Chronic Shoulder Problems and Upper Cervical Care: A Case Series

A case series published on July 31, 2014, in the Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research documented chiropractic care helping patients with chronic shoulder problems. The authors note how common shoulder problems are accounting for 16% of all musculoskeletal complaints with a yearly incidence of 15 new episodes per 1,000 patients seeking primary care.

This case series documented the care of two male patients with chronic shoulder problems. The first patient was a 55-year-old man who went to an upper cervical chiropractor with a chief complaint of right shoulder pain. Seven months earlier, the man had fallen off a 10-foot ladder and landed on his left shoulder, which was not the one he was suffering with at the time of his visit to the upper cervical chiropractor. His examination showed restricted range of motion for his right shoulder. A chiropractic examination showed areas of sensitivity in the man's neck along with postural imbalances of the spine. From the findings, it was determined that subluxations in the neck were present.

The second patient was a 60-year-old man who had pain in both shoulders for one year before coming to the upper cervical chiropractor. He did not have a history of an accident or trauma before his problem started. His examination showed range of motion reductions in his shoulders and his neck. It was also determined that this patient had a subluxation of his neck.

Specific upper cervical chiropractic adjustments were given to both patients according to their chiropractic analysis. The study reported that the results of the chiropractic care for both men were very positive. The 55-year-old man with pain in his right shoulder showed a complete return to normal shoulder movement within a few visits. The recovery was such that the man went on vacation shortly after his upper cervical chiropractic care.

The second man with pain in both his shoulders had a complete return to normal motion in both his shoulders after his first upper cervical chiropractic adjustment. Additionally, his pain was reduced to minimal after the first visit.

The authors noted that although both patients had issues with their shoulders, the chiropractic care given was exclusively to the upper neck, (upper cervical chiropractic care). Both patients were mainly concerned with their ability to move their shoulders, and both regained total range of motion as a result of their chiropractic care. In their conclusion, the authors wrote, "This case series provides support on the use chiropractic adjustments directed to the upper cervical spine in patients with subluxation, shoulder pain and dysfunction."

(Editor's note: Remember the objective of upper cervical care is to correct head neck misalignment that is interfering with proper brain to body communication. When this is corrected the body functions at a higher level and can often correct other problems more efficiently on its own. Please do not confuse upper cervical care as a treatment for any condition, disease or symptom.)

Upper Cervical Care Stories Of Healing: Part 6

Editor's Note: Today is our last story in this series and it comes from a patient of Dr. Zachary Ward. Again, please remember that upper cervical care is not a treatment for any condition or disease. They are simply removing an obstruction to the body healing on its own. When this is accomplished and it stays that way the wisdom of the body can do amazing things.

Candy's story

Before I had severe muscle spasms in my neck. To the point to where it was just debilitating. I could do nothing but lay flat and hope there was no jar or movement. And when the actual spasm would go away: loss of range of motion, tenderness, continued pain that would be intermittent, stiffness in my shoulders, and between my should blades, and that stiffness would radiate on down to my lower back and my legs.

Now I feel like a new woman. I’ve got really good range of motion in my neck. And all the shoulder pain is gone. The pain between my shoulder blades is gone. My lower back feels a lot less rigid, and my legs seem to be much more limber than they were before.

I sleep better because I don’t have the neck pain associated with laying my head on the pillow. And I just feel like I can function so much better.

You can come in feeling rotten and leave feeling like you’ve got the world licked. The surprising thing to me is how gentle the treatment is, and how much benefit you have. I come in with one leg significantly shorter than the other, and then after a few minutes, I’m all even with world again. And everything is level and my muscles are functioning correctly. The pain is gone. I just cannot believe that for the short amount of time that I need to spend here, and for as gentle the treatment is, that I get that much benefit.

Upper Cervical Care, Cocoons And Stiff Necks

A recent patient was experiencing a significant amount of neck stiffness. They were unable to turn their head very far in either direction. We checked them and it was determined that they did not need an upper cervical correction at that time. We checked this patient multiple times over the next week and a half each time with no indication of them being in need of a correction. Finally just before 2 weeks the tests indicated that indeed a correction was needed. The correction was administered and the patient experienced immediate improvement. You might ask why not make the correction in the first place so that they did not need to go through all that discomfort for over a week? Read the story below and it may help to explain.

"A young man was attending a university, studying to become a naturalist. One lovely spring day during his first year, when he was really feeling burned out by studying, he decided to take a break and go for a stroll in the nearby woods. As he walked through the woods with warm sunlight streaming through the fresh green leaves, he saw a twig with a cocoon attached to it that was literally vibrating with life. He observed the cocoon for a few minutes, pondering the life and struggle taking place inside of it. Then, partly out of curiosity, partly out of misguided sympathy, the young man pulled a pocketknife out of his pocket. Then, he carefully so as not to hurt the creature inside slit the cocoon from one end to the other and stepped back to see what would happen. In a few moments there emerged the crumpled wings of a beautiful monarch butterfly. The butterfly tried to fly, but it fluttered and fell to the ground. The butterfly tried to fly once more and once more it fell to the ground. Then it became very still, and the young man saw that much to his horror the beautiful butterfly was dead. Later, when it was too late, he learned that it is the struggle inside the cocoon that builds strength in the wings and body of the creature inside so that at the appropriate time it can emerge on its own and survive as an adult in the world."

So while I am not suggesting that making an upper cervical correction sooner would have killed this patient what I am saying is that sometimes something that seems like a struggle on the surface may be something that needs to happen and in fact some good may come from the struggle. This patient was struggling without a doubt but anytime you are working with the human body, which is intelligent and self healing, we have to ask ourselves why something is happening. Something that seems like a problem could in fact be there temporarily because it needs to be in order to fix something. We know a great deal about the human body but very little when compared to what could be known. Because of that it is very difficult to determine if what is happening is needed or not. With this patient the neck could have been locked up because the body was making some very much needed changes and improvements and needed the joints to limit their motion for a period of time to accomplish it. Since we don't know why the body did it in the first place it is best to have specific tests to indicate when there is true nerve interference and make an upper cervical correction only when indicated. This way the patient gets the upper cervical care they need when they need it and the body is given the respect it deserves for healing and repairing itself by whatever means it deems appropriate.