Top Causes of Neck Pain & Stiffness| Chiropractor in Brookfield, WI
Why is neck pain so common? There are three main reasons why we see neck pain so often.
Injuries & Whiplash Trauma
One of the biggest causes is injuries, such as:
- Slips and falls
- Sports injuries
- Motor vehicle accidents
Especially when those injuries cause something like whiplash or a cervical acceleration-deceleration injury.
These types of injuries can create ligament damage. Think of your ligaments like a rubber band. If you stretch a rubber band too far, it never returns to the same tensile strength. The exact same thing can happen with your ligaments.
When that happens, it makes you much more prone to recurring neck pain over time.
The problem is, many people experience these injuries in their:
- 20s
- 30s
- Or 40s
…but they may not start experiencing symptoms until their:
- 50s
- 60s
- Or even 70s
Everybody is a little different.
One of the best ways to determine whether an injury caused ligament damage is through X-rays—or more specifically, motion study X-rays.
I’ve talked about these before, but they are extremely important if you’re experiencing:
- Headaches
- Migraines
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Chronic neck pain
Motion study X-rays allow us to evaluate not only the health of your spine and nervous system, but also the health of the soft tissue—especially the ligaments after a whiplash injury.
Repetitive Microtraumas & Poor Posture
Another major reason neck pain is so common is repetitive microtrauma.
This is really posture over time.
It includes:
- How we bend
- How we lift
- How we twist
- And especially how we use technology
Things like:
- Looking down at your phone
- Working on a computer
- Sitting at a desk for long periods
- Driving for work
All of these habits place repeated stress on the cervical spine.
One of the biggest things we discuss with patients is ergonomics—especially if you spend hours each day sitting at a desk or driving.
Just imagine:
- 8 hours a day
- 40 hours a week
- 2,000 hours a year
- 20,000 hours over a decade
That stress adds up over time and can create significant problems in the neck and upper spine.
Eventually, it may start contributing to:
- Neck pain
- Headaches
- Migraines
- Muscle tension
- Reduced mobility
- The Importance of Motion Study X-Rays
If you’re suffering from neck pain, headaches, or migraines, it’s important to find a chiropractor who performs motion study X-rays.
These studies help analyze:
- The health of your spine
- Joint movement
- Ligament stability
- Nervous system function
- And the overall condition of the cervical spine
The more information we have, the better we can determine the true cause of your symptoms and create a plan to help correct the problem—not just cover it up.
