"I must have slept wrong!"

I cannot tell you how often I have heard this explanation for the cause of a patient's neck pain! My response has been and will continue to be, "You've been sleeping correctly for over 35 years; now all of a sudden you forgot how to do it properly?"

My evaluation of a new patient always begins with a thorough case history. We discuss the patient's past health history, as well as their current health history. Of particular importance to every chiropractor, since we work so closely with structure, is the patient's trauma history. First, I ask, have you ever been in a car accident? This is regularly met with a response of, "no", "not really" or "nothing to talk about". When I inquire as to the details, I hear, "they were just little fender benders. I was not hurt." After 15 years of case histories, I have learned that most people consider being hurt as bleeding or having broken bones.

Studies have shown that rear-end collisions at speeds as low as 8 mph can result in serious injury to the cervical spine. It has been further documented that the amount of damage to the automobile may bear little relationship to the degree of the injury.

Let us take a look at what happens to you, as the recipient of a typical rear-end fender bender. Initially, your vehicle is thrusted forward. Once it stops accelerating, your head actually springs forward. This forward movement is accelerated by a hyper-contraction of the neck flexor muscles due to induction of a reflex, known as the stretch reflex. As your head arches back, the throat side neck muscles rapidly stretch to their maximum and like the released string of a longbow, your head is propelled forward with as much as 2.5 times the original force. Now, if you happen to have your head rotated to the left or right 45 degrees, the amount your head can arch back is actually decreased by 50%; resulting in additional injuries. Furthermore, while seatbelts minimize injury to the chest wall and head, they can actually intensify your neck trauma by restricting the motion of your lower body. To make a long story short, this can certainly lead to future problems.

Additional factors which influence the occurrence of neck pain include occupational as well as recreational habits. If you spend your day looking down at a desk or computer keyboard, you are placing a tremendous amount of strain on your neck muscles. This usually results in pain, discomfort or "tightness" as the day wears on. Over time, your neck muscles become less able to sustain this endurance activity and you lose spinal joint stability. This ultimately allows your joint cartilage to break down, leading to early onset of arthritis. This cycle is difficult to break without active rehabilitation and chiropractic treatment.

So, more often than not, that neck pain culprit is usually some precipitating injury or cumulative occupational stress or strain that creates a weakened state in the body's structure. The "slept incorrectly theory" is just a dream.

If you know someone that has been "sleeping wrong" and has been experiencing health-related problems, please have them give us a call at (703) 354- BACK (2225) to set up an appointment.

"I must have slept wrong!"

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