Diagnosis and treatment of neck pain conditions is the second largest sector of the chiropractic profession, bested only by low back pain. In much the same way as other spinal complaints, chronic neck pain has a tendency to be hard to diagnose and treat, making life a real challenge for anyone who can't find lasting relief. The most com anatomical issues blamed for causing chronic neck pain are disc pathologies, such as disc desiccation (disc desiccation is abnormal dryness of the discs) and herniations (a tear in the outer, fibrous ring of an intervertebral disc allows the soft, central portion to bulge out). Neck pain affects almost two thirds of the global population at some point in their lives. Other types of neck pain may include spinal postural concerns, such as hyperlordosis (too much curve) or hypolordosis (too little of curve), cervical spondylolisthesis (anterior displacement of a vertebra or the vertebral column in relation to the vertebrae.

These problems may exist due to previous neck injuries, such as whiplash or arthritic degeneration. The second most commonly implicated painful process is osteoarthritis (degradation of the joint).

Among the many types of neck pain, there are some which stand out as being chronic in nature.