“I have had sich a great experience seeing Dr. Bergin. When other offices have told me I just had muscle damage or the only thing they could do for me was give shots, he said he had others ways to manage my pain and numbness, along with improving mobility. And he was right! I feel so much better! With such friendly staff and welcoming office environment, it makes for an amazing experience. I'll definitely continue seeing him!”
Condition
Neck Pain Treatment
in Lakeland and The Villages, FL
A stiff, aching neck usually traces to two things: how long you hold one position, and whether the joints underneath still move. We examine both before treating either.
- 22 years in practice
- Chiropractor led care
- Non-surgical
- $47 new-patient exam
Medically reviewed by Dr. Justin Bergin, DC Updated September 18, 2026
Quick summary
Neck pain usually comes from the joints, discs and muscles of the cervical spine rather than from anything sinister. Posture held too long, a rear-end collision, or ordinary joint wear are the three usual sources.
Care begins with an examination by Dr. Justin Bergin, DC, then restores movement to the segments that stopped moving and calms the guarding around them.
Understanding neck pain
Neck pain comes from the seven neck bones, the discs between them, the small joints at the back, and the muscles holding it upright. It is usually mechanical: one segment or one muscle group is under more load than it can take.
Your head weighs roughly as much as a bowling ball and sits on a column built for movement rather than load. That trade off makes the neck mobile and easy to overwork.
Underneath, the same wear that reaches any joint reaches these. Discs thin, facet joints get arthritic, nerve exits narrow.
The muscles are the loudest part of the problem and rarely the cause of it.
How it works
The load on the lower segments
Tilt the head forward toward a screen and the load on the lower segments climbs sharply. That is why eight hours at a desk hurts more than eight hours walking.
The segment that stops moving
The neck turns painful when one segment loses movement and its neighbors take the extra work.
The muscles that guard it
A trapezius that has been rock hard for six months is protecting something. Treat only the muscle and the relief lasts until Thursday.
Why does a sore neck run for years?
The neck is the part of the body people put up with longest. It aches at the end of the workday. It grinds when you check a blind spot.
It wakes you at three in the morning if you slept on it wrong. None of that feels serious enough to act on, so it runs for years.
What finally brings people in?
What brings people into ChiroMed Wellness Centers is the day it starts reaching somewhere new. Into the shoulder blade. Down an arm. Into a headache that begins at the base of the skull and works forward.
Who examines the neck, and how?
Dr. Justin Bergin, DC, 22 years into practice, examines the neck segment by segment and checks how the nerves are behaving. Imaging is ordered only where it would change what happens next.
What does the care itself look like?
The care that follows is hands-on and unhurried. Adjusting where segments have locked. Decompression where a cervical disc is involved.
Release work on muscles that have been guarding so long they no longer switch off. Lakeland and Lady Lake run the same lineup.
Independent background: Neck pain symptoms and causes, Mayo Clinic.
Symptoms
Most people recognize their own version somewhere in this list. Each one maps to a specific finding the examination checks for.
- Aching at the base of the neck
- Tightness across the shoulders
- Reduced range on turning the head
- Grinding or clicking with movement
- Headache starting at the skull base
- Pain between the shoulder blades
- Numbness or tingling down an arm
- Waking with a stiff neck
Common causes
Sustained desk and phone posture
Hours of forward head position load the lower cervical segments and hold the upper back muscles at length. Pain builds through the day rather than starting sharply.
Whiplash from a rear-end collision
Sudden acceleration of the head beyond its normal range strains ligaments and joint capsules. Symptoms often begin hours or days after the crash, not at the scene.
Cervical disc degeneration
A disc that has lost height changes vertebral spacing and can narrow the opening a nerve root passes through. That is when arm symptoms appear.
Facet joint wear
The small paired joints at the back of the neck are a common source of one sided pain, worse on turning or looking up. They wear with age like any other joint.
Muscle guarding and stress
Prolonged tension keeps the neck and shoulder muscles switched on around the clock. Guarding reduces movement, and reduced movement feeds more guarding.
Sleeping position and pillow height
A pillow that holds the neck bent or turned for seven hours brings the symptoms back every morning. It is one of the easiest things to change.
How we treat neck pain in Lakeland and The Villages
Neck care here restores movement at the segments that lost it. It unloads a cervical disc when one is involved, and releases the muscles that keep pulling the neck back into the same position. The examination decides which of those you get.
