Neck Pain and Headaches in Children

Neck pain and headaches are never normal. Especially when children and teenagers experience neck pain or headaches, this is especially abnormal.

(Note: the one exception may is a detox headache … but we don’t expect this in kids or teenagers.)

Although we are quick to blame poor posture, computers, mobile devices, or genetics, the truth is that the majority of neck pain and headaches stem from neck injuries.

Neck pain and headaches are usually two of the earliest symptoms that let your body know that there is a physical problem. Unfortunately, if we are quick to just take Tylenol or aspirin to mask the symptoms, we don’t actually address the underlying cause.

Unchecked, these injuries can go on to cause many more problems later in life:

In order to prevent and protect against these nastier types of conditions, this is the importance of upper cervical (upper neck) health care. Here is where a natural, non-invasive approach known as the Blair technique can help children and teenagers with neck pain and headaches.

What types of neck injuries can cause neck pain and headaches in children and teenagers?

The most common types of neck injuries that cause neck pain and headaches in kids aren’t the types of injuries that cause broken bones, bleeding or even bruising. They are injuries that affect the normal alignment, motion and stability of the joints in your upper neck.

  • bumping your head when learning to walk
  • falling off a bike and landing on your shoulder
  • slipping on the ice and landing on your tailbone (which produces a shockwave through your spine and can damage your upper neck, like cracking a whip)
  • playground injuries
  • sports injuries
  • car accidents (even if there isn’t any pain at the time)

Even birth itself is a major factor that can cause neck pain and headaches later in life. Consider the fact that a newborn typically weighs only 5-8 lbs … but the force involved with a “normal” delivery is 50-80 lbs. Imagine if someone grabbed you by your head and pulled straight up with 10x your body weight? Do you think that has the potential to cause some damage? Absolutely!

The thing with newborns and infants is that they can’t say, “Mommy, Daddy, my neck hurts. My head hurts.” Instead, they experience colic, developmental delays, digestive problems, chronic sickness, ear infections and learning difficulties.

The problem is that many parents don’t realize that these types of conditions are not normal. Moreover, if it is a physical problem with the neck that is causing these symptoms, medication will not fix the problem.

 

Why don’t neck injuries always cause neck pain or headaches immediately?

When the joints in your neck misalign and lock in an abnormal position, the effects are not always immediate. Instead, the nature of the injury occurs over a long period of time: usually months or even years.

Think of it like a cavity in your teeth. A small infection is not a big thing. However, when that cavity gets big enough, the damage is huge and requires a bigger intervention. Similarly in your body, small injuries accumulate over time to create big problems.

Neck pain and headaches are often only the beginning.

This is one of the reasons we emphasize so strongly that neck pain and headaches in children and teenagers are so important to address. Even if you are only 10 years old, if you had a neck injury when you were only 5 years old, the problem has been that for half your life! That can have a profound impact on your spinal health for the rest of your life!

 

The Blair Technique for Neck Pain and Headaches

Paraphrasing Dr. Liam Schubel, “Every child should be checked for misalignments in the neck from birth, and treated when necessary.”

A unique approach to healthcare that helps with neck pain and headaches is upper cervical care. Unlike general chiropractic or spinal manipulation, the Blair technique is a specialist approach that does not use any twisting, cracking or popping and is safe for children of all ages.

The difference is the precision of approach that uses a series of advanced diagnostic tests in order to determine the exact location, direction and degree of misalignment in your neck that causes neck pain and headaches. With exacting level of detail, it does not take much force at all to restore the normal motion and stability in the neck so that your body can do what it is designed to do: heal itself.

Think of it like putting the right key in a lock. If the key fits, it takes only a tiny tap, and the door opens.

Even if you’ve tried chiropractic, physical therapy or massage before to help with neck pain or headaches, the Blair technique is different!

If you are looking for a chiropractor in Spokane, visit our home page more information. To schedule a new patient appointment with our Mead (north Spokane) or South Hill offices, complete a new patient request form here or call us direct at 509-315-8166.