Imagine a Taekwondo tournament. You’re competing, and a sharp move of the neck leaves you with limited movement of the cervical spine. What do you do? In a case study just released, this lucky athlete had a team chiropractor onsite who assessed and determined spinal manipulation was appropriate. The athlete’s range of motion returned, and he finished the tournament. (1) How positive an event! Johnson Chiropractic knows that immediate relief is not always noted nor can it be expected for all patients (older Richmond neck pain patients, chronic back pain patients, etc.), but it’s possible! (Plus, we all respond more quickly when we’re young!) Richmond chiropractic care is targeted to each individual patient and his/her unique neck pain issues.
In reference to the above patient/athlete scenario, the authors of the paper note that the chiropractor is always careful in deciding whether to treat in such a situation. They offer recommendations for their chiropractic colleagues like your Richmond chiropractor at Johnson Chiropractic to consider before making the decision to treat or not that make sense in the athletic setting as well as clinical setting. Things like a pre-existing doctor-patient relationship and the patient/athlete’s prior experience with spinal manipulation are certainly in the mix. (1) Johnson Chiropractic appreciates these insights as acute (like this athlete) and chronic (long term) neck pain conditions are treated.
The cervical spine and its neck pain that some Richmond patients experience may result from athletics, accidents, overuse and misuse. The cervical spine structures are quite delicate. The typical average cervical spine canal diameter is 14mm. The spinal cord at its largest at C5 is 7mm, and soft tissues like ligaments, dura and veins take up 3mm. (2) These account for 10mm of the 14mm canal! The C2 dorsal root ganglion is the largest DRG in the whole spine and takes up 76% of the foramen between C1 and C2. (3) The cervical spine is an intimate setting that can cause a human pain which chiropractic often can relieve. Johnson Chiropractic is well aware of this and uses the gentlest, research-documented protocols to relieve neck pain.
Cox Technic is the gentle chiropractic protocol Johnson Chiropractic often uses. Its application is guided by the patient’s response to tolerance testing, making it as safe as possible. Its use offers significant relief of pain in patients with spinal stenosis – single level and multilevel – when that 14mm spinal canal space is filled with a disc herniation or reduced by disc degeneration or other such cervical spine pain condition. For example, a 60 year old male who had pain and limited motion in his neck with pain and weakness in his shoulder and arm due to multilevel spinal stenosis has significant relief of his subjective and objective complaints with chiropractic care. (4) Its effectiveness in dropping intradiscal pressures is documented in a National Institute of Health grant-funded research project. (5) Johnson Chiropractic prides itself on offering such research-proven spine care.
Contact Johnson Chiropractic if you experience neck pain or related arm pain, if you’re an athlete or an avid walker or a whiplash injury survivor. Johnson Chiropractic is ready to care for all our Richmond neck pain patients with a Richmond chiropractic treatment plan based on the latest research recommendations.
