As a chiropractor in Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Palm Desert, and the Coachella Valley, I have seen my fair share of people in pain. Every day, I get phone calls from people suffering from one malady or another. Low back pain is a common complaint, and shoulder problems abound, but by far, the most common condition that brings people into my office is a stiff neck.
Stiff necks are often described as a twinge, a tweak, or even a crick in the neck. The type that I see most often, though, is spasmodic torticollis. Spasmodic torticollis, or wry neck, is a painful spasm of the neck and upper back musculature with concomitant spinal subluxations of the neck and upper back regions. It is an inordinately painful thing to suffer through. Most of us have experienced this condition, and many of us get it once or twice a year; you know, you wake up with a stiff, sore neck, and turning your head in either direction, or looking up or down, is excruciatingly painful. Who has not experienced that one? The question is: What should you do about it?
Well, first let’s talk about what not to do. When doing an internet search on torticollis, I came across many medically oriented Web pages. No problem, except that, for the most part, modern medicine deals very poorly with musculoskeletal pain issues. I’m not knocking MDs here, but let’s face it, we’ve all been down that road before: you see your primary care medico for neck or low back pain, wait 45 minutes in the waiting room, another ten in the examination room, five minutes with the nurse, and then five quick minutes with the doctor when she finally makes it into your room; she does a quick exam, and then prescribes you the standard three—anti-inflamatories, pain killers and muscle relaxants; and one week later…you’re still in pain. Been there, done that. And so have you.
This is the typical answer from the mainstream medical camp regarding the treatment of torticollis neck pain: Take x-rays; give heat, an anti-inflammatory, and perhaps an oral cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril) or diazepam (Valium); look for an infection; provide cervical traction (pull on your head); if there is a concomitant paresthesia (numbness or tingling), consider neurosurgical or orthopedic consultation. Yikes!
Some pages advise that if the above treatment doesn’t work, simply wait it out—it’ll eventually go away on its own. Tsk, tsk. The solution is much simpler than that. To get the absolute quickest and most long-lasting relief for stiff neck or torticollis, please visit your local chiropractor. There’s nothing better than chiropractic to relieve the pain and suffering of this type of neck stiffness. Not massage. Not physical therapy. Not medicine. Not yoga. Not Pilates. Nothing.
That’s because, as I’ve said before, the neck pain and stiffness of torticollis are due to severe muscle spasms and spinal subluxations. All those other therapies might help you beautifully if the problem were only muscle spasms, but because of the spinal component, getting a chiropractic adjustment along with muscle work is a must.
Believe me when I say, in Los Angeles, West Hollywood, and Beverly Hills, there are so many health care options that, often, when people come in to see me with a stiff neck, they’ve seen another practitioner to no avail. Same in Palm Desert. I hear it all the time, “I got a massage, and while it felt good in the moment, while I was on the table…I’m still in pain!” Yeah, that’s because the spasms will return if you don’t adjust your spine. Now, whether the subluxations or the muscle spasms are the primary cause, I don’t think there is any way to know, because, really, either one can cause the other. That’s why correcting both problems together is imperative; otherwise, you might suffer in pain for days, maybe even weeks.
Speaking of duration, many in mainstream medicine will say, “It’ll go away on its own, over time.” Sorry, but that just isn’t so. Many of you who have had this painful neck stiffness know it might get a little better over time, but it doesn’t completely go away on its own. And within a week or two, it may even come back with a vengeance.
Take my word: it’s not worth waiting out. If you have neck pain and stiffness that sticks around for more than a couple of days, do yourself a favor: visit your local chiropractor. I promise he or she will have you feeling better immediately, and you’ll probably be 100% pain-free after two to three visits. And if you live in my neck of the woods—Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Palm Desert, or Coachella Valley—pick up the phone, call us, and come in; we’ll get you back on track and neck pain-free in no time.
-originally posted on January 21, 2008
