Living with the pain and limitations of a chronic neck injury can profoundly impact your life. Simple activities that most people take for granted, like driving, looking down at a phone, or turning your head, can suddenly spike excruciating pain through your neck and down your arms. Movements that you once did without a second thought now require deliberate caution.
You may have looked into other treatments for a chronic condition that affects the neck area or for a neck injury, only to discover medications have their limits. You may also be looking for a non-surgical option for treatment.
Naples Community Injury Center offers non-invasive cervical traction adjustments on Marco Island, Florida. Our chiropractic team can assess your symptoms and create a customized treatment plan. Our team has more than 60 years of combined experience, and we will use our knowledge to help you. Schedule an appointment when you call (239) 631-5445.
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Cervical Traction: How it Works
Cervical traction is a non-invasive treatment that involves applying a gentle pulling force to the neck area to relieve pain.
During this treatment, a harness under the jaw attaches to cords or straps that slowly extend the neck. This decompresses pressed vertebrae, relaxes tightened muscles, realigns slipped discs, and increases blood flow.
As the pulley system gently and slowly pulls the head away from the rest of the body, force is transmitted down the neck to vertebral segments C1 through C7. This creates space between each vertebra, taking pressure off your nerves and realigning their positions.
How Cervical Traction Helps Neck Injuries
Cervical traction applies a gentle pulling force to the head and neck area, and it can provide tremendous relief for certain neck injury types. Some of the benefits include:
- Decompressing the compressed vertebra that cause pinched nerve symptoms down your arms
- Relaxing any neck muscle spasms
- Realigning vertebrae that may have shifted position through whiplash trauma
- Increasing the blood flow that carries healing nutrients to damaged neck tissues
- Loosening muscles via traction, increasing your range of motion
While these treatments focus on pain relief and joint realignment, building neck strength and stability through rehab is vital for long-term pain relief. The traction jumpstarts the healing process, which is then maintained through focused efforts.
Are Cervical Traction Adjustments Really Beneficial?
When neck traction is applied by trained physiotherapists or chiropractors on Marco Island, for the right cervical injuries, it has considerable proven benefits. According to research from the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, many physiotherapists surveyed use cervical traction because their patients are likely to benefit.
The pulling action does a few helpful things. It reopens the closed space between neck bones and takes direct pressure off the sensitive, inflamed nerves. New space around the nerves means less pinching to cause pain signals. The traction also allows more blood to reach damaged spots and heal tissues. With loosened muscles, it will be easier to turn your neck.
While not magic, adding cervical traction adjustments with other therapies can help injury recovery. Reach out to Naples Community Injury Center at (239) 631-5445 to explore your options.
Who Benefits From Cervical Traction Adjustments on Marco Island?
If you have any of the following neck injuries, you may experience symptom relief from regular cervical traction treatment. We extend a helping hand to:
- Herniated disc sufferers: Traction takes pressure off the ruptured disc material that rubs on nerve roots. It aims to mitigate the burning, stabbing symptoms down your arms.
- Pinched nerve patients: By decompressing inflamed spinal joints, traction helps alleviate nerve pain in your shoulders and arms.
- Headache sufferers: People with whiplash and post-accident headaches from overworked, strained neck muscles or compressed nerves find that traction reduces pounding head pain.
- Those with loss of lordosis: The neck’s natural curve straightens after trauma, like from motor vehicle collisions. Traction helps coax segments back into better alignment and promotes weight displacement.
- Pre- and post-surgical candidates: Relaxing muscles pre-surgery sets up damaged regions for better healing after surgery.
You can discuss your goals and symptoms openly with your physiotherapist on Marco Island. We can customize your recovery plan to target your specific needs.
Treatments You Can Use in Conjunction With Cervical Traction Adjustments
In addition to cervical traction and manual adjustments, chiropractors may incorporate several other non-invasive therapies to comprehensively treat neck injury pain, such as:
- Heat or ice packs: Alternating gentle heat and cold modalities helps relieve spasms and swelling.
- Ultrasonic waves: Sound waves stimulate deep heating and improve blood circulation to injured areas.
- Electrical muscle stimulation: Applying electrical currents prompts tight neck muscles to release.
- Massage: Soft-tissue manipulation techniques loosen tense muscle regions and scar tissue.
- Posture training: By correcting poor posture, we can reduce the risk of re-injury.
- Targeted exercise: This builds strength, mobility, and flexibility of neck stabilizers, like shoulders.
An integrated program combining cervical traction adjustments with various modalities can help you reach maximum medical improvement.
How Long Does It Take for Cervical Traction Adjustments to Work?
Patients often wonder how long it takes to feel results from cervical traction treatments. The timeframe of each patient’s treatment will vary based on the type and severity of the injury. However, you may feel noticeable relief beginning with your first treatment, when you may experience a floating feeling as your joints decompress.
Over the first days, weeks, and months of treatment, you should experience significant pain reduction. This can take two months or more, depending on the circumstances. Then, you will enter the maintenance phase.
Some conditions, like advanced disc degeneration, may not respond as ideally. But properly executed cervical traction alleviates many post-accident and chronic neck pains within a reasonable timeframe.
Get Cervical Traction Rehabilitation on Marco Island, FL
The team at Naples Community Injury Center is ready to help usher you into a pain-free future. Our cervical traction adjustments on Marco Island will be tailored to treat your specific symptoms.
Let us help you enjoy a future free from neck pain. Call our team on Marco Island at (239) 631-5445. We can address and treat your neck pain and the underlying issues that caused it.
