In the past two years, the majority of our patients have been working from home.
This has created an opportunity for people to spend long hours working in poor ergonomic conditions. Patients are using kitchen tables, couches, and even beds as work stations with detrimental effects.
The Effects of Poor Posture
This leads to poor postural positions being held for long periods of time. In time muscles, tendons and ligaments become stressed and strained. Tissues start to break down and pain patterns develop.
What specific structures are we talking about?
The spine consists of 24 different bones with 7 cervical/neck spine bones. The muscles of your neck and upper back work collectively to maintain proper alignment and keep your head upright. If muscles become strained there is a collective breakdown of posture and alignment. As an example your head weighs as much as a bowling ball.Imagine holding that bowling ball away from your body as opposed to holding it tight to your chest. The same analogy applies to your posture. If your head is stuck in the forward position, strain and stress are placed on the surrounding structures of your spine.
How We Treat Posture-Related Neck & Upper Back Pain at CSC+M
We start with a detailed history to understand where you are feeling the discomfort:
- When did the pain start?
- Was there a specific incident that caused the pain?
- Is the pain sharp or dull?
- Does it radiate to your head or down your arm?
All this information lets the practitioner get a better understanding of what is going on.
The examination consists of observation of the patient standing. We are looking for asymmetry, muscle imbalances, head tilts, shoulder positions, and general health of the tissue. Next we palpate the area of chief complaint and compare it to the non-affected side.
Orthopedic tests are next after we have narrowed our scope and have a better understanding of what we are dealing with. Last but not least if we feel it is clinically relevant we will radiograph the spine. Collectively all this information allows us to create a working diagnosis and create an appropriate treatment plan.
Here at CSC+M, we treat this with a unique combination of chiropractic care, physical therapy, acupuncture, trigger point therapy, and massage. The end goal being a correction of postural asymmetry and a return to activities of daily living pain free. If this is something you are suffering from feel free to contact us for an evaluation.
