Condition · Neck Pain · Buford GA
Most neck pain is mechanical and resolves with conservative care. The slow part is figuring out which mechanical type you have. Postural, facet, disc, or post-traumatic each need a different plan.
Neck pain falls into four mechanical categories: postural and muscular (the most common), facet-joint, disc-related, and post-traumatic from previous whiplash. Each type has a different exam signature and a different best-fit treatment. The first job is sorting your case into the right bucket.
Diagnosis
/01 /01
The most common type. Tightness across the neck and upper back, often worse after long screen days. Responds to manual therapy plus a postural and deep neck flexor program.
/02 /02
Localized pain often on one side, worse with extension or rotation toward the painful side. Manipulation and soft-tissue work usually resolve it quickly.
/03 /03
Pain that radiates into the shoulder, arm, or hand in a nerve pattern. May respond to cervical decompression for confirmed candidates.
/04 /04
Persistent neck pain after an old motor vehicle collision or sports injury. Often involves multiple tissue layers and chronic compensation patterns.
FAQ
What causes neck pain?
Most neck pain falls into four mechanical categories: postural and muscular, facet-joint pain, disc-related, and whiplash. Each type has a different exam signature and treatment plan.
When is neck pain serious?
Red flags include progressive arm weakness, hand clumsiness or dropping things, balance changes or gait disturbance, severe headache with neck pain, or any neurological symptom that's getting worse. These can indicate cervical myelopathy and need medical evaluation.
How long to resolve?
Acute postural and muscular cases typically improve in 2 to 6 weeks. Disc-related cases run 6 to 12 weeks.
Is it safe to get my neck adjusted?
For most patients with mechanical neck pain, yes. We screen for contraindications on every new patient and don't adjust patients with risk factors. If anything in your history suggests we shouldn't, we use other techniques.
What's the best treatment?
For most mechanical neck pain: a combination of manipulation when indicated, soft-tissue work on the cervical paraspinals and upper trapezius, and a postural and deep neck flexor program.
A 60-minute evaluation. We figure out which mechanical type you have and build the plan around that.