Neck Pain Support Blog

New Study Finds that Poor Air Quality can Be A Cause for Migraine & other Headaches

I think that one of the worst headaches a person can experience is a Migraine- it can be very painful and debilitating. There are many known trigger of migraine headaches:

• Smells
• Spicy Food
• MSG’s
• Menstruation cycle for women
• Red Wine
• Cured Cheeses and Meats
• Loud noises
• Bright Lights
• Alcohol
• Stress
• Fatigue
• Change in Weather

What about headaches from sitting in bumper to bumper traffic? Well bad driving and bad drivers may not be the only reason for your headache. A new study shows that air quality can cause headaches.

The study found increases in air pollution were associated with increases in numbers of hospital admissions for headache. The study was reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology this month by Dr. Sabit Cakmak’s team of Health Canada.

The study took place in the Santiago province of Chile where the Dr.Cakmak’s team analyzed ozone and air pollution levels at 7 monitoring stations between the years 2001 and 2005. The scientists measured air pollutants such as nitrogen and sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter associated with the combustion of gasoline, natural gas and other fossil fuels.

The Santiago province of Chile is an area that is highly populated. It is surrounded by the Andes mountains and therefore a target for air pollution. At the same time, the investigators collected information on the number of hospitalizations for headache symptoms. When the investigators analyzed the data about air pollution in all areas, they found that air pollution was a risk factor for all types of headaches. These headaches included migraines, tension headaches, cluster headaches and other types. **There were significant associations between migraine and ozone in all regions. The age and sex of the participants did not make a difference. The season of the year also did not matter significantly.

Dr. Cakmak noted that further study should be completed based on the findings. The researchers estimated that poor air quality can cause many different symptoms and illnesses. Headaches should be included in these symptoms, as they are likely to arise in areas of poor air quality.

So if you are prone to migraine headaches, keep in mind that the air quality around you may be a major factor. Doing your best to surround yourself with clean air may help prevent your next attack.

Source:
Air Pollution and Hospitalization for Headache in Chile; October 2009

Additional Reading Resources:

• Home Headache Remedies
• The Right Pillow For Headaches
• The Real Cost of Headaches: Work Family and Fun
• Natural Treatments for Headaches and Neck Pain

Matt Roloff Spinal Surgery? Is This His Last Option For Pain Relief?

I am a fan of Little People Big World. I am always amazed and impressed with what the Roloff family has accomplished. On a recent episode Matt (father) and Jeremy (older son) went on a skiing trip, much to their mother Amy’s dismay. Matt has recently been experiencing a lot of neck pain, shoulder pain and numbness into his left arm.

Matt Roloff is a little person or dwarf and has had some spinal and spine related issues in the past. Matt's type of dwarfism is called diastrophic dysplasia.

Over the years, I am sure he has built up a certain amount of degeneration in his spine. According to a cervical mri that he had recently, his Doctor mentioned that he has disc degeneration between two levels: C2-C3 and C3-C4. There was also multiple levels of degeneration in the cervical spine (aka spondylosis). Matt has also been experiencing neurological symptoms associated with this degeneration in his spine: numbness and tingling into his left arm, shoulder pain, neck pain, weakness in his upper extremity.

The Doctor also mentioned that he will need spinal surgery in about 6 months. In the mean time Matt is using some home traction- specifically overhead neck traction which he demonstrated during the episode. A medieval looking device that stretches out the neck longitudinally creating a space between the bones, thus taking pressure off of nerves. This type of traction unit can help, but for some patients, it places a lot of pressure on one’s jaw. There are other types of neck traction that are more effective and much more comfortable such as the pronex pneumatic cervical traction system. Traction systems help improve the neck curvature which takes pressure off off of the nerves.

Regardless, this neck traction that Matt is doing should help give some relief. He also goes skiing with his son Jeremy, which I wouldn’t recommend someone with his neck condition do too much of. On the other hand they looked like they had a lot of fun and sometimes things like this help take your mind off the pain.

