“I hurt myself. Is it muscle?”
This is a question I receive almost daily. I will also regularly hear “I think it’s a nerve”, “I think it’s a bone” or “I think it’s a muscle.” So how do you know? The answer is that you probably don’t but here’s some information to help.
Generally, a new pain that disappears or dramatically improves on its own within 72 hours is muscular only. A basic strain would be the best example of this. However, in most cases pain will involve muscular, bone and nerve components. Why? The answer is basic anatomy and neurology.
The muscles in your back and neck attach to the vertebrae of your spine. So, if you aggravate those muscles, they in turn will pull/strain and bother the spine. This causes misalignment of the spine. Since the spine protects and houses the spinal cord and the nerves that exit from it, once the spine is misaligned it will then cause nerve aggravation. And where do those nerves go? Right back to those muscles for one, as well as organs and glands. It is the nerve aggravation that actually causes you to experience the pain or other symptoms.
Basically, the spine, muscles and nerves are all so closely related that it’s difficult to have only one as the culprit. Therefore, any proper diagnosis will involve evaluating all three to determine their involvement.
If you have an issue that you want to know more about, I would be happy to evaluate you and find the solution you need.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Kenney