You turn to look out the window and your neck reacts with a muscle spasm. Now your neck won’t move left without pain. You wake up from a nap and your neck goes into spasm. At the end of the business day, your neck and shoulder feels so tense that you are afraid to turn your head.

Neck and shoulder problems are commonplace. We hold our head at strange angles to work at our computer monitor. We fall asleep sitting up on the bus or as a passenger in the car. We pick up something too heavy at work, at home, or in a store. Anything can set off a chain of events that leads to a sore neck with shoulder pain. If that’s your problem, the first thing to do is some simple range of motion exercises. Nothing too drastic, just gently turn your head left and then right, then tilt it to the left and then to the right. Your goal is to gently stretch the muscle that is in spasm. But there could also be a an underlinning misalignment of the bones in your neck or upper back that could cause that muscle spasm. Take a nice hot shower and then ice it afterwards at bedtime and again when you wake up in the morning.

If your problem persists, you need to see a doctor. Why not call a doctor that specializes in these problems, a chiropractic physician. If your problem comes from a car wreck, a fall, a sports mishap or other injury, skip the stretches and go straight to the chiropractor.

Neck pain may or may not start in the neck itself. An exam and x-rays of your neck and spine if clincally necessary should tell the doctor what you’re dealing with. Hopefully a course of specific chiropractic adjustments, some physical therapy of ice, heat, electrical muscle stimulation, and some stretching of the area in pain will put things right again.

If there’s a slipped disk or other symptoms that relate to a spinal cord injury, the doctor may refer you for other diagnostic tests. Another possibility is that your neck or back is suffering from arthritis. Osteoarthritis strikes many people over 50. Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) can strike when you are younger or come on much later in life, and can be identified with a blood test. The degenerative bone disease Osteoporosis (OP) usually affects older adults, particularly women over 60. But now a days alot of childern do not get much exercise with light weight lifting so OP can possibly come on earlier in life. This is where chiropractic adjustments can help. If not your chiropractor will refer you to a medical doctor. If you are having any of these symptoms consider chiropractic care. The consultation is usually complementary.