Neck cracking can become harmful especially when you do it frequently and if you do not crack it properly or with greater force. Cracking your neck with great force can stress the nerves. Once stressed or pinched, these nerves may make your neck to stiffen. As a result, you will find it very painful to move your neck. Apart from your nerves, muscles in your neck may also undergo a sizeable level of stress. A muscle stress often stresses the joint – in this case, your neck.
You are advised not to yield to the desire of cracking your neck often. But, you may be tempted to crack it when you have used your neck more. If you have yielded to the temptation of cracking your neck often, you run the risk of needlessly stretching your muscles. Over a period of time, these muscles may get stretched and may lose their elastic properties – i.e., they may remain stretched forever. Clinical sciences call this perpetual condition as instability. People with such a condition are known to run risks of being affected by osteoarthritis.
You are advised to know that your neck houses a lot of vital blood vessels. In a few instances, cracking your neck violently or forcefully may lead to puncturing some of these essential blood vessels. In some rare instances, neck cracking done forcefully has resulted in clotting of blood. It is a potentially fatal condition, as it can stop flow of blood to your essential organs such as brain, etc.
Children are known to bring new perspectives to our lives. The way they interact with others – especially adults – can shed a lot of insights into their world. But there are also a few complexities associated with how children behave with strangers as well as unknown adults. DSED is one of such unique conditions.
Disinhibited social engagement disorder (DSED) is a condition wherein your children may closely interact with adults who are unknown to them. This condition is categorized under attachment-related disorders. It may take some time to understand the symptoms of this condition. Often, you may notice it when your child is 12 months old. In some instances, it has taken upto four to five years for the symptoms to show up.
Signs and symptoms of this condition
If a child has DSED, no inhibitions or hesitation is seen in the child while interacting with unknown and unfamiliar adults. The child may be touching or may accompany a stranger without any signs of discomfort or fear. Specific indicators are absence of shyness while interacting with adults who are totally new to them, becoming very expressive with unfamiliar people as well as hugging or touching unknown adults.
Caregiver of a child is the one who understands the child’s emotional needs, teaches the child as well as provides for all basic physiological needs such as shelter, food and security. Children who grow up without proper attention and care from their parent or caregiver are observed to develop this medical condition. This condition may cause delays in speech and a marked underdevelopment of cognitive skills. In general, the symptoms may be related to those triggered by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Children who are exposed to any of these triggers are more likely to develop this medical condition. These include, frequent changes of caregivers (such as rapid changes in households), being brought-up in unusual or abnormal environment and sheer neglect of emotional needs of the child. Often, children who have grown up in institutional environment such as orphanages develop this condition. In such set-ups, a single caregiver may have to be caring for several children. This is also more pronounced among children who have not been adopted and also those living in foster care for long. As a result, such children are found not to look up to their primary caregivers to grant consent to interact with strangers.
Diagnosis of DSED
The signs associated with DSED are generally found to last till a child reaches teenage. However, it is unlikely to continue past their early adulthood. Children with this condition are found to have problems developing healthy relationships with friends. It may take the support of a psychiatrist or a therapist to diagnose this medical condition. The specialist often takes time to understand it and also performs a complete mental assessment. Experienced psychiatrists may request the child to be assessed in various locations.
Common factors assessed include family background, health history, mental health, emotional health and current activities of the child. The diagnosing specialist may employ tools such as puppets, crayons or toys based on the child’s age. Upon diagnosing DSED, a treatment plan that best suits the child is drawn out. It is often a customized plan that fits the emotional and cognitive needs of the child.
Treatment of DSED
DSED is treated with the sole aim of enhancing the relationship between primary caregivers and the child. Treatment offered focuses on advancing the child’s emotional development and also enables strong emotional bonding with trusted ones.
There are different types of treatment offered for this condition. Psychotherapy employs unique methods to keep the child in an easy state of mind. It is accomplished either by art or through play. As an alternative, talk therapy is also administered, which may be given in groups or in an individualized manner. Often, the whole family may be involved as part of such therapeutic sessions. From the caregivers’ perspective, they are taught how to care for kids as well as how to make a kid feel secured.
Treatments can improve the condition of children either quickly or over a period of time. The difference in response is unique for each child. Some children may also suppress their natural behavior. Feelings such as emotional outbursts or anger are often regressed. Hence, it is essential to repeatedly treat children as well as counsel their family members about the need to maintain an emotionally rich relationship.
Primacy caregivers also need to understand there is no quick fix for this condition. The child’s education levels and age are also to be considered while administering treatment. Some primary caregivers do lose their patience as they see the results are hard to come by. A primary understanding that the results may take a longer time to show up is a fundamental aspect to comprehend while treating children with DSED.
Primary caregivers also must not forget that they play an active role in reversing the symptoms and effects of this medical condition. The tools given to the caregivers are to be used continually and with patience, till their child shows first traces of improvement.
It serves well to always remember that the whole family’s role is crucial in bringing about desired results in children with DSED.
In essence, DSED needs to be treated with all needful earnestness the condition rightly requires. A few primary caregivers believe that it can get cured on its own, if left untreated. This is an unscientific and baseless assumption. This medical condition is treated with consistent efforts to establish a mutually caring and emotionally stable environment for the child. The role of primary caregiver becomes extremely important. If the child is exposed to traumatic or stressful experiences, the primary caregiver’s support can make the child remain deeply rooted to a family and feel emotionally more secure.
It hence becomes critical for each caregiver to develop a healthy bonding with the child, especially during the formative years of the child.
Education: Master’s in Clinical Nutrition from Tufts University. Experience: 6 years of experience as a registered dietitian and freelance writer, creating content on nutritional science and weight management for various health websites.
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