Pain
in the spine (neck, upper back, mid back, low back), limbs
(arms, legs), and joints (shoulders, knees, hips, ankles) is
frequently linked to spinal trauma in medical literature.
Often, trauma is directed at the neck during auto accidents,
head injuries, sports accidents, and falls. When the upper
cervical spine is misaligned due to trauma, the head moves
off center, and can sit tilted upon the injured neck. This
creates imbalance from head to toe as more weight shifts to
one side of the body compared to the other, and can lead to
joint pain.
Rotation of the upper
neck can cause twisting of the entire spinal structure,
including the pelvis, so that one leg becomes shorter than
the other, and can lead to pain in the low back, pelvis, and
knees. Because the brain stem contains the control center
for the postural muscles of the spine, an injury at the
upper neck can interfere with the brain's normal control
over the postural muscles, leading to muscular weakness,
imbalance, atrophy and spasm throughout the neck and back.
Spasm of the spinal muscles can lead to compression of the
spinal vertebrae, to compression of the cervical, thoracic,
and/or lumbar intervertebral discs, and to pain throughout
the limbs and joints.
Case Study
Research