Can a neck subluxation cause shoulder and arm problems?

The nerves that supply the shoulder, arm and hands exit the spine in the neck. A subluxation at a level like C5 interferes with that nerve flow before it reaches the arm. This patient had chronic shoulder pain alongside a severe C5 subluxation to the left, and his training capacity returned as it was corrected.

What is a flexion subluxation between L1 and L2?

It means those two vertebrae are locked in a bent-forward relationship. The spine below it then increases its curve to compensate, which is exactly what this patient's films showed between L3 and L5. Correcting the flexion subluxation is what allowed the lower curve to return to ideal.

Should weightlifters get their spine checked?

Heavy compound lifting loads the spine under significant force. Subluxation under that load means the body is compensating while it works, and compensation shows up in joints outside the spine. Having the spine checked for subluxation before the pain arrives is the easier path.

How does chiropractic care affect a golf swing?

A golf swing rotates the whole spine and depends on the pelvis and low back moving through their normal range. Subluxation restricts that range and the body compensates elsewhere. This patient returned to playing golf after his cervical and lumbar subluxations were corrected.

How long before an athlete sees change?

This patient's initial plan was three months, and his follow up films at three months showed correction at C4/C5 and restored lumbar lordosis from L3 to L5. Timeframes depend on the spine, its condition and how consistently the frequency is kept.

C5 Subluxation, Shoulder Pain, and Lumbar Compensation

How He Arrived

In this month's Spinal Correction Spotlight I am featuring the comparison X-rays of a 38-year-old man. He originally sought out our services because of a diminishing Quality of Life due to chronic shoulder pain as well as low back pain.

These issues were affecting his ability to work out at the intensity he desired, as well as participate in some of his Activities of Daily Living, in his case golf, without long term discomfort. His initial care plan was for a 3-month program.

What His Films Showed

The initial images of his neck, taken February 3, 2023, showed a severe subluxation at C5 to the left, which had a profound effect on the nerves that innervate his arm and hands. His low back showed a flexion subluxation between L1 and L2 that was causing his lumbar spine to increase its curvature between L3 and L5 to compensate.

Subluxations create significant interference and stress to the nervous system, resulting in systemic malfunction, as the nerve flow between brain and body gets further reduced. They also cause the body to compensate in ways that are detrimental to the biomechanical function of joints outside the spine, which is where shoulder and hip complaints often come from.

Clinical Findings — Initial Examination

Patient: 38-year-old male, weight training and golf

Presenting complaints: Chronic shoulder pain and low back pain, reduced training intensity, discomfort with golf

X-ray type: AP cervical and lateral lumbar

Initial X-ray: February 3, 2023 — severe C5 subluxation to the left affecting the nerves to the arm and hands; L1/L2 flexion subluxation with compensating increased curvature from L3 to L5

Re-evaluation X-ray: May 5, 2023 — C4/C5 corrected with head and neck returning toward midline; ideal lordosis restored L3 to L5; L1/L2 hyperflexion reduced; weight distribution shifted toward ideal

Care span: 3 months of corrective care between films

Outcome: Returned to pull ups, cleans and snatches at previous intensity; returned to golf

Cervical AP — Before & After

February 3, 2023 initial AP cervical X-ray showing a severe C5 subluxation to the left in a 38-year-old male, Rochet Family Chiropractic Royal Palm Beach

Before — Feb 3, 2023 Initial X-Ray

May 5, 2023 re-evaluation AP cervical X-ray showing C4 C5 corrected with the head and neck returning toward midline, Rochet Family Chiropractic Royal Palm Beach

After — May 5, 2023 Re-Evaluation

Lumbar Lateral — Before & After

February 3, 2023 initial lateral lumbar X-ray showing an L1 L2 flexion subluxation with compensating increased curvature from L3 to L5, Rochet Family Chiropractic Royal Palm Beach

Before — Feb 3, 2023 Initial X-Ray

May 5, 2023 re-evaluation lateral lumbar X-ray showing restored ideal lordosis from L3 to L5 and reduced L1 L2 hyperflexion, Rochet Family Chiropractic Royal Palm Beach

After — May 5, 2023 Re-Evaluation

Three Months Later

The follow up X-rays, taken May 5, 2023, show a correction to C4/C5, allowing his head and neck to begin to return to midline, as well as a restoration of ideal lordosis (lumbar curve) from L3 to L5, with a reduction in the hyperflexion deformity at L1/L2. The green normal line on the films shows a change in weight distribution more toward the ideal.

The real world application is what he can do now. Exercises he used to avoid due to pain he has been able to return to, including pull ups, cleans and snatches, at the intensity of exercise he was accustomed to. He has also returned to playing golf. Activities of Daily Living and Quality of Life improve, and that is success.

What This Case Shows

The nerves that run his arms and hands leave the spine at his neck, and the low back curve that was carrying his compensation was three months from being restored. Both were structural, and both were correctable.

I am not the healer. I move the bone; God does the healing. You are a self-healing organism, and when you are subluxation free, not only does your spine heal, but your body expresses life the way you were created to.

Training Around Pain Is Still Training Around Something

If lifts or a golf swing have quietly dropped off your list, a structural evaluation shows what changed. Come in for an X-ray analysis and find out what your own films show.

Have Your Spine Checked for Subluxation

Or call us at (561) 795-3156