Neck Pain
Neck pain is a very common condition. The most common causes of neck pain are strains and sprains. A strain is when a muscle or tendon has been irritated by overuse or overextension. A sprain is when a ligament has been irritated by overuse or overextension.
Common causes of neck strains and sprains include:
- Poor posture and holding the head in unusual position
- Repetitive motions
- Sports injury
- Sleeping in wrong position.
- Whiplash injury: Head and neck are forced suddenly forward and immediately backward with a great deal of force. The soft tissues along and near the cervical spine can be torn or ruptured as a result. This type of injury is often seen in an auto accident that involves a rear-end collision.
Sometimes a muscle strain or spasm is not just a soft tissue injury. In some cases, a problem in the cervical spine could be causing a neck muscle to spasm in response.
After a patient with neck pain is evaluated by a physician and nonsurgical treatments are appropriate, the patient should always consider acupuncture first.
- A 2009 analysis found that actual acupuncture was more helpful for neck pain than simulated acupuncture, but the analysis was based on a small amount of evidence (only three studies with small study populations).
- A large German study with more than 14,000 participants evaluated adding acupuncture to usual care for neck pain. The researchers found that participants reported greater pain relief than those who didn’t receive it; the researchers didn’t test actual acupuncture against simulated acupuncture.
https://nccih.nih.gov/health/acupuncture/introduction#hed4
In Dr. Xie’s Acupuncture Clinic, patients with neck pain are treated with a protocol combining traditional acupuncture, trigger points acupuncture, electric acupuncture, TDP/Infrared Lamp, Cupping, Tui Na manipulations and herbal medicines. Patients usually feel better after 4-6 sessions. Please contact Dr. J at (847) 630-8798 for an appointment.