Are you looking for a neck pain treatment that provides safe, lasting relief? Neck pain often makes it difficult to concentrate at work, sleep soundly and enjoy everyday activities. Don’t let this debilitating pain hold you back any longer.

At Algonquin Chiropractic Center, we specialize in identifying and treating the root cause of your neck pain. Dr. Anthony Galante provides personalized and natural chiropractic solutions to ease neck pain without risky surgeries or medications.

Don’t let neck pain control your life. Schedule a consultation today to discover the difference our chiropractic care can make.

We understand how intimidating it can be to come to a chiropractor for the first time. Our team helps ease that stress with a warm, welcoming environment. Then, you’ll enjoy attentive care from Dr. Anthony Galante.

Many of our patients have been to several other doctors, including orthopedic surgeons and neurologists. After Dr. Galante’s exam, they say, “No doctor has done those tests on me before.” Here’s how the process will work:

As an experienced neck pain chiropractor, Dr. Galante specializes in many effective treatment modalities. The appropriate cures for neck pain will depend on whether your neck pain is acute or chronic.

For acute, intense and severe pain, Dr. Galante takes a gentle approach to keep from worsening the condition. This begins with pain tolerance testing and continues with treatments to carefully reduce inflammation, including:

We’ve helped countless Algonquin area residents experience pain relief in all the following ways:

What are the Common Causes of Neck Pain?

Neck pain has several potential causes. Chronic neck pain often develops from frequent poor posture during everyday activities like sitting at a desk, sleeping, looking down at your phone or looking up at a mounted TV screen. Acute neck pain can also come from a traumatic accident, such as whiplash from a car crash or sports injury.

Several musculoskeletal issues produce discomfort in the neck, including:

• Arthritis
• Disc degeneration
• Disc herniation
• Muscle inflammation
• Nerve irritation
• Sciatica
• Spinal misalignment
• Spinal stenosis
• Soft tissue injuries (including ligament and muscle injuries)

All these conditions have various additional symptoms and associated health risks. Therefore, seeing a chiropractor about your neck pain sooner rather than later is essential. By doing so, you could prevent a potentially severe problem from getting worse.

You should especially see a doctor right away if you’re experiencing any of these symptoms with or without neck pain:

• Numbness, weakness and clumsiness in the hands
• Loss of control of the bowels or bladder
• Pain, tingling or weakness in the legs

This could be a severe condition called cervical myelopathy, which could require surgery right away to avoid permanent nerve damage and paralysis.

Can Sciatica Occur in the Neck?

You’ve probably heard of the nerve disorder known as sciatica. The pain from this condition often radiates from the lower back down through the buttock, leg and foot. But did you know nerve pain can also occur in the neck? This happens when a disc gets damaged in your upper spine near your head and neck.

When sciatica in the neck occurs, it results in numbness, pain and weakness down the arm. An experienced chiropractor can identify where the disc problem is based on where the pain is occurring in the arm. Once the chiropractor determines the location of the disc problem, he or she can prescribe the ideal treatment methods to heal the neck sciatica.

Is Your Neck Causing Headaches?

Not only can issues in the neck be the source of your headache, but neck pain is the most common cause of headaches. Often, people mistakenly assume their headaches come from sinus pressure when their neck is to blame.

This type of headache is called a cervicogenic headache. It occurs when the vertebrae in the upper spine become damaged due to natural causes or an injury. This vertebrae damage puts pressure on the nerve that runs from the neck around the skull and into the forehead. So, if you think you have a sinus headache and the allergy pills don’t seem to be helping, it could be because an issue in your neck is to blame.

What are the Best Stretches and Exercises for Neck Pain Relief?

Besides seeing a chiropractor, you can also do several neck pain stretches and exercises on your own. Here are a few of the simplest and most effective exercises Dr. Galante recommends:

Shoulder Blade Stretch

The shoulder blade stretch (also known as the chicken wing stretch) counteracts the problems excessive sitting can cause in the neck. You can do this exercise while standing or sitting. Simply extend your arms outward and your palms upward, then squeeze your shoulder blades together and relax.

We recommend doing three sets of 15 shoulder blade stretch repetitions every day. You should do one set of 15 with your arms above shoulder level, one set with them at shoulder level and one with them below shoulder level.

Neck Slide

The neck slide is another effective stretch for preventing neck problems and improving posture. You can do it while standing or sitting. Slowly move your chin forward and backward while keeping your head level. You should feel the muscles stretch in the back of your neck if you’re doing it right.

Once you have the motion down, there are a couple of different ways to do it. One way is to interlock your fingers behind your head to offer resistance as you slide back. You can also do this by holding a towel with both hands and wrapping it around the back of your head for resistance as you stretch.

Scapular Squeeze

The scapular squeeze is easy and quick to do from either a standing or seated position. To do it, relax your arms and shoulders, then squeeze your shoulder blades together and relax. Make sure you’re fully relaxing between squeezes. We recommend doing three sets of 15 stretches at any time of the day.

How Should I Position My Body to Help Ease Neck Pain?

The best way to prevent neck pain is by practicing proper posture. 41% of people report having neck pain due to their workspace. So, if you sit at a desk all day, make a conscious effort to sit up straight and keep your head straight. You should also take frequent breaks to get up and stretch throughout the day.

We also recommend exercising your core muscles regularly. The stronger your core muscles are, the less pressure you will put on your head and neck.

Another important question you should ask is, which pillow is best for neck pain? There is not one type of pillow that works best for everyone. But two general guidelines to follow are:

1. The pillow shouldn’t be too firm so that it keeps your neck too stiff at night.
2. If you sleep on your side, the pillow needs to be thick enough to keep your neck supported and straight through the night.

Interested in more detailed information about how to best position yourself throughout the day? Dr. Galante recently did an extended presentation about ergonomics, sitting and posture. You can watch it in its entirety below.

How Long Does Neck Pain Last?

With proper treatment, acute pain from an injury should go away after a few weeks. Pain that lasts for multiple months is called chronic pain. Chronic pain can last a lifetime if you don’t do anything about it. However, with the proper treatment, good posture and regular exercise, you can reduce the pain and make it go away over time.

Why Do Chiropractors Provide the Best Neck Pain Treatment?

A neck pain chiropractor is the best choice for treatment because it is the safest and most conservative option. Other options, such as prescription medications and surgery, are much riskier and not nearly as effective.

A doctor may prescribe medication, steroids, opioids and possibly even injections to treat neck pain. All these options come with a serious risk of addiction and potentially harmful side effects. Furthermore, many of them only treat the symptoms of neck pain without correcting the underlying musculoskeletal issues. Because of this, these options can be short-term fixes at best.

Surgery also comes with a serious risk of complications. Therefore, it should always be a last resort rather than a first option. There’s a good chance you may not need surgery as only a small percentage of patients do, because chiropractic care could fix your problem naturally. Moreover, surgery doesn’t have a 100% success rate, so your pain could persist even after you go under the knife.

Contrast these risky options with natural and noninvasive chiropractic care. An experienced chiropractor will explore all avenues for getting you help that don’t involve risky surgery or medications. Chiropractic modalities come without risky side effects or complications. Dr Galante will refer you to orthopedic surgeons, neurologists and pain management doctors as needed. But more likely than not, a chiropractor will provide the care you need for a significant reduction in neck pain.

Ready to Experience Natural Neck Pain Relief?

Dr. Galante and the Algonquin Chiropractic Center staff are ready to help. Get the personalized care you need by contacting us to schedule a consultation today.