The cervical spine is seven vertebrae, eight nerve roots, and a set of joints that govern movement from the base of the skull to the top of the thorax. It carries the head — roughly ten to twelve pounds in neutral, exponentially more as it moves forward. When the mechanics of those joints are disrupted, the effects don't stay in the neck. They travel.
What cervical restriction actually causes
Neck restriction doesn't just cause neck pain. It's a primary driver of tension headaches and cervicogenic headaches — headaches that originate in the cervical joints and suboccipital musculature rather than in the head itself. It drives jaw dysfunction: the muscles of mastication share neurological territory with the upper cervical spine, and when the cervical joints are restricted, the jaw compensates. It produces shoulder referral patterns and arm symptoms that look like rotator cuff pathology or thoracic outlet syndrome but clear when the cervical mechanics are addressed.
Fix the cervical mechanics and a surprising number of downstream complaints resolve with it. This is one of the most consistent findings in over twenty years of practice: the patient who came in for headaches whose neck hadn't been properly assessed. The TMJ patient whose jaw cleared when the upper cervical joints were mobilized. The shoulder patient whose impingement resolved after the C5-6 restriction driving rotator cuff inhibition was corrected.
Forward head posture — the position most people hold for most of the day — places four to five times the normal load on the cervical spine for every inch the head is forward. Over time, this compresses the posterior cervical joints, inhibits the deep neck flexors, and creates a compensation pattern that drives headaches, upper back tension, and jaw dysfunction. It doesn't resolve with stretching. The joint mechanics and the inhibited musculature need to be directly addressed.
Whiplash: the most chronically undertreated injury
Whiplash is chronically undertreated. The initial injury disrupts cervical and upper thoracic mechanics in ways that compound over years if the full pattern isn't addressed early. The standard protocol — rest, collar, NSAIDs — addresses the acute inflammation. It doesn't address the joint mechanic disruption, the deep cervical flexor inhibition, or the altered motor control pattern that persists after the pain settles.
Post-concussion presentations frequently arrive with an undertreated whiplash component. The neurological symptoms get attention. The cervical and upper thoracic mechanics that took the same impact get left behind. Dr. Cohen assesses and addresses both — the concussion protocol and the cervical-mechanical component that's been driving the persistent symptoms nobody connected to the original injury.
Presentations we treat
Neck pain and stiffness
Acute or chronic. Segmental restriction, muscle hypertonicity, facet joint dysfunction. Responds well to chiropractic and ART.
Whiplash
Acute and chronic. Full cervical and upper thoracic assessment — not just the area that hurts. The pattern that formed around the injury needs to be found and corrected.
Cervicogenic headaches
Headaches originating in the cervical joints and suboccipital musculature. Often misidentified as tension or migraine headaches. Cervical work resolves them.
Tech neck / forward head posture
The accumulated load of years of screen posture. Joint mechanics, deep neck flexor reactivation, and thoracic mobility work.
Post-concussion cervical component
The cervical and upper thoracic mechanics that took the impact alongside the brain. Frequently overlooked in concussion management.
Nerve referral into arms
Numbness, tingling, or weakness into the arm or hand from cervical nerve root involvement. Differential diagnosis to distinguish from thoracic outlet and peripheral nerve entrapment.