Neck Pain Treatment · Salisbury, MA

Neck pain treatment in Salisbury, MA

Look both ways in the car again. Feel less tired and get back to the activities you love.

Newman Chiropractic sees neck pain every day, and the first visit is a consultation and assessment with the doctor to find out what is actually going on in your neck before anything else happens.

Book New Patient Special Call (978) 961-9099

★★★★★ 150+ five-star Google reviews, 4.9 average

Newman Chiropractic is a chiropractic clinic at 175 Elm Street, Suite 4 in Salisbury, MA, serving Newburyport, Amesbury, Seabrook, Hampton and the North Shore. Dr. Jeff Newman, a Salisbury native with over 15 years in practice, leads every new patient evaluation. The clinic treats neck pain alongside back pain, sciatica and herniated discs, using chiropractic care, spinal decompression, Class IV laser and focused shockwave. It is the only practice on the North Shore with decompression, Class IV laser and focused shockwave under one roof, and every patient's progress is measured with the Spinal Health Score. The clinic holds 150+ five-star Google reviews with a 4.9 average.

What it could be

What is causing your neck pain?

Neck pain that lasts more than a few weeks can come from a dozen different things, and two people with the same stiff neck can have two different problems behind it. That is why we do not name a cause from a description. Here is what we see most in the neck, and any one of them could be yours.

The joints between the neck bones, called facet joints, can lock up and refer pain into the base of the skull or the top of the shoulder. A disc in the lower neck, most often at C5-C6 or C6-C7, can bulge or herniate and press on a nerve, which usually shows up as pain, numbness or tingling running into the shoulder blade, arm or hand. Some of that same arm pain comes from a pinched nerve where it leaves the spine, with no disc injury at all.

Then there is the muscle side. The upper trapezius and levator scapulae, the two muscles that run from your neck to your shoulder, guard and knot up after a bad night of sleep, a long week at a desk or an old injury that never settled. Years of forward head posture load those same tissues every day. A rear-end collision can strain the ligaments in the neck even at low speed, and whiplash symptoms often arrive days after the accident. Wear in the joints and discs over time, sometimes called stenosis or arthritis, can narrow the space the nerves travel through. And a neck problem can be the reason behind headaches that start at the back of the skull.

Several of these can be true at once. Naming the one that matters for you takes an exam, and that is what the first visit is for.

The first visit

How do we tell which one it is?

By process of elimination, at your New Patient Special. It is a consultation and assessment with the doctor: a consultation covering your story and goals, a doctor examination with posture, range of motion, orthopedic and neurological testing, motion X-rays when indicated, a Spinal Health Score baseline, and a doctor report of findings.

The consultation is where most of the answer lives. We walk back through the accidents, events and routines in your life that could have produced this, from the car accident ten years ago to the pillow you sleep on now. The exam then tests each possibility against how your neck actually moves and what the nerves are doing. When your findings point somewhere we do not treat, we say so and refer you to the right provider.

01ConsultationYou tell us what is going on, what you have already tried, and what you want to get back to.
02Doctor's examinationPosture, range of motion, and orthopedic and neurological testing, with motion X-rays when your case calls for them.
03Report of findingsYou hear what we found in plain language, whether we can help, and what care built around your goal would look like.

Before you got here

What have you probably already tried?

Most people who book with us for neck pain have already been through some of this list, and some of it helped for a while.

Medication
Massage
Stretching
Ice
Heat
Physical therapy
Traditional chiropractic
Injections
Surgery

Each of those works on one part of the problem. Medication and injections calm the pain signal. Massage, heat and stretching loosen the muscles that are guarding. An adjustment frees a joint that is stuck. When relief did not hold, it usually means the part being treated was a piece of the picture and something else was still loading the neck. Finding that piece is the reason the assessment comes first.

What your care may include

How is neck pain treated at Newman Chiropractic?

With the combination your exam findings call for, from the tools we have under one roof. Care is built around your findings and your goal, so the mix below is tailored to you.

Chiropractic adjustments

Hands-on care that restores motion to the neck joints that have locked up. Dr. Jeff and Dr. Jake adjust to the level you are comfortable with.

Cervical decompression

You lie face up while a computer-controlled table gently unloads one targeted joint in the neck at a time, creating negative pressure inside the disc so a bulging or herniated disc can move off the nerve.

