How Do You Get Arthritis In Your Neck?

Did you know that degenerative arthritis has nothing to do with age? It has a direct relation to time. By that, I want you to think about posture. Our bodies have a certain posture we are supposed to maintain. When we lose that normal posture due to slips and falls, auto accidents, sports injuries or even spending too much time looking down at smart phones, the process of degeneration begins. You see, every joint in our bodies contain sensors that send information to the brain, called a feedback mechanism. When the sensors detect problems, they send an alert message to begin this process.

The natural biomechanics of our bodies can also be part of the problem. You see, when our arms and shoulders are extended in front of our bodies, our head will automatically translate forward. Visualize the position. Now think about how many years we sat at a desk at school looking down at our books. Then we get jobs where we sit at a desk and reach forward to use a computer, or we are reaching for the steering wheel to drive our cars and once again, smart phones! After a few years our head stays out in front of our shoulders, which is called forward head posture. This position also begins to change the natural curve of the neck into flatter positions.

We have all stood on moving sidewalks, right? You step onto it and stand there doing nothing. After a while you end up on the other side and your ride is completed. 

With spinal health, the moving sidewalk represents a time line of changes. Postural changes equate to stepping onto the sidewalk. After 10-15 years, mild degenerative changes begin to show in the spine and in the disc space between the bones. After another 10-15 years pass, the progression has become more moderate and it will have spread to the joints, above and below. Carrying forward another 10-15 years, the situation has become severe. Approaching the other end of the sidewalk, we see spinal fusion awaiting us. Recapping what I just said, when we stepped onto the sidewalk, the brain only perceived spinal instability. The only way to create new stability would be to break everything down and glue it all together. This, in a nut shell, is how degenerative arthritis occurs. If, however, we could identify postural problems early enough we could stop the process by simply correcting the postural problems. A good chiropractor can detect these potential problems with x-rays. From there we create personalized plans to correct those problems and get you off the sidewalk for good!