Arthritis in the cervical joints most commonly occurs in the form of
- Osteoarthritis…
- Rheumatoid Arthritis…
- Ankylosing Spondylitis…
- And less commonly as Septic Arthritis …
which is dangerous; so we will talk about that one first…
Septic (Viral Or Bacterial Infection) Arthritis.
Arthritis in the neck can come about through an infection…
This is an emergency situation that needs to be treated AS SOON AS POSSIBLE…
If you have septic arthritis in your neck, it is important to get treated right away because… when an infection is that close to the brain tissue, it can become dangerous if it spreads…
Symptoms
Fever…
- Pain on one side…
- Pain will get worse with movement…
- Pain will radiate down into the shoulder…
- The pain will be intense as it the nerve roots will be involved…
This is an uncommon diagnosis…
And for it to be an infection, usually, it would need to tick all of the boxes…
The facet joints of cervical vertebrae are usually the cause and this is due to degeneration and destruction of these joints…
The good news is that this is a very rare source of arthritis in the neck…
- However, if these symptoms are present it should be considered an emergency…
Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid, and Ankylosing Spondylitis
These three different types of arthritis all have different sources…
And all three can appear in a case of arthritis in the neck…
- Rheumatoid – This is the body’s autoimmune system making an error and attacking the synovial linings and cartilage (soft tissues that keep the joint moving smoothly)…
- Osteoarthritis – Is from overuse as it can occur in playing sport or an injury that was not cared for properly, or both…Sometimes it is just from wear and tear with years of no maintenance care…
- Ankylosing Spondylitis – Is a painful arthritic like condition that eventually spans all of the spine… Occurring in males starting at the age of around twenty, it usually starts as tightness in the hip area, but can also start as a sore, arthritic like neck…
What they all have in common is that home treatments are similar…
Here are some pain management strategies for arthritis in the neck area that you can do at home…
Keeping The Area Cool With Ice Massage
This includes the use of:
Ice – In The Form Of.
- Crushed ice…
- Ice gel packs…
- Frozen sponges…
Apply for ten minutes every two hours…keeping in mind
- Some people are more sensitive to cold than others…
- Keep the rest of your body warm as you apply this…
- Some people prefer to use heat and ice combos; starting with ice is recommended!
Learn About Your Blood Type And The Food You Eat
Did you know that certain foods will cause inflammation in the joints of your body, and this will be to greater or lesser degrees according to your blood type…?
According to Peter D’Adamo, the majority of people in the world today do not digest wheat…
Certainly not in the proportions it is being consumed…
Bread, bakery goods, pasta…all of those products contain wheat and gluten…
Today many athletes are going wheat and gluten free because they notice that they experience less inflammation post game or match, and are recovering more quickly and efficiently…
One possible explanation to wheat and gluten causing inflammation and bunged up digestion in many of us may be down to how wheat is processed today…
In order to feed the mass population, wheat is cut down on one day and arrives at a food plant the next day to be processed into hundreds of brand name foods like cereals, bread, pasta, bakery goods…
This is efficient and keeps a lot of people fed…
However, for wheat to become fully digestible for humans…
There are enzymes that need to saturate the plant…
In order for that to happen, the wheat needs to be thrashed and left out in the field for at least twelve days…
Because this natural process has been halted by a lack of time, you get food made from a plant that lacks digestive enzymes…
Some people get painful digestive problems and others of us appear to tolerate it well enough…
But if you have an arthritis in the neck or anywhere in the body, cutting out wheat and gluten could possibly do you a world of good….
To know if it is making a difference for you it will take on an average of three to four months for some people, and for others, it can make a difference within a few days…
A link is provided for you further down the page…
My personal recommendation to you is to read one or more of Dr. Peter D’Adamo’s “Eat Right For Your Type” books…
They have been written for the public and elegantly derived from research that he and his father have been doing since 1957…
In the books, you will find out:
- How to type yourself if you do not know your blood type and other blood profiles you can get to maximally hone your diet – there is a lot more to it than O, A, B AB and Rhesus positive and negative…
- Find out which foods are ‘medicinal’, ‘neutral’ and ‘avoid’ for you according to your findings…
- This is also a good way to control your weight which is necessary if you are experiencing joint pain of any kind as stressed joints do better under the pressure of less weight…
Chiropractic Care For Arthritis In The Neck.
