The Neck is Your Life Line
The nervous system is the master control network for your body,
directing virtually every function and action, from monitoring your life
needs, to precisely responding to threats to your health.
Each system, from your heart and blood vessels, to your digestive and
immune systems, is directed through nerve impulses originating in your
brain or spinal cord that travel through its protective bony structure:
the spinal column.
The neck region is the most vulnerable region of the spine to injury.
Indeed, even death can be brought through significant trauma to the
neck. When the trauma is not fatal, the consequences can still be
severe, such as when paralysis strikes.
Most people will not experience these severe injuries, however sprains
of the delicate ligaments with subluxation (misalignment) do commonly
occur. Despite the injury being smaller, their location (the neck) makes
their impact more profound. Functions throughout the body can be
impaired when the nerves in the upper neck are compromised.
Within chiropractic, there are specialists who focus their entire care on the uppermost two vertebrae of the spine.
Because every nerve passes through the neck, if irritation or
compression is present, virtually any system of the body can be
affected. The point being is that a neck disorder will not necessarily
just cause neck pain or headache. Dizziness, digestive problems,
fatigue, high blood pressure and generally reduced quality of life are
some of the symptoms patients commonly experience.
If you have suffered a severe whiplash, you may have noticed far more
than a stiff neck. Indeed, recent research suggests whiplash needs to
more thought of as a whole body disorder.