Chiropractic Care for Restricted Cervical Segments
Adjusting restores motion to the segment that locked up, which lets the muscles around it stop guarding.
Technique is matched to the neck in front of him, with instrument assisted options for patients who do not want a manual adjustment. This portion bills insurance, verified beforehand.
Decompression When a Cervical Disc Is Involved
Arm symptoms that track a nerve pattern rather than staying local point at the disc or the nerve exit.
Decompression applies controlled cycling traction to the cervical spine to reduce that pressure. It is a self-pay program and the parameters come from your examination.
Release Work for Chronically Guarded Muscle
Active Release Technique and Graston work address the trapezius, levator scapulae and suboccipital muscles doing most of the guarding.
This is usually what makes an adjustment hold for a week instead of unwinding by the weekend.
Available at our 2 locations
Treatment at our Lakeland office, and also at:
What recovery usually looks like
Getting range back Early in the plan
The first target is movement, not comfort. Turning the head to back the car out, and sleeping through the night, tend to change before the background ache does.
Holding the change Through the active plan
Visits space out as gains last longer between them. The workstation, the pillow and the home exercises matter more here than anything done in the office.
Maintenance Once the plan ends
For necks with a long history, a handful of planned checks protects the result. That is a conversation, not an automatic booking.
The non-responder At the agreed reassessment
If range and symptoms have not shifted by the checkpoint, the diagnosis gets revisited. Sometimes imaging, sometimes a referral. Not more of the same.
When to seek care sooner
For an ordinary stiff, achy neck with no arm symptoms, start by changing what the neck does all day. Raise the screen so its top sits at eye level, take the phone off your shoulder, and stand up every half hour.
Try a different pillow height for a week. A pillow that holds the neck turned all night undoes everything else.
Gentle range of motion, done often and stopped short of sharp pain, beats aggressive stretching. Heat helps most necks more than ice after the first day or two.
No better in two weeks means it needs examining.
Some neck symptoms need a doctor the same day: a hand that turns weak or clumsy, feeling unsteady on your feet, severe pain after a crash or fall, fever, unexplained weight loss, or a change in bladder or bowel control.
Cost, insurance and financing
Cost follows the plan, and the plan follows the examination. What your care involves is quoted at the report of findings, in writing, before a course of care begins.
The one published price
Consultation, Exam, X-Rays (If Needed) & Report of Findings: Only $47
What affects the cost
- Whether arm symptoms mean nerve testing or imaging
- Whether the plan adds a decompression protocol
- How many segments are involved and for how long
- Whether a crash claim or third party insurer is involved
What a course includes
- The consultation, examination and report of findings
- Digital X-rays where the findings call for them
- A home program written for your workstation and sleep position
Payment:
Chiropractic care and the soft tissue work delivered with it bill insurance, with your benefits verified before the first visit.
Cervical decompression is a self-pay program. Payment plans are available for self-pay care. Ask the front desk which plan fits your course of care.
Who you would be seeing
Who actually examines your neck?
Neck examinations here are done by Dr. Justin Bergin, DC, not delegated. Twenty two years in practice means he has seen the range.
At one end, a desk worker with a single locked segment. At the other, a patient sent over after a rear-end collision with symptoms nobody had explained.
Does the approach change with the case?
His approach is the same in both cases. Examine properly. Explain what the finding means in words that make sense.
Treat the structure rather than the complaint, and refer when the neck is not his to treat.
Dr. Justin Bergin, DC, 22 years in practice, performs the examination personally and explains the findings before any program starts. Lakeland: 6595 Florida Ave S, Suite 13, Lakeland. The Villages market office: 929 US-441 #404, Lady Lake. Both offices run the same program.
Getting to us
How do patients reach the Lakeland office?
Patients reach 6595 Florida Ave S, Suite 13 from Dixieland, Cleveland Heights, Harden Blvd, Highland City and the neighborhoods either side of the Polk Parkway. Florida Southern College is minutes away on Lake Hollingsworth.
Many of these necks belong to people who spend the working day at a screen or behind a wheel.
What about the Lady Lake side?
From the Lady Lake side, 929 US-441 #404 sits just north of CR 466. It is a short run from Spanish Springs Town Square, Lake Sumter Landing and Brownwood Paddock Square.
Patients also come in from Summerfield, Oxford, Wildwood, Fruitland Park and Leesburg. Necks there are more often about years of joint wear, reading position and sleeping posture than about a workstation.