WikiPedia on Little People Big World

Source: TLC’s Little People Big World Episode

Additional Reading Resources:

• True Neck Traction - The Right Kind Of Neck Traction For Long Term Pain Relief
• The Pronex Pneumatic Cervical Traction Unit
• How to Use the Traction Side of the Cervical Linear Traction Neck Pillow for maximum pain relief and the better sleep
• Neck Pain resulting from a C5, C6, C7, or C8 Radiculopathy
• Understanding Your Disc Problem Like A Jelly Donut
• Severe Neck Pain with Numbess and Tingling-- all from a Herniated Disc?

Visit the Arc 4 Life: Your pain relief Source for Cervical traction Systems



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The Pain Associated with a Whiplash Neck Injury

I have examined many patients who have been involved in motor vehicle accidents and have sustained a whiplash type injury. They often come in with symptoms such as headaches, neck pain, stiff neck, facial pain, loss of range of motion in their neck and difficulty finding a comfortable position at night. The pain intensity is often mild to severe. Some patients experience the pain right away, for some it can take, even weeks to develop. Every patients’ tolerance to pain is different.

Immediately after a car accident you may feel fine. No pain response is normal right after the accident because your adrenaline is pumping and cortisol is being released into the body. You may be in slight shock and maybe even a little dazed. You may start to experience pain in a few hours, a few days or maybe in a few weeks. Studies have shown that 62% to 98% of people complain of neck pain, which usually begins 2 hours or even two days following the accident.

During a whiplash type of injury your neck can be thrown forward and backward a few times in a few seconds. This can cause injury to ligaments and muscles. Your ability to turn your head up, down, to the side, and to turn your head may be limited. Neck pain and neck stiffness can result because the neck and upper back musculature is tight and is reacting to tears in the muscle or too much movement (hyperextension or hyperflexion) in the joints from ligament damage. The muscles response is often one of tightness in order to support the head limiting too much movement. This soft tissue injury can allow Inflammation in these regions to take a few days to accumulate, putting more pressure on nerves in the neck. One’s daily routine and even the way that they sleep- which didn’t cause pain in the past, may now trigger pain as a result of the recent trauma.

So the best thing to do after a trauma is to get your neck evaluated because pain and problems can occur later on down the road. X-rays are important to make sure there are no broken bones. Advanced imaging studies such as MRI’s or CT Scans can show soft tissue injury.

There are many treatments for whiplash type injuries. Some patients wear neck collars right after the accident, although these should only be worn temporarily in the acute phase. Often times, patients are prescribed muscle relaxers and pain medications to help with the pain. Chiropractic adjustments, hot and cold therapy, soft tissue work, muscle massage, using a good supportive pillow, and electrotherapy (tens or ultrasound) also play a helpful role in treating this type of injury.

Additional Reading Resources

• Reducing Whiplash Injuries by 90%- just by Changing One Thing in Your Car
• What To Do After A Motor Vehicle Whiplash Accident
• How Does Whiplash Occur
• How to Use Biofreeze for a Stiff Neck
• Can Whiplash of the Neck Cause Shoulder Pain?

Visit the Arc 4 Life Store for your online selection of neck pillows, neck supports and cervical traction products for relief of stiff neck, and neck pain.



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Dodgers Kuroda Not Pitching Because of Disk Herniation in Neck

Los Angeles, California -Dodgers Baseball player Hiroki Kuroda will not be pitching in the National League division series according to his manager Joe Torre. Kuroda was diagnosed with a small disk herniation in his cervical spine. The diagnosis was confirmed with a cervical MRI on Thursday by his Doctor, Dr. Roberts Watkins. 

Kuroda said he's felt "tightness and discomfort" in the left side of his neck and upper back since taking the line drive off the right side of his head Aug. 15, but it wasn't until Tuesday while running in the outfield at PETCO Park in San Diego that he noticed pain. He said he tried to play catch and "felt pain I've never felt before and I stopped right away."

