Isolating cervical (neck) chief complaints from our clinic statistics, we analyzed some of
the data from December 2017. Neck pain tends to occur with forward neck posture,
poor sleeping patterns, and joint or muscle injuries. Chiropractors treat neck injuries
with soft tissue work known as active release techniques, along with spinal
manipulations. Due to the different levels of neck pain, our chiropractors are specific to
patient needs, tailoring each treatment session for the patient. For example, while spinal
manipulation is often used to treat neck injuries, if the patient is not comfortable with
adjustments, the chiropractor can only use soft tissue work and mobilizations to treat
the neck instead of spinal manipulations.
Chief Complaint Statistics
In this dataset, just under 26% of chiropractic treatments within the month were cervical
areas of concern. These included injuries such as neck stiffness, wry neck, postural
pain, whiplash, and headaches. About 69% of the patients reported a better change to
condition after the treatments, while the average plan to return was just over 12 days for
a follow-up treatment. In comparison to lower back and mid back injury statistics, the
cervical statistics imply a more complex and frequent treatment plan.
Common Treatment Techniques
The two common treatments for neck injuries are spinal manipulation and active release
techniques for areas in the neck or upper back region. Spinal manipulation was
common for the cervicothoracic segment, which is the region where the neck joints
meet the upper back joints. Over 36% of patients received this during their treatment
sessions. Active release techniques were used the most on two muscle groups: the
upper trapezius (the muscle that moves with the shoulder blade) and the scalenes (the muscle
that flexes and side bends the neck).
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