Aging Doesn’t Need to be Painful
Sometimes, as we go through life, things just don’t seem to feel they used to. We understand that getting older isn’t always easy, and many times there are new pains that you have to learn to live with.
Well, knowing the cause of your pain is only part of the good news. The other part, which is the part we will talk about in this blog is that you don’t have to live with that pain.
The bottom line is . . . . Your aging is not an excuse to live in pain. So, let’s explore a couple of conditions of aging that might be causing your neck pain.
Cervical Spinal Stenosis
This is the narrowing the neck’s spinal canal, which is the vertebrae’s open area that makes up the spinal column. Nerves called the spinal cord allow a person to feel, move, and they also control various bodily functions. That runs through that spinal canal from the base of the brain to the lower back.
When that canal narrow it presses down on the nerve roots where they leave the spinal cord causing the spinal cord to become compressed or damaged. This can alter the functionality of the spinal cord thus leading to pain, stiffness, numbness, or weakness that may often be felt in the neck.
Cervical Spondylosis
This is related to osteoarthritis of the neck. This refers to changes in the neck’s bones, joints, and discs of the upper cervical spine due to disc degeneration. Aging causes the discs to break down over time, and thus they become stiffer causing the body to develop bony growths called bone spurs. Osteophytes, which put pressure on the spinal nerve roots or spinal cord, may also sometimes form.
Upper Cervical and Your Neck
So, now the question is whether or not you have to live with that pain in your neck? The answer is no. When your upper cervical spine is out of alignment by only ¼ millimeter, your brain is not able to communicate with your body properly. That can cause blood and oxygen not to get to where it needs to go, your nerves not to respond correctly to its environment, and your body not to function properly.
This misalignment between your head and neck can also cause uneven pressures on your spinal bones, muscles and nerves that are frequently an underlying factor in the conditions mentioned above.
The good news is that an examination by an upper cervical chiropractor can reverse that process for you. They can examine your upper cervical spine and focus on the underlying cause of your pain by correcting any misalignments in your upper neck vertebrae.
To find a Doctor in your area go to www.NUCCA.org or if you are in the Dublin, California area to schedule your NUCCA evaluation, click the button below:
Dr. Andrea Pritchett of Vital Life Wellness Center in Dublin, California is an Dublin Chiropractor and Upper Cervical Expert trained by the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA). Her upper cervical clinic also serves Pleasanton, Livermore, San Ramon and Danville. She is uniquely trained to correct problems in the upper cervical spine (upper neck). This vital area is intimately connected to the central nervous system and problems in this area have been shown to be an underlying cause of a variety of different health problems, including children’s conditions such as ear infections, colic and scoliosis and problems that adults face including migraines and other headaches, fibromyalgia, sciatica, neck and back pain, and more. More information can be found on our website at https://www.vlifewellness.com/