Class IV laser

Medical Grade laser, the only therapeutic laser powerful enough to target the deep tissue and disc of the spine, used to calm an inflamed nerve root or joint.

Focused shockwave

Powerful and deep, used in professional sports rehab rooms, for the stubborn soft tissue in the upper trapezius and levator scapulae that massage keeps loosening and that keeps coming back.

Between visits you get structural home support matched to your case, using tools like Iron Neck, Denneroll and McKenzie exercises. Your Spinal Health Score is measured at baseline and re-measured as care goes on, so you can see the change in numbers rather than guessing from how the week felt.

Patient reviews

What do patients say about neck pain care here?

150+ five-star Google reviews, 4.9 average. These four came in for a neck problem.

Could not move my head to the left

"I went in not being able to move my head to the left, with sharp and consistent pain. Made an appointment that day, which was great as they were able to squeeze me in with such short notice and left feeling like a new person."

Francesco W. · Google

Apprehensive about seeing a chiropractor

"I started seeing Dr. Jeff Newman due to an extremely stiff neck. After sitting with him and discussing my apprehension in seeing a chiropractor he put my mind at ease and proceeded with the level of treatment that I would be comfortable with. My experience has only been positive and it's great to have my range of motion back."

Chris S. · Google

Neck and shoulder, better after one visit

"He explained everything quite thoroughly and my neck and shoulder are feeling better even after just one treatment. Looking forward to more."

Gretchen S. · Google

Tense and knotted up

"Most chiropractors have a hard time adjusting my neck bc i'm so tense and knotted up, but he's a magician - and so fast!"

Joanna S. · Google

Who we refer out

When is a chiropractor not the right call for neck pain?

When the neck pain comes with signs that need a hospital or a surgeon first. Newman Chiropractic is a chiropractic clinic, not an emergency room or a surgical practice. Neck pain after a hard fall or a serious accident, weakness in an arm or hand that is getting worse, trouble with balance or walking, a fever with a stiff neck, or pain that wakes you at night and never eases should be seen by a physician or an emergency department before anyone adjusts your neck. If your exam here shows something outside what we treat, we tell you at the report of findings and refer you to the right provider.

Common questions

Common questions about working with Newman Chiropractic

Can a chiropractor help with neck pain?

Yes, for the neck problems that come from the joints, discs, nerves and muscles of the spine, which is most of them. The exam sorts out which of those is behind yours, and care combines adjustments with decompression, laser, shockwave and home support as your findings call for. When the cause sits outside what a chiropractor treats, you are referred out.

Why does my neck hurt when I wake up?

Sleep position and pillow height are the usual suspects, because eight hours with the neck bent or turned loads the joints and muscles on one side. Waking up stiff now and then is normal. Waking up stiff most mornings, or with pain that runs into the shoulder or arm, points to something in the neck that the night is aggravating rather than causing, and that is worth an exam.

Is my desk job causing my neck pain?

It can be adding to it. Hours with the head forward of the shoulders puts steady load on the upper trapezius, the levator scapulae and the lower neck joints, and the pain tends to build through the week and ease on weekends. What the desk does is expose whatever is already limited in your neck. The exam shows which joints and tissues are taking that load, and home support is built around your workday.

Can neck problems cause headaches?

Yes. Headaches that start at the base of the skull, sit on one side, and get worse with neck movement or a long day at a screen often come from the upper neck joints and the muscles attached to them. Not every headache is a neck headache, so the exam includes the tests that tell them apart.

How long does neck pain treatment take?

Your goal determines your care. Someone who wants to look over their shoulder in the car without pain needs less than someone rebuilding a neck after years of disc trouble. The number of visits is set at your report of findings, from your exam, and your Spinal Health Score is re-measured as care goes on so both of us can see whether it is working.

What is cervical decompression like?

You lie face up, comfortable, while the decompression table gently unloads one targeted joint in the neck at a time. The neck has seven joints, and the computer-controlled force works on the specific one your exam identified rather than pulling on the whole spine. Most patients find it relaxing. We screen for the cases where decompression is not appropriate before it is ever part of your care.

Do you take insurance?

Insurance questions? Every plan is different, so we do a free benefit check at your first visit. Financing available.

Ready to start

See your progress, month after month

Book the New Patient Special. It is a consultation and assessment with the doctor, and you leave knowing what we found in your neck and whether we can help.

We see patients from Salisbury, Newburyport, Amesbury, Seabrook and across the North Shore.