Upper Back – Neck Region
Your brain is what controls everything in your body. That’s everything. It’s totally protected by the skull and barring a catastrophic injury it’s pretty safe from trauma. Now, the brain has to send signals to run the entire body. How do you think that happens? Well it sends nerve impulses at a speed of nearly 300 mph along the spinal cord, that is how you work. Simple, right? Except for the fact that the neck, the skinny section of your spine with all its movement and lack of protection compared to, say the lower back is succeptible to some big problems that cannot occur anywhere else in the body.
Neurologically speaking, the neck – especially the area just below the base of the skull, is home to some very important parts of your nervous system. Ever heard of the brain stem? Recognized as the master control for every function in the body. It holds all power over each and every action that you don’t have to think about but needs to happen for you to live? Yes, that’s a big one. It controls and balances about 16 million functions every single second. Day. Night. Conception till last breath. Important stuff. Well, things like aches and pains, and one of my favorite – cricks, can be simple issues that will resolve on their own…or…they might be a complex neurological signal that your body is in trouble.
You see, the brain and spinal cord don’t feel pain. The nerves do. Problem is, only 1 out of every 10 nerves is able to sense pain. That means you can have damaging pressure on the spinal nerves and the odds are 9 to 1 against that you won’t feel a thing.
University studies have shown pressure the weight on a dime on a nerve is enough to shut the nerve down as much as 65% within 5 minutes. I know you want to know why your neck hurts…I don’t know yet, but all I do know is that if there is enough pressure to cause pain there may be enough to cause other problems as well. Remember, the signals that control everything in your body run through the neck. A problem here is serious business. That’s why upper spine injuries are the scariest and most carefully regarded injuries to the human body, ever see a guy get carted off a football field or taken from an accident scene. The stuff inside the neck: nerves, spinal cord and life giving signals for the body is why they take such special care of the neck. How are you treating yours?
Oh, and by the way…please stop wrenching, twisting and trying to “crack” or “pop” your neck. It is a sign something is seriously wrong and can speed up degeneration. Or, keep doing it and stay on the fast track to shots and eventually surgery on your neck. Your choice.