Chiropractic care is under scrutiny at the moment regarding whether or not it helps or harms an arthritic condition…
As a chiropractor I will say this…
It depends largely on what kind of arthritis we are talking about as well as which Chiropractic technique is to be applied…
Manipulating joints that are permanently damaged can go two ways…
In the case of arthritis in the neck, it can bring about greater range of motion, but it can also destabilize joints that are already weak if the adjusting technique is too general or rough in delivery and therefore increase neck pain…
It is also unfair to say chiropractic on the whole is effective or not; there are about 150 techniques that are now considered to be part of ‘Chiropractic’ …
So when scrutiny is applied to this issue, I wish the scrutinizer would name the specific technique they are referring to as it would help all of us to understand their findings, and this would serve to make those findings useful to practitioners …
In the case of arthritic conditions as well as all joint pain, I promote techniques such as
- Activator Methods…
With the use of the Activator Gun and the Activator Protocal, a more specific, less invasive adjustment can be performed…
painlessly…
Without further destruction to the joint…
And it will be helpful because:
- The whole body will be re- aligned which may reduce pressure around the painful joint…
- If that pressure is relieved that can mean less all around damage to the joint in the future – and that is what we look for in maintenance care…
Natural Pain
Relief…
Over the counter as well as prescribed pain relief medications are fast acting and potent, but what happens if you need to take them to manage your pain over a period of years, or for the rest of your life…?
You may wish to do some research and look into some natural pain relief remedies that will not have the toxic effects on your internal organs that most pain medications do after a lengthy period of time…
I have provided some basic information regarding supplementation that provides natural pain relief to help get you started – just click on the link below…
Non -Steroidal Anti-
Inflammatory Drugs…
You will have heard this one good and often on any website and from any doctor…but if you are going to use them…
- Get a slow release one as it will last over time…ask your pharmacist and do as much research as you can before taking them…
- Be aware that if you find one that gives you some relief, this is not the same as the damage being healed…
- They will work best if you do the rest of the regime with them…
Check Your
Sleeping Position…
If you have arthritis in the neck, relieving pain may require you to pay attention to the position you are in when you sleep…
The best sleeping positions will be on your back with a firm but low level pillow…
Or on your side with one firm pillow that matches the space between your head and shoulder so that your spine remains straight and even…
Sleeping on two pillows can cause neck pain in a perfectly healthy neck, so if yours is damaged…
It would be best if you returned to sleeping on one firm pillow that is less that a year old…
And change your pillow that often, keeping it less that a year old…
Also please have a look at your mattress, if it is more than five years old, with a little trough in it, please change it…
Or do whatever you can to even the surface out…
Arthritis In The Neck:
Summary…
- Adjust your diet to ‘medicinal foods’ (Peter D’Adamo – Eat Right For Your Type) that will fight inflammation…
here is a link for more information… www.dadamo.com/ - Eliminate wheat and gluten and alcohol in order to keep inflammation down…
- Do ice massage…
- Check your mattress and pillows for wear and tear, and you sleeping position…
When there is arthritis in the neck, pain relief is brought about through disciplined and consistent treatment…as long as you are using the right things, that is what works…
- Take slow release NSAIDS (painkillers) with the awareness that they can give you some relief, but they are not fixing the problem…
- Activator Methods Chiropractic Care – If you have a Rheumatoid condition…check with your GP or treating doctor first…
If arthritis in the neck has developed, your tissues are damaged and require all of the care you can give them…
For some of us, that can be quite a lifestyle change, especially if you live in a ‘drinking culture’ such as Great Britain or Australia…
I understand that this kind of change may leave you feeling outside the normative functioning of friends and family, so please understand, I am not writing this without considering that where there is change, there can be an impact on a social life…
I also have noticed that the patients who persistently did everything they could to make these changes have been, of course, the most successful at minimizing the effects of arthritis in the neck…
And sometimes, aside from surgery if there is a problem with bone spurs for example, there is nothing to be done until after the operation…
It is important to know that if you have done your absolute best to no avail, not to blame yourself in this, tomorrow is another day, try again…
If you want to be successful with anything at all, persistence is key…
I will share with you an experience I had the first time I visited London, England…
I was walking to the store one day when I saw a lady who’s neck was so badly damaged that she could not hold her head up. She was walking with a shopping trolley bag behind her and was forced to look at the ground as she walked because her neck was damaged so badly damaged that the muscles were failing to uphold the bones and the joints in her neck had disengaged; her head hang like a Durian fruit from its tree…
She went to cross the street and, as I was keeping an eye on her to make sure she crossed safely, I watched her lift her head up with her free hand – to turn it both ways to make sure traffic had stopped – and then she let her head dangle back down…and crossed the road.
Please, even if it involves a sizeable lifestyle change, take care of your neck…Please!
Disclaimer – This is information on joint pain. I teach but do not diagnose, prescibe or treat people who contact me. You are responsible for your condition using your own best judgement combined with what you have learned. Just a heads up – bodies carry unusual differences from time to time, in saying that, you could be one of those rare and unusual beings; if you are in doubt, please contact a physician in your area, so you can rule it out.
Move Freely and Knowledgeably and Be Well!
Dr. Jo
P.S… “Greater certainty of your condition alone can be a powerful form of pain relief.”