Neck Pain Diagnosis
Neck pain diagnosis is where many patients hit a snag in their treatment process. Accurate and successful diagnosis of back and neck pain has become a very unsure proposition for most patients.
Back pain
has become an
epidemic
concern, much in part to the misdiagnosis of structural issues throughout the spinal column. In the cervical spine, arthritic change and disc issues are both par for the course and spinal misalignments and curvature concerns are quite common, making correct diagnostic conclusions unfortunately very scarce indeed.
Achieving a Neck Pain Diagnosis
Being diagnosed with any number of structural issues in the neck should not be difficult. Most adults suffer marked
arthritis in the spine
throughout the middle to lower cervical region.
Disc desiccation
is virtually universal and expected for all adults to experience in the neck, while
bulging discs
are incredibly commonplace. Many patients also demonstrate a
loss of spinal curvature
in the cervical spine and chiropractors are quick to find
subluxations
in most patients. These are simply the most common spinal issues located in the neck, but there are of course, many, many more which occur less frequently in patients across the globe.
Neck Pain Diagnosis Concerns
Generally in medicine when a diagnosis is provided, it is good news. It shows that the source of
neck pain
symptoms has been identified and treatment can now begin in earnest. However, in the real world of the back pain industry, this is rarely the case. I correspond with patients every day who have received treatment ranging from
chiropractic adjustments
and
pain management
pills to
physical therapy
and even
epidural injections,
despite the fact that no positive diagnosis has been made. The doctor is simply guessing what may cure the condition (the cause of which typically remains unknown…) In many other cases, a diagnosis is made right away, but treatment fails time and time again. It is not uncommon for the diagnostic theory to change and evolve as the patient grows more and more
frustrated
with the horrific curative results. Once again, although many doctors will talk their way out of it, this practice amounts to little more than a guessing game, with the loser always being the victim (who suffers and pays) and the doctor always winning (by getting rich.) Remember, doctors always get paid, regardless of the efficacy of their treatments. Wish I had a job like this.
Neck Pain Diagnosis Advice
This article is not meant to bash doctors. They are (in most cases) trying their best to help. However, the neck pain treatment statistics offered by most therapy options are truly sad and any caring health professional who works in the dorsopathy industry must also recognize that their efforts are often futile. The problem is multi-faceted, with
diagnostic eclecticism
being a big part of the overall equation and the purposeful ignoring of
mindbody disorders
also figuring into the mix. Is there a solution to this vicious cycle of unenlightened diagnosis followed by illogical and unsuccessful treatment? For all our sakes, I certainly hope so.
Neck Pain Diagnosis to Back Pain
12/15/10 Revised 4/7/12
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