Your neck, also known as your cervical spine consists of 7 vertebrae separated by cushiony discs that act as shock absorbers.  The bones in your neck protect your spinal cord and spinal nerves, while supporting and balancing the weight of your head.  Your neck is a delicate balance of muscles, ligaments, nerves and vertebrae.  Each day, your neck is subjected to many forces that can disrupt this delicate balance, leaving it vulnerable to injury and degeneration.  Poor posture, wear and tear, injury, stress and tension can cause misalignments of the bones in your neck, which can lead to pain and dysfunction.  If not taken care of properly, these misalignments (or subluxations) can lead to more serious problems.

Any neck injury should be taken seriously and closely evaluated.  Even "minor" injuries can cause "major" problems.  Unfortunately, traditional methods of treating neck pain don't always get to the root of the problem.  While taking pain relievers or muscle relaxers might make you feel a little better, they don't correct the underlying problem.  Look at these x-rays of the neck.  This first one shows you what a normal neck should look like on an x-ray.  Notice the normal C shaped curve of the cervical spine and the even disc spaces between the bones.  This is a healthy neck with no signs of degeneration or arthritis.

Now take a look at this second x-ray of the neck.  This one shows someone with severe spinal degeneration at the 5th, 6th and 7th vertebrae. This patient has lost their normal curve in their neck and has several discs that are badly degenerated.  A patient with a neck in this condition typically suffers from chronic neck pain and stiffness, tight spastic muscles in their neck and shoulders, and possibly loss of range of motion in their neck.  

Chiropractic takes an active approach to ending your neck pain.  Rather than just giving you pain relievers to cover up your symptoms, we can find the cause of your pain and make the right corrections.  Chiropractic adjustments can restore proper function to the vertebrae, muscles and ligaments in your neck.  

Chiropractic treatment for neck pain is scientifically proven:  

One study, funded by the National Chiropractic Mutual Insurance Company, found that chiropractic is a safer approach to neck pain than prescribing pain-killing medication, which can have dangerous side effects.

Another study, published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics in 1995, found chiropractic to be more effective than using acetaminophen (aspirin or Tylenol).  Patients who received chiropractic care reported significant improvement in their neck pain and neck function than those patients taking aspirin or Tylenol.  Chiropractic patients had better strength and range of motion after treatment as well.