Natural Neck Pain Relief
Your Neck is Connected to Your Whole Body, and so is Your Pain and Inflammation
As a result, the cause of neck pain and inflammation comes from many factors, requiring a whole-body approach to relieving pain.
Dr. Squires’ approach brings together a holistic treatment of all the factors contributing to your chronic inflammation and pain. Personalizing treatment to the factors most impacting your source of pain.
And combines it with a Regenerative Medicine approach that stimulates your own body’s healing response naturally.
Regenerative medicine is a cell-based therapy using advanced scientific techniques in the treatment of degenerative disease, orthopedic injuries, and joint conditions.
Discover how Dr. Squires can help by scheduling an initial consult »
“I’ve been seeing Dr. Squires for severe neck and shoulder pain that I’ve been dealing with for 10 years. Over that time, I’ve seen every type of provider under the sun, and have only had minimal relief. With a combination of adjustments, dural attachment therapy and perineural injection therapy I am now 100% pain free! I am a medical provider as well, and have been so impressed with Dr. Squires’ physical medicine abilities that I’ve now sent several of my own patients to see her, and have heard only rave reviews from them.
Dr. Squires has a true gift. Her holistic approach to taking care of her patients is thoughtful and intentional. She’s truly invested in the well-being of her patients. I can’t recommend her enough for overall wellness. I’m so appreciative of her diverse skills and offerings. We’re lucky to have her here in Seattle!”
– Patient Testimonial
- Cervicogenic headache refers to a headache of cervical origin = headache caused by injury to the neck.
- Common post whiplash, concussion, and trauma.
- There are many causes for headache and an accurate diagnosis is the first step in treatment.
Causes of Cervicogenic Headache/Neck Pain with Headaches:
- Weak or stretched out neck ligaments and/or tendons may act as headache triggers.
- Whiplash injuries and concussions cause stretching and injure neck ligaments leading to ligament hypermobility and joint instability.
- Muscles tighten and spasm in unstable joints due to being overworked trying to stabilize the neck because the damaged ligaments and tendons are not doing their job to stabilize the joint.
- As muscles tighten they cause constriction of the nerve which leads to increased inflammation in the area, decreased function, and increased pain signals to the brain.
- Instability also results in the body thinking there is ongoing injury = constant low-grade inflammatory response producing chronic pain and degenerative changes.
Regenerative Medicine Injections for neck pain and headache include:
- Prolotherapy – is a therapy to help strengthen tendons and ligaments to improve joint stability.
- Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) – involves using your own blood plasma and platelets as an enriched source of growth factors and immune cells to stimulate healing of bone and soft tissue.
- Perineural Injection Therapy – is a treatment for nerve inflammation.
- Whiplash injuries often happen in motor vehicle accidents.
- Initiation of quick forward and backward movement causes stretching and injury to the ligaments of the neck leading to ligament hypermobility and joint instability.
- Muscles tighten and spasm in unstable joints due to being overworked trying to stabilize the neck because the damaged ligaments and tendons are not doing their job to stabilize the joint.
- As muscles tighten they cause constriction of the nerve which leads to increased inflammation in the area, decreased function, and increased pain signals to the brain.
Symptoms of Whiplash Injury and Joint Instability
- Tight sore muscles
- Deep aching neck pain
- Decreased mobility
- Persistent neck and shoulder pain
- Increased risk of osteoarthritis
Whiplash injury can also result in:
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Balance problems
- Paresthesia
- Tinnitus
- Visual Changes
It is believed that many individuals are able to heal on their own or with physical therapy, chiropractic and acupuncture within a few months, however, recent research suggests that approximately half of individuals still experience neck pain one year post trauma or motor vehicle accident.
Regenerative Medicine is an injection therapy used to help the body heal and relieve pain
- During injury either from high force such as a trauma from a car accident or a sports injury, our bodies regenerative processes may not be able to produce an efficient inflammatory and immune response to heal the injury.
- Constant low-grade inflammatory response produces pain and further degeneration.
- Regenerative medicine utilizes specific types of injections and/or techniques to induce an immune response in and around the joint in order to mimic an injury and bring the body’s own immune cells, growth factors and collagen-building precursors to strengthen, repair and rebuild injured and degenerated soft tissue.
- Prolotherapy – is a therapy to help strengthen tendons and ligaments to improve joint stability.
- Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) – involves using your own blood plasma and platelets as an enriched source of growth factors and immune cells to stimulate healing of bone and soft tissue.
- Perineural Injection Therapy – is a treatment for nerve inflammation.
Dr. Squires has extensive training in all regenerative medicine injections providing the most effective combination of treatments. She has had success in alleviating symptoms and treating the root cause of pain with individualized treatments for chronic neck pain and headache.
Other Treatment Considerations for Neck Pain:
Trigger Point Injection Therapy
- Trigger points are tight, sore areas in muscle tissue that are caused by trauma or injury, strains/sprains, chronic overwork, and poor posture.
- Common symptoms:
- Discomfort and pain
- Muscle spasm
- Decreased mobility
- Tension headaches
- Trigger point injection therapy is a minimally invasive injection technique that releases areas of acute and chronic tension and pain.
Dural Attachment Therapy (Biocranial)
- Dural attachment therapy is an osteopathic manipulation that releases tension on the dura, a strong connective tissue surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
- Tension of the dura not only results in structural misalignments resulting in muscle tightness and pain signaling, but will also affect the tone of the nervous system leading to altered function.
- Imbalances in the cranial system can lead to
- Migraine/Headaches
- Vertigo
- Fibromyalgia
- Neck pain
- Low back pain
- Tinnitus
- Sleep apnea
- Anxiety and depression
- This treatment successfully treats alignments from back or neck pain to mood and energy issues. This treatment will relax your nervous system and align your skeletal/muscular structure promoting your body’s innate ability to heal itself.
“I think of your “miracle work” often as you completely changed my life with your adjustments”. A patient’s message after solving her chronic, debilitating neck pain with Dural Attachment Therapy.
– Patient Testimonial
Craniocervical instability (CCI) also known as atlantoaxial instability or cranio-atlanto-axial instability is a structural instability at the junction between the skull (occiput) and the neck (upper cervical spine). These joints allow the majority of flexion/extension and rotation of the head and neck. This junction also surrounds critical structures such as the brain stem, cerebellum, spinal cord, and cranial nerves, which is why instability of these structures can have dramatic whole-body affects.
After sustaining multiple injuries to my spine and seeing countless chiropractors, massage therapists and acupuncturists, I nearly gave up hope that I would ever recover and live without pain. This all changed after seeing Dr. Squires– with a combo of craniosacral therapy, acupuncture and naturopathic medicine, I’m finally living without constant pain.