When people say “I’ve got a kink in my neck” or “I think I slept funny,” they’re usually talking about something going on in the cervical spine. That’s the top portion of your spine—the part that runs from the base of your skull to the top of your shoulders.
This section of your spine does a lot. It supports the weight of your head (which weighs about as much as a bowling ball) and allows for a wide range of motion—turning your head, looking up, looking down, tilting side to side. But with all that movement and responsibility, it’s also one of the most vulnerable areas for stress and misalignment.
When the cervical spine isn’t moving correctly, you might notice things like:
- Neck pain or stiffness
- Tension headaches
- Shoulder tightness
- Dizziness
- Tingling in your arms or hands
Sometimes, issues in this area don’t feel painful—they just feel “off.” Maybe your range of motion is limited, or you feel pressure in your head that doesn’t go away. I see this often in people who work at computers or spend a lot of time looking down at phones. The head starts to drift forward, and the muscles in the neck and upper back start working overtime to keep you upright.
A chiropractic approach looks at how each vertebra in the cervical spine is moving, how your posture is contributing, and what kind of muscle tension might be involved. With gentle adjustments and some retraining of your daily habits, we can help relieve the strain and bring your neck back into a healthier, more natural alignment.