Acupuncture for Neck Pain

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By Michael Kowalski, A.P.,Dipl.Ac.

Neck pain is becoming more and more common throughout the world. Mayo Clinic reports that over 30% of Americans experience neck pain each year. When someone gets neck pain, about half the time it clears up fairly quickly. However, the other almost 50% of people with neck pain will still have some ongoing degree of pain, or it returns sometime in the future. Those people who continue to have symptoms now suffer from chronic neck pain.

Why do people get chronic neck pain? There are many possible causes. For example, neck pain is more common in office and computer workers. This may be due to the time we spend in front of computer screens. If your job requires a lot of time looking at a computer screen, get an ergonomic or postural therapy assessment to make sure your neck posture is healthy. Call (772) 713-7444 to schedule an assessment now. If your computer time is not all work-related, consider cutting back on your personal screen time. If you already suffer from chronic neck pain, this tip is even more vital to your health.

Another common cause of neck pain is stress. Stress can be “good” if you feel tested by someone or some event and rise to the challenge. Stress can also be “bad” if it brings you down or makes you tense. Have you ever thought someone in your life was a “pain in the neck?” Well, maybe they were – literally!

It is common to tense your muscles when you feel stressed. One of the most common areas to hold stress in your body is in your neck muscles. Neck tension can arise when you are upset, anxious, irritated, feel pressured, overwhelmed, etc.

For some people, chronic neck pain comes from a spinal issue, such as a pinched nerve. Many things, including arthritis of the spine, disc disease, or trauma from an accident, can cause nerve pain. In these cases, the nerve pain may affect more than your neck. It can radiate into your shoulder or down an arm. Nerve-related neck pain can lead to upper limb tingling and numbness.

Whether your chronic neck pain is from muscle tension, stress or a nerve problem, acupuncture is a very effective and safe way to treat it. At the Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center in Jacksonville, we specialize in Five Element Acupuncture to treat your stress and balance your whole body. When we focus on chronic neck pain, we use special acupuncture points in the neck muscles to deal directly with the muscle tension or the root of the affected nerve. These treatments are quite gentle, and they can be a great help. Call (904) 296-9545 to schedule an acupuncture appointment now.

Acupuncture can return your neck to better health. It relaxes tense muscles and reduces swelling around damaged nerves. When combined with our root-cause Five Element approach, relief from chronic neck pain lasts longer and longer as your body and emotions become more balanced.