Browse every condition on the conditions we treat index.
Neck Pain in recent research
These sources are independent of this practice and none of them endorses it. They are listed so the reasoning behind the care can be checked rather than taken on trust.
- Manual therapy with exercise for neck pain
The current Cochrane review of manual therapy combined with exercise for neck pain, which is exactly the pairing used in this office.
- Neck Pain
A plain summary of the common mechanical causes of neck pain and of the symptoms that mean it should be assessed medically instead.
Options compared, honestly
This is treated very differently depending on who you walk in to see. Here is the full set, including the options this practice does not provide.
| Option | What it is | Typically considered when | Invasive? | Offered at ChiroMed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiropractic adjustment Our approach | Hands-on or instrument assisted restoration of movement at a cervical segment | Segments have lost motion and the muscles around them are guarding | No | Yes. Billed to insurance, benefits checked first |
| Cervical decompression | Cycling traction that reduces pressure on a cervical disc | Symptoms follow a nerve pattern into the arm and hand | No | Yes. Self-pay program |
| Soft tissue therapy | Manual and instrument work on guarded muscle | Range improves on the table then disappears in days | No | Yes. Delivered alongside adjusting |
| Muscle relaxant prescription | Medication reducing spasm or inflammation for a period | Spasm is severe enough to prevent sleep at first | No | Not performed here. We do not prescribe |
| Cervical facet or epidural injection | An image guided steroid injection into a joint or near a root | A specific joint or root is confirmed and care has stalled | Minimally | Not performed here. Reasonable before rehabilitation when a source is confirmed |
| Cervical fusion or disc replacement | Surgery to stabilize or replace a cervical segment | Imaging confirms cord or root compression, or strength is dropping | Yes | Not performed here. A neck losing strength belongs with a surgeon |
Three of these options sit here because patients ask about them, not because we sell them. Knowing when an injection or an operation is the right call is part of a useful examination.
What to expect
From evaluation to a plan for your neck pain
A course, not a single visit. The examination decides the length and the cost, and both are written down first.
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01Evaluation
Orthopedic and neurological testing, with imaging on site where it changes the plan.
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02Findings, in plain language
What the examination actually found, and honestly whether this is a case conservative care can help at all.
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03A written program
Which disciplines, how many visits, over what period, and what it costs. Decided before anything begins.
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04Reassessment as it runs
Function is re-measured through the course. If the response says the plan should change, it changes.
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Find out what is actually driving it before choosing a program.
“Dr. Bergin was instrumental in relieving my back pain which I had for many years. The techniques he used on relieving my back pain were impressive. I been going to chiropractors for years and Dr. Bergin is the best. Thank You Dr. Bergin :)”
“Took a good amount of time going over my preliminary results and going over potential care plan. Great adjustment and doesn’t sugarcoat when discussing. Would recommend”
“The environment is incredible at this office with the staff and also both doctors are extremely friendly and great at what they do”
“Amazing, Super friendly and talented Staff and Doctors! My back was a hot mess after a semi hit my car on my first day moving to Florida. But after going through the treatment program I was able to get my neck, my back and my life in alignment. It was a total transformation. Thank You New City Chiropractic!”
“Hands down the best chiropractic office out there! They are super friendly and make me feel comfortable to tell then what’s wrong. They always ensure the best treatment for their patients!”
“I absolutely love this place , it is like going to visit family. They are always so pleasant , happy , and professional. I always enjoy seeing the ladies , they always put a smile on my face and even if I am having a bad day. The doctors are always so friendly and concerned with my well being. I actually look forward to going there and miss them on the days that I don't go.”
“I only wish it was closer. You are welcome it's definitely a compliment and I have read the great comments people made about the facility and staff! Amen Open one in Auburndale please!!”
“HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend coming here if you have any pains in your back or neck!! These guys are AMAZING at what they do!! Just a few months into coming here, I feel a change in the way I walk, the way my head sits on my shoulders, and I just feel GREAT; ALL THE TIME!! Crazy what some little adjustments did for me!!”
“This is an awesome chiropractic!! They are all nice and kind! Ever Since I have been adjusting my back, I don't need to take medicine before I go to bed. Also, I have been sleeping without waking up in the middle of the night because of the pain!! I really recommend the chiropractic 😊”
“Dr. Bergin at Chiromed Wellness Centers is the best chiropractor in town. I no longer have to take pain meds. If you still have pain, you’re not seeing to best chiropractor.”
