What to Do When You Have Neck, Shoulder & Back Pain

Neck, back and shoulder pain is extremely common, and there are a wide variety of causes for it as well as ways to take care of the problem and relieve pain. The treatment varies depending on the cause of the problem and the person experiencing the pain. Certain techniques work better for some people than others, and sometimes it is a trial and error process for determining the best course of action.

Causes

• The neck, shoulder and back area are particularly susceptible to pain and injury as well as stress, and therefore injuries to these areas are very common. In most cases, pain associated with the neck, back and shoulder are due to minor injuries, though they can be as a result of a degenerative disease or a serious problem. The cause of the problem is a wise place to start when determining what sort of treatment will be taken to deal with the problem at hand. Treatments for neck, shoulder and back pain can vary from very mild to very invasive, depending on exactly what needs to be done.

Medical Intervention

• Medical intervention is a broad term that encompasses everything a medical doctor might do to rid a person of neck, back or shoulder pain. This could be any combination of medical treatments ranging from pharmaceutical drugs to surgery, depending on the nature of the problem. Medical doctors are very pain-based, and their goal tends to be to get the patient out of pain as quickly as possible. This is often done through diagnosing the problem, determining its origin and then using a variety of pain relief medications or medical procedures to stop the pain. The pain relief can be temporary if thel doctor focuses on pain relief as opposed to problem-solving for long-term success.

Chiropractic Care

• Another branch of medicine that is less commonly explored is chiropractic. Chiropractic care focuses on the subluxations of the spine that are known to cause neck and back pain. A chiropractor's approach to dealing with neck, back and shoulder pain is considered hands-on, but not very invasive. His goal is to determine why a particular body part is not functioning properly, and through adjustments and realignment, return it to its initial function. This is often done through spinal adjustments that realign the body so that the vertebrae as well as the nervous system are congruent and the patient feels better. Specific adjustments are tailored to the area that is hurting, and thus the adjustment will be different for neck, back and shoulder pain, but all can be treated by a chiropractor.

Massage

• If the soreness in the neck, back and shoulder is caused from tense muscles due to stress or other minor injury, massage is an effective way to loosen muscles that surround those areas. Muscle tightness can be mild or severe, but you will notice pain to some degree with all tightening. Massage is a hands-on, noninvasive technique that uses the hands to relax painfully tight muscles. This is typically done through a series of treatments, though relief of the neck, back or shoulder may be noticed immediately following the massage. Subsequent massages are designed to keep the muscles from returning to their tightened state, as muscles that can flow freely keep the body moving easily and painlessly.