I literally hear this everyday in my office. “My back/neck hurts, but it’s just a muscle spasm, I must have pulled it somehow.” Chiropractors see a lot of musculoskeletal issues, in fact this is what we specialize in for our entire careers. So how do you know if you have a muscle spasm, subluxation or something even more involved? Well for starters ask the experts-your chiropractor. Or if you don’t have a chiropractor you are in luck because I am accepting new patients!!
A muscle strain will be the result of over exertion. Too much yard work, exercise, weekend warrior etc. For home remedies heat will help and this condition should go away in about 2 days. This pain should also be limited to a muscle. Meaning your bicep should hurt, not your neck, shoulder and arm. A general rule, if your pain crosses a joint it is most likely caused by a nerve irritation.
A subluxation is a rotation of your spine causing a nerve to be compressed and this causes pain and muscle spasms. If you have pain that started for no reason or has been slowly building over weeks, months or years then this is pain from a subluxation. If you can’t directly relate your pain to an activity you performed then you are looking at a chiropractic issue. Of course if you suffer an injury from lifting, bending, twisting or reaching chiropractic care can also help you. Chiropractic care can help chronic and acute conditions.
What does a chiropractor do to help you with this condition? Of course a chiropractic adjustment that will re-align the vertebrae in your back and neck or even your extremities. Did you know chiropractors can adjust wrists, elbows, ankles, shoulders and knees too? If it has a movable joint your chiropractor can adjust it. Electric stimulation with heat therapy, stretching, intersegmental traction and trigger point release are all common treatments for pain from subluxations with muscle spasms. When you get adjusted it alleviates the pressure on the nerve that makes the muscle spasm calm down.
Chiropractic care is safe, gentle and effective. Give us a call and we will get you back on the road to recovery.