Neck pain you stop noticing is not neck pain you have solved.
Mechanical neck pain has a few common sources. Postural overload from desk work is the most frequent, but cervical facet dysfunction, disc irritation, and nerve-root involvement all present differently and respond to different approaches. The exam sorts them out in about ten minutes.
Which neck pain is this?
Postural / desk-driven
Mid-afternoon stiffness concentrated in the upper traps and base of the skull. Worse at the end of a long computer day, better on weekends.
Cervical facet dysfunction
Sharp, localized pain on one side, restriction on rotation toward the painful side, and morning stiffness. Often a first-adjustment-and-done case.
Disc irritation
Deep, aching neck pain that increases with flexion, compression, or prolonged sitting. Sometimes associated with upper-back soreness between the shoulder blades.
Cervical radiculopathy
Pain, tingling, or weakness radiating down one arm in a nerve-root pattern. Worse at night or with certain arm positions. Needs specific evaluation and often a different plan.
Exam, technique match, home program.
Range-of-motion
We measure cervical rotation, flexion, extension, and side-bending, and watch for the specific movement that reproduces your pain.
Nerve screen
Reflexes, sensation, grip and arm strength. Distinguishes mechanical neck pain from nerve-root involvement.
Technique match
Manual cervical adjustment, Activator instrument, or low-force drop-table depending on your age, injury, and preference.
Home program
Three specific exercises printed and explained. Almost always includes a deep-neck-flexor activation drill because most neck pain patients cannot recruit them properly.
Neck pain questions.
Can a chiropractor help my neck pain?
For most mechanical neck pain, yes. Chiropractic care combined with targeted exercise has strong evidence for neck pain that is joint-driven, postural, or the result of non-severe soft-tissue injury. Severe trauma, progressive arm weakness, or systemic symptoms require medical evaluation first.
What is cervical radiculopathy?
Cervical radiculopathy is nerve-root irritation or compression in the neck that sends pain, tingling, or weakness down an arm along a specific nerve distribution. The classic pattern is pain that runs from the neck into the shoulder blade and down the outer arm to the thumb or fingers, depending on which level is involved.
I am afraid of neck adjustments. What are my options?
Dr. Augello is Advanced Proficiency Rated in Activator methods, which uses a small spring-loaded instrument to adjust the cervical spine with very low force and no twisting motion. Thompson drop-table and Logan basic are other low-force cervical options. You never receive a manual cervical adjustment you are uncomfortable with.
Why does my neck hurt in the morning?
Morning neck pain is often driven by sleep position and pillow height rather than an acute injury. Stomach sleeping and pillows that are too tall or too flat are common culprits. Dr. Augello includes sleep-position and pillow guidance in the care plan when morning pain is the pattern.
Do desk workers need different treatment?
The mechanism is different, so the solution is different. Desk-driven neck pain is typically forward-head posture combined with upper trapezius overuse. Adjustment helps, but the lasting fix is postural: workstation setup, movement breaks, and specific exercises for the deep neck flexors. These go home with you on printed sheets.
Related reading: Sitting posture for desk workers · How our adjustments work
Get the exam first.
We will not adjust your neck before we know what is going on. Book the evaluation and go from there.