traumatic neck pain/ache/crik/stiffness/etc.

When assessing these patients, I almost always notice the presentation of a forward head and rounded shoulders with developement of a cervical hinge line around C6. When seeing this, I often begin treatment by educating the patient with the following analogy: Imagine your head as a bowling ball and your neck as the hand that holds that ball. Imagine letting the bowling ball sit in the palm of your hand with your arm tucked tight into the body and then slowly move your arm away from the body while continuing to palm the ball. The weight of the ball would put more and more stress on your arm as it moves away from the body until the weight causes failure or injury to occur (I will even give the patient a weighted ball and let them try this).
Postural assessment and correction is the key in the majority of non-traumatic neck pain. Research has shown that for every inch the head moves forward, 10 lbs of increased pressure is applied to the neck. So in the treatment of prevention of neck pain, always assess posture. I believe the majority of neck pain should be, and could be prevented. A few postural cues and 10 minutes of education is all a patient may need to maintain a healthy, painfree neck.

Joseph Brence

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