His trainer Stan Conte stated "He has like everybody -- especially people who have pitched -- he has some wear and tear on his neck, just like most of these guys do," trainer Stan Conte said. "He must have made a movement that irritated this. And created this small little tear in the disk and that's probably what happened. It's just serendipity.

"If he tried to pitch through this -- and Kuroda asked the doctor and asked us if we can do something so that he could pitch in spite of this -- he would have a chance of making this from a small herniation into a large herniation which in fact could require surgery. So that's the reason we are pretty much adamant that he will not be able to pitch until he has full pain free range of motion. Even though this is the playoffs, this is not something that you would inject and numb so he could pitch. You would not ever do that. That puts him at real significant risk."

"I'm definitely disappointed," said Kuroda. "They said recovery time varies depending on the person. I'm hopeful to come back and play in the playoffs."

Source: Neck injury sidelines Kuroda for NLDS

Additional Resources:

• Neck Pain Resulting from a Cervical Radiculopathy
• Severe Neck Pain From a Herniated Disc: What are Your Treatment Options?
• How to End Neck pain By Doing Cervical traction at home
• Severe Neck Pain with Numbess and Tingling-- all from a Herniated Disc?
• Neck Pain Relief Kit

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical supports and cervical traction products for relief of stiff neck, and neck pain

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DID YOU KNOW… “Hand And Arm Pain can be coming from your neck!”

Often times carpal tunnel is mistakenly diagnosed and the hidden cause of hand or wrist pain may be your neck.

Yes, that’s right, your neck may be causing your hand or wrist pain. Nerves in the lower neck innervate the arm and hand. Basically nerves in the lower neck come together to form the Brachial Plexus and nerves from the Brachial Plexus communicate to different regions of the hands and arms.


Do you ever notice your hand falls asleep after sleeping with your neck or arm in a funny position? Of course, because of the nerve pathway I described. Remember, nerves communicate to blood vessels and muscles as well.

So if this happens to you often or you think you might have carpal tunnel, have your neck spine checked as well. Too often we hear wrist pain and automatically think CTS and sometimes so does your doctor.

And if you’re not sure and just want to do some things at home to try to correct the problem, use a contoured pillow for correcting and supporting neck alignment as well as working on your wrists! Strengthening exercises using a putty or playdough can be beneficial for building up strength in the wrists, forearms, and hands.

Additional Resources:

• Neck Pain resulting from a C5, C6, C7, or C8 Radiculopathy
• Making Your Station Pain Free
• Stop Arthritis Neck Pain Dead In its Tracks
• A Downloadable Ebook about neck pain relief through exercises, advice and useful information
• Severe Neck Pain with Numbess and Tingling-- all from a Herniated Disc?

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical supports and cervical traction products for relief of stiff neck, and neck pain

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Your Health Should Be Your #1 Priority

If you really think about it, or if you’ve experienced a severe health issue, you’ve probably realized everything else falls a distant second. Why do I say this; think about your family, kids, things you like to do, food you like to eat, places you like to travel to. With severe back or neck pain you may not be able to travel or play in the yard with the kids, maybe even enjoy one full, restful night’s sleep.

I’ve met too many individuals at this point whose lives are on hold because they deal with their health issue 24 hours a day. Neck or back pain is just one health problem, but it’s the one that I see mostly in my office.

Pain wears you down physically, but then it takes its toll mentally too.

