Neck Pain & Aches

There are many different causes of headaches, but some of them are:
● Stress
● Poor Posture
● Diet and Exercise Habits
● Hormonal Imbalances
● Allergies
● TMJ (Jaw) related
● Trauma
● Car Accidents

Since there are so many different types and causes of headaches, it is vital to have a thorough history and proper assessment to treat the cause of them. An assessment of your movements, postures, and lifestyle habits can be an effective way of uncovering your causes of headache.

For example, addressing your desk set up and ensuring that your monitor and desk are at the appropriate height can make a huge difference for headaches.

The most common symptoms of headaches include dull aches or stiffness in the shoulders, tension or pressure in the head, migraines, and sensitivity to light and sound. Finding what needs to stretch and strengthen can often be a simple solution to help alleviate symptoms.

Treatment such as soft tissue work, chiropractic adjustments, postural analysis and corrections, dietary changes, and ergonomic adjustments can be simple and effective ways of managing your headaches.

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Posture related neck pain

Whenever we hear someone talk about posture, we immediately correct ours because inherently, we all believe that we can always be better in this category. As many may have already guessed, poor neck and upper back postures can often lead to upper back and neck pain. Postures can influence our neck because of an overly forward and rounded posture is an imbalance position for our body to be in.

If you look at your head, it is roughly ten pounds and the size of a bowling ball, and it is balancing on our neck, which is like a stick in comparison. So our body is consistently looking to find a balancing point for this bowling ball with gravity pulling it down to the ground. As a result, if our head is forward for long periods of time, our muscles actually adapt to make these positions take less effort by creating tightness.

Causes of posture-related neck pain:
● Computer/desk work
● Studying
● Reading/texting
● Driving for long hours

As a result of repeated exposures to posture-related neck pain causes, certain muscles become overactive and tight, while others are underutilized and weakened.

This imbalance in muscle tone and strength can lead to neck pain and headaches based on the pain patterns these muscles can create, known as referral patterns.

All of the tasks listed above tend to round our shoulders forward and draw the chin forward into a slouched position which is commonly why the neck becomes stressed.

Many who are now working from home or in the office setting suffer from posture-related neck pain.

Frequently, the increased amounts of sitting coupled with a lack of physical activity compound the effects of sitting. The best way to prevent posture-related neck pain is to get moving!

A change in position every hour can make a huge difference in how much stress your tissues experience. Something simple like getting up to grab some water, going to the washroom, stretching, going for a walk, or just doing ten air squats can break up all that tight tissue developed in the last hour.

The treatment to help posture-related neck pain often comes from identifying what the problem actually is. Something as simple as creating a more suitable ergonomic desk positioning, some tips and tricks to get you out of your seat, some stretches to do to break up your sitting, and some breathing and posture-based exercises can often make a world of difference in this condition.

On your visit, you will learn to be more aware of the harmful positions that create your problems, but also, our practitioners are trained to work on soft tissue that can relax your tight muscles and increase motion and decrease pain. The strategies may include chiropractic adjustments or mobilizations, deep tissue massage, IMS, take-home exercises, and if you’re lucky, all of them together to maximize your recovery!