“Love this place!! Cynthia and Angie are amazing! So nice and helpful!! The chiropractor’s are also amazing!! Just a great place overall! I highly recommended it!!”
“Look them up I waited so long to see a chiropractor and I found this place and am so happy that I did . Love the Drs they are so helpful and make feel like family.”
“The staff is super friendly and they walked me through the whole process. I’ve been going for a few weeks now and I’m already feeling results! The treatment the offer is very hands on and informative. I’ve never had manual adjustments until coming to this office and the staff makes you feel comfortable and takes care of your needs. Highly recommend !”
“The best Chiropractic center in South lakeland! love it here the Doctors are very urged to help with any of your needs, the beautiful assistants are nice and helpful they really make you feel welcomed. Most highly recommended Chiropractic Center. :)”
“Muy profesional la atención es formidable todos los empleados son muy amigables.Y muy efectiva sus terapias..Los recomiendo 100x100%”
“My pain has decreased dramatically, I’m no longer stretching and moving my neck in every angle trying to find relief. Every part of my body I can feel is finally getting closer to symmetry! All I can say is you should give new city a try!”
“I love this place!! They're very caring for their patients and strive to help you feel better. I strongly recommend giving them a try. I promise you won't regret it”
“The staff is very knowledgeable and organized, they get to know you and are flexible about fitting your treatment in to your life. They use proven methods to treat the root of your issues and the results are incredible. I was in a lot of pain after a car crash and within a few weeks I was able to go back to my normal routine with no discomfort.”
“I have seen and feel the change in my body since I started, I use to have major pain in my knees and neck ache. I'm an athlete and constantly need more adjustments, and every time I come I always without a doubt feel welcomed and important.”
Get in touch
Schedule your neck pain evaluation
Tell us what you are feeling and which office is closer. The front desk answers during office hours; leave a message after hours and they call back the next open day.
- 1
Send the form
Two minutes. Tell us what hurts and which office is closer.
- 2
We call you back
A real person, during office hours, to find a time that works.
- 3
Exam and answers
History, orthopedic and neurological testing, imaging on site when it changes the plan.
- $47 consultation, exam, X-rays if needed and report of findings
- Payment plans available on the self-pay programs
- 4.8 out of 5 from 225 Google reviews
- Choose Lakeland or The Villages on the form
Neck Pain questions
Tap a message for the honest answer. Call Lakeland (863) 940-3444
Why does my neck hurt more at the end of a workday?
Because sustained posture loads the cervical spine far more than movement does. Holding the head forward for hours keeps the lower segments compressed and the upper back muscles working continuously, so symptoms build rather than spike.
The answer is usually restoring movement at the restricted segments and shortening how long the neck holds one position.
Can a stiff neck cause headaches?
Yes. Headaches that begin at the base of the skull and spread forward are often referred from the upper neck joints and the muscles underneath them.
They tend to respond when movement is restored at those segments. Headaches with a different pattern get investigated rather than treated.
How soon should I be seen after a rear-end collision?
Same day medical assessment if there was loss of consciousness, severe pain, or any weakness or numbness. Otherwise get examined within the first week.
Whiplash symptoms often appear a day or two after the crash, and early care is easier than care started three months later.
Is it safe to have your neck adjusted?
For the large majority of patients it is a low risk procedure, and the screening beforehand is what keeps it that way. Dr. Bergin checks for the findings that make adjusting inappropriate before he does anything.
Where there is doubt he uses instrument assisted or low force techniques, or refers you for medical assessment.
Do I need an MRI for neck pain?
Most neck pain does not. A scan is worth having when symptoms follow a nerve pattern, when strength is affected, after significant trauma, or when a case is not responding.
A scan that will not change the plan mostly finds age related changes that were never causing the problem.
Will insurance cover chiropractic care for neck pain?
Chiropractic care at ChiroMed bills insurance. Our team verifies your benefits before your first visit, so you know what applies to you rather than to a general policy description.
The cervical decompression protocol is self-pay. Anything not covered is quoted in writing before it starts.
Same-week appointments
Start with an examination, not a package.
Find out what is actually driving it before choosing a program.
- 4.8 out of 5 on Google
Consultation, Exam, X-Rays (If Needed) & Report of Findings: Only $47