Treat your body and spine the best that you can, because you only have one. Put good nutrients in your body, exercise, get proper rest, and maintain your spine. - NJ

Pain in the Upper Trapezius Muscle

Trigger points within muscles such as the Trapezius can be a major point of pain. What is a “trigger point?” A trigger point is a point of pain that can be easily irritated. It is often seen in tight muscles. Pressing on a trigger point can be very painful and it can cause referred pain- or pain in other areas of the body. One of the most common muscles in the body to have trigger points is the trapezius, especially the upper part of the muscle (the upper trapezius). These trigger points can be caused in the trapezius from poor posture, a tight bra strap, carrying a heavy backpack and holding your head and neck in one position for a long time. For example, holding your head in rotation or a side-bending position. Also having trigger points in the upper trapezius is a major source of tension headaches. As I mentioned above, trigger points can also cause referral patterns- in the upper trapezius, a trigger point can refer pain along the back of the neck and into the jaw area. You may have pain along the side of the head, in the temples, and behind your eyes.




To treat trigger points in the upper trapezius you can do home stretches. So, for example, let’s say you have painful trigger points in the left trapezius muscle. Take your left hand and place it lightly over your right ear. Your arm should be over your head. Now bend your left ear to your left shoulder, bend your head forward, and now turn your head to the right. Hold this stretch for 10-15 seconds.

Also, having good neck posture while sitting is very important. If you work at a computer constantly, check your neck posture. Change up the ergonomics of your station to make it a pain free zone. Also, you can use an electrotherapy (aka tens unit) unit at home. Using heat and ice can also provide a lot of relief. Getting adjusted by a chiropractor can be beneficial to getting rid of the painful trigger points, and increasing your range of motion in the neck. Finally using a good support neck pillow at night will be helpful as well.

Source: Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction, Janet G. Travell and David G. Simons

Additional Reading Resources

• Learn How to Strengthen your Rotator Cuff Muslces- by Brian Schiff Physcial Therapist
• My Trapezius really hurts..how do I find relief?
• The Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Neck Posture & Get Rid of Neck Pain
• Improve your Posture With the Posture Corrector
• Severe Neck Pain with Numbess and Tingling-- all from a Herniated Disc?
• The Neck Pain Relief Kit- Stop neck pain with the proper exercises, neck posture, and products for pain relief
• Natural Treatments for Headaches and Neck Pain

Dissecting Spinal Degeneration in the Neck

Loss of cervical lordosis, cervical degeneration, and a lot of neck pain! This has been the theme of the month. I get email questions and comments related to this constantly.

Lately a lot of questions we get seem to do with a person who has lost their neck curvature (that’s the cervical lordosis) and is in pain. They’ve often seen their x-rays which also show degeneration. Some have even seen a surgeon for a consult. In reality, any good surgeon is going to be honest and tell you to try everything before surgery unless you are in unbearable pain or have another life threatening type of symptom.

A person diagnosed with cervical disc degeneration may have neck pain or neck stiffness. Often times, this pain is aggravated when they are moving around and dissipates when they are resting. They also may have radiation into their arms and hands. It may even be associated with numbness and tingling symptoms. On a neck x-ray, cervical degeneration shows up as outgrowths of bone known as bone spurs or osteophytes. Also, the disc between the bones may also look smaller and dried up. The height of the disc itself may be less. In cases of disc degeneration looking at a cervical MRI can be very helpful to determine the extent of degeneration and if pressure is being put on certain neurological structures.




The last 2 people we talked with mentioned that their neurosurgeon suggested they use a good neck pillow along with neck exercises to improve the lordosis in their neck. This is a great recommendation in my opinion as I have regularly seen people improve their neck curvature and get rid of their neck pain with neck exercises and a supportive neck pillow.

Additional Reading Resources:

• Cervical Kyphosis or Military Neck can be the Cause of Neck Pain
• Having Optimal Posture in the Neck
• True Neck Traction With the Pronex Pneumatic Traction Unit
• Sleeping Comfortably when You have Neck or Back Pain
• The Right Neck Pillow for Support
• Neck Pain resulting from a C5, C6, C7, or C8 Radiculopathy

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical supports and cervical traction products for relief of stiff neck, and neck pain Bookmark this on Delicious Stumble It!

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