Arthritis and Neck Pain

When we are saying the term "arthritis," several images pop up in our heads. Many people think of crippled hands or possibly Mr. Smith who talks about his poor hip being, "...bone on bone!" Or, how about the neighbor who has a bottom knee and walks with a limp as well as a cane? Scarcely do we think about the neck being associated with "arthritis."


Before we go too far into this discourse, we must define the phrase, "arthritis," which signifies joint ("arth-") swelling (-integrated Taxonomic Information System). Simple enough, right? Wrong! Without getting overly complicated, we must understand there are various forms of arthritis such as osteoarthritis, arthritis rheumatoid, lupus, gouty arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, etc. To narrow this down a bit, we are going to limit our conversation to degenerative arthritis, also called degenerative joint disease.


Osteoarthritis or DJD, is the most typical type of arthritis which everyone eventually eventually ends up with - whether we like it or not. While it is true that weight bearing joints wear out faster (like hips and knees more so than elbows and shoulders), DJD can affect any joint. There are various causes of DJD, including a genetic or hereditary tendency but the most common cause is damage over a long period of time. Obviously, the rate of obtaining DJD in the neck (or anyplace else for that matter) is directly related to how "fine" we've been to our body, in this event, the neck. For instance, after an auto accident, a typical injury to the neck is whiplash. This happens because we actually cannot restrain the pace of the top as it rapidly goes forwards and back upon impact and it's all over within 600-800 milli-seconds! Since we can not voluntarily contract a muscle that quick and when joints go beyond their standard stretch span, the ligaments - those non-springy, challenging tissues that securely retains osseous tissue to bone - will just "give" therefore considerably and then snap, which will be technically known as a "sprain." This results in an accelerated rate of degeneration.


Blood tests are negative with DJD (unlike many of the other types of arthritis), and a x-ray can help ascertain how "arthritic" the joint is and whether the smooth, silky ends of the joint (called hyaline cartilage) are worn down and if bony spurs are found. After we get-up and shift around, "...it loosens up." As the condition advances, neck motions restricted with painfulness, which additionally limits motion and become tight, and eventually, the individual must rotate their entire body to look sideways. When the arthritis hits or lumps right into a nerve as it departs the cervical back, neck soreness, and numbness/tingling might radiate down an arm, at instances to the hand, normally exclusively influencing particular fingers. Head ache, notably in the rear of the top, also can occur in the reflex muscle "splinting" due to the pain associated with arthritis. As Dr. Peter Ulrich, MD points out (http://www.spine-health.com/conditions/arthritis/cervical-osteo-arthritis-neck-arthritis) chiropractic adjustments, "...help control persistent symptoms or offer relief for more acute episodes of pain from degenerative arthritis."

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