A Simple Test To Determine If You Have A Neck Issue

We get a lot of people visiting our practice due to Neck Pain.
Neck pain is commonly debilitating and often you struggle to do the things you love. Sleeping comfortably, getting out of bed or simply moving around is annoying at best. Neck pain can make you feel cranky and often you will snap at those you love. Correcting your neck pain helps you and often those around you (or at least we are often told).

It is hard to know what to do, there seems to be many options….​You deserve to live life uninterrupted, feeling great and thinking clearly!

Neck pain is very common and has many different causes. Direct causes of mechanical neck pain are rarely identifiable. Most neck issues are functional problems as a result of imbalances in neck support structures. Over time this tends to result in degenerative change that then leads to greater problems with the anatomy itself which can be irreversible depending on presentation.

For neck pain, a thorough diagnosis is important to lay the foundation for appropriate treatment and rehabilitation. Neck pain treatment reduces the likelihood of recurrent flare-ups and helps prevent the development of chronic (longer term) issues.

There are lots of reasons why you might have neck pain, there are also many different symptoms with neck pain. Here at Little Sprouts Chiropractic (yes we see big sprouts too), we will help identify why you have the pain, then we will develop a game plan specific to you, to help you manage your recovery. We use natural and gentle means to help manage your recovery. Amongst other tests we look at muscle weakness patterns and dermatome or numbness patterns in the arms and hands to help diagnose the problem (1,2).

One easy test you can do at home to determine if you have early signs of neck trouble (remember get to the cause before it becomes a big issue) is a simple range of motion test. Data from a scientific study suggests that there are early range changes associated with the development of neck pain (3). If you go through the following ranges: flexion, extension, side band and rotation; and there are ranges that hurt or are restricted, it would be worth getting screened.

Another test we use is Spurlings test (4). The Spurling test is a medical maneuver used to assess nerve root pain (also known as radicular pain). WARNING DO NOT do this at home (there are some reasons why you should not do this test -  we won’t be discussing here) a trained professional must use this test. The examiner turns the patient's head to the affected side while extending and applying downward pressure to the top of the patient's head. A positive Spurling's sign is when the pain arising in the neck radiates in the direction of the corresponding dermatome (skin supply) on the same side. It is a type of cervical compression test.
Patients with a positive Spurling's sign can present with a variety of symptoms, including pain, numbness and weakness. In addition to the clinical history, the neurological examination may show signs suggesting a cervical radiculopathy. This can indicate a disc issue, other symptoms of this are usually numbness into the hands and pain although you may not be experiencing these issues.
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We are passionate about what being well means, and love seeing you and your family reach maximum potential and experiencing all that life can offer. If you have a neck issue of any sort make sure you get in early and get it properly diagnosed and checked out.

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