Question
Shortly after waking up, my boyfriend's neck locked up and he can't move his head very much, not at all to the right or up, and if he moves his left arm very much, then it causes him pain too.  Is this something I should take him to a chiropractor for?  Or would simply taking ibuprofen make it better?

Answer
Robin,

Thanks for the question and I hope that I can help.  

If he is locked up that bad, the ibuprofen might help, but won't resolve it.  I certainly recommend a trip to the chiropractor.  With a good manipulation, he may have 2-4 days of soreness. Without it, he could be looking at several weeks of problems which could escalate into bigger problems.  

He should see the chiropractor.  Normally in a bad case without any complicating factors, I would treat him 1-4 times.  That should resolve this problem.  The chiropractor should also talk about ways to avoid such problems in the future.  But he should not require a long, drawn out treatment plan if he doesn't have any complicating factors involved.  

Contact me again if you have any more questions or concerns.  Good luck with that boyfriend of yours and remember, if he doesn't get better you can always trade him in.  Ha! Ha!

Take care,

Dr. Boss