This one is a very interesting study recently published in a Chiropractic journal.
This study follows a woman who was in a car accident and was diagnosed with whiplash right after the accident. She was suffering with neck pain and headaches right after the accident. She continued to suffer for 13 years. During this time she sought out several different treatments including medical treatments from her primary care Doctor and other Chiropractors. None of these treatments gave her much relief. She ended up a Chiropractor that looked at the overall structure of her spine (as we do in this office) and was found to have a severe structural shift in her neck.
The normal shape of the neck is a smooth forward curve in the alignment of the vertebrae or bones of the neck. In this patients case the curve in the upper part of her neck actually curved in the opposite direction. A term called kyphosis if you need a high point scrabble word.
Other research has shown this is a common misalignment to happen in the neck after a car accident. It also explains why the other treatments did not provide much relief to this patient as the treatments only focused on the pain symptoms and not the altered structure of the spine.
That\’s what makes this study so interesting is that once this patient saw the Chiropractor that did work on structural issues in her spine she finally had relief.
By the time she saw this Chiropractor she was having neck pain, headaches, and numbness down her arms to her hands. She also was having issues with digestion, restless leg syndrome and cramping with irregular period cycles. Things you may not associate with misalignments in the neck, but as this study shows they can be related.
Her treatment consisted of structurally based Chiropractic adjustments, structural exercises and traction to correct the misalignment of her neck. After 3 months of care her follow up showed a correction in the curve in her neck. At that time her neck pain and headaches had resolved. She also had resolution of her digestive issues, restless leg syndrome and the irregularity in her monthly cycle.
After her corrective phase of care she stopped chose to stop treatment for over a year. She returned to the office after the year of no care and her re-evaluation showed that the changes in her spine were stable and had not changed. None of her symptoms had returned either.
This is a really interesting case as it shows how the structure of your neck affects your health. It is easy to see how neck pain and headaches would be affected by the altered structure of the neck. When the structure is misaligned the muscles are out of balance, the joints are inflamed and in turn the nerves are being irritated. However every nerve signal that travels from your brain to anywhere in your body has to go through your neck. So signals to other parts of your body can be affected by the altered structure in your neck.
This case illustrates very clearly why we pay such close attention to the structure of the neck in our exam of patients. It doesn\’t take a car accident to change the structure of the neck. I see it every day from poor postures through out the day. Poor ergonomic work stations or constantly looking down at your phone are enough to shift the structure of the spine over time.
Share this with someone you know needs to work on their posture!
