Neck Pain Support Blog

My X-Ray Shows a Decreased Disc Space at C6-C7. What does this mean?

            What this means is that part of the disc is either degenerated, bulged out, or both.  You see, when a disc degenerates, (in other words arthritis) the disc flattens and breaks down.  This can be much like a flat tire; it flattens and bulges out.  Since that material bulges out then there is less of it between the vertebrae in the neck. 

            This decreased disc space will then compromise the space the nerves in the neck have when they exit off of the spinal cord to travel to various parts of the body such as your arms or upper back. 

            Some degeneration is normal as we age.  The discs will dehydrate and flatten a bit, but if your getting arm pain, neck pain, or tingling in the hands, then chances are you’ve got a little more breakdown than you should. 

            Injuries to the neck and shoulder, poor posture, and spinal misalignments will cause the degeneration or arthritis to happen faster, perhaps leading to this neck and arm discomfort. 

            An injury to the neck can also cause a fairly healthy disc to bulge or even herniated.  This will also show as a decreased space on an x-ray.  The radiograph will show the bone, not the soft tissue like the disc, but you can see the space.  If there is decreased disc space compared to other levels you can bet something is going on. 

Updated: 4/27/2020

Additional Reading Resources

• The Most Common Disc Herniation in the Neck: C6
• Severe Neck Pain From a Herniated Disc? What are your treatment options?
• Cervical Neck Traction to get the Curve Back in Your Cervical Spine
• Neck Exercises
• Continuous pressure on cervical nerves can lead to nerve damage

 

How do I get Rid of this Kink In My Neck?

"I woke up this morning with a bad pain in my neck, which I think is a kink. Any time I turn to the left, it hurts. I was wondering anyways to heal this kink. How long does it take before it will go away?"

This is the topic of todays blog because I hear a question like this almost regularly. Essentially a lot of people call it a kink in the neck, what it really is, is a neck strain. It is sort of like a kink in a hose; it's knotted up and no flow of water happens.

In this case the neck muscles are bound up and vertebrae are shifted. These things put pressure on nerves and restrict messages of your nervous system. The severity of the neck kink may vary, and this may determine how much pain you have in the neck or how long you've been having neck pains.

Here are few things that you can do easily to get a kink out of your neck.

• Use a hot pack on your cervical spine and upper back area for 10 minutes. Hot Packs Specifically for neck pain, try a  9x16 hot pack (one that covers the upper back in addition to the neck)
• Do some neck exercises that involve flexion, extension, lateral flexion, rotation of the neck: Neck Exercises
• Use a supportive neck pillow at night so that you are sleeping with good neck posture to avoid a kink in the neck in the first place
• Try stretching your neck. You can simply use a neck traction device such as a trac collar for linear traction (up and down) or a more sophisticated traction unit such as the Posture Pump.Stretching out your neck muscles and ligaments can help with pain relief. It is important to do neck traction under the supervision of a health professional.
• Try chiropractic treatment. A chiropractor can look for misalignments in the neck, and help with gentle mobilization of the individual neck bones. Also, a chiropractor can do therapy in the office, such as ice/heat, electric muscle stimulation, do traction and show you neck exercises that you can do at home.

Picture Source: Comics by Brad

Updated: 4/27/2020

Additional Reading Resources

• Remedy for a Stiff Neck when you travelling
• Using a Hot and Cold Pack for maximum Relief
• Acute Neck Pain
• 6 ways to improve neck posture
• Change the shape of your pillow for easy travel