Neck
A pain in the neck? Address it!Neck Pain and Injuries
Relieve Your Neck Pain and Get Back to Doing What You Love
Neck pain can be incredibly painful and irritating, making even the simplest activities cumbersome. It not only disrupts working, driving, and playing sports – but merely turning your head can be painful.
Neck pain. A pain in the neck…literally
Neck pain is quite literally, a pain in the neck as a result of a variety of conditions such as whiplash disorders, cervical spondylosis, cervicogenic headaches, neck muscle strain and cervical disc herniation. It is common for healthy individuals to have neck pain at least once in their lifetime but the good news is that these pains normally resolve on their own and may not require lengthy or extensive treatments.
Neck pain is a symptom of various origins. Musculoskeletal (muscles and bones) causes are by far the most common, but neck pain can also be a symptom of non-musculoskeletal sources such as infection, neoplasm, vascular disorders (carotid or vertebral arterial dissection), metabolic bone disease, inflammatory, neurological and visceral diseases, causes for your Physiotherapist must always remain vigilant for.
Neck pain can occasionally also be accompanied by nerve related pain which could present as tingling, numbness, electric shocks or sharp shooting pain down the upper limb.
In rare cases, certain conditions might be life threatening such as cervical spine instability and cervical vertebral fractures. In such cases, Physiotherapy is not indicated and would require immediate medical attention.
In some, you might experience headaches or dizziness and it may sometimes be related to the neck. Your Physiotherapist will be able to deteremine if the source of your headache or dizziness is related to your neck.
No one should have to live with neck pain. At The Rehab Centre, we want to help you recover so that you can feel yourself again and get back to doing what you love. Our expert team of Physiotherapists have years of experience with neck pain, injuries, and most importantly – neck treatment. Let our team assess your symptoms, identify the source of your pain, and customise a treatment plan to get on the road to recovery.
When should I contact my Doctor if I have neck pain?
Neck pain is a very common complaint, but it’s rarely serious and typically goes away after 4-6 weeks. Most neck pain improves over time with simple home treatments and rest.
If you’re experiencing severe neck pain, especially that which results from an injury like a car accident or fall, you should seek immediate care from a Doctor or Physiotherapist. You should also contact a doctor about your neck pain if:
- Your pain persists for several days and doesn’t get any better after a week
- Your pain spreads down your arms or into your upper back
- You experience any numbness or tingling in your shoulders, arms, or upper back, head or face
- Your neck pain is accompanied by a headache or weakness in your arms or legs
Neck Injuries & Causes of Neck Pain
Regardless of your cause of your neck pain, our Physiotherapist will work to get to the root cause of your neck pain. The good news is that most neck pain is not serious as it responds well to Physiotherapy, and usually subsides within 4-6 weeks.
Cervical Radiculopathy (Nerve Dysfunction or Irritation)
Nerve dysfunction refers to either an inflamed or irritated nerve in the spine. Injuries often cause radiculopathy or radicular pain, but it can often occur without cause. Symptoms can include numbness or weakness in the arm and hand, pain running down your arm, a tingling sensation in your arm, and pain after long periods of being sedentary, looking arm or just by turning your neck.
Cervicogenic Headache
Cervicogenic headache is a chronic form of headache which is associated with problems with the neck region such as a lack of mobility or flexibility. The cause of such headaches is thought to be due to the nerves supplying sensation to the head being affected. These nerves stem from the upper neck region thus any disturbances or abnormalities to this region leads to referred pain to the head. You would usually notice a simultanoeus onset of your neck pain and headache. Sometimes, one might experience concurrent headaches, neck pain and bouts of dizziness.
Slipped Disc or Disc Degeneration Disease
Have read about a disc degeneration in your MRI report? Fret not. It doesn’t usually mean that your neck needs an overhual! As we age, like as you would see some wrinkles on your face or the slight graying of your hair, you would, likewise, expect some changes in our bodies. The disc is no different. However, the disc in our neck may sometimes act up. How do they present? Symptoms of a disc-related injury might include a loss of mobility in the neck, numbness into your shoulder or arm, and potentially some shooting pain down your arm.
Whiplash Associated Disorders
Whiplash occurs when your neck experiences a forceful back-and-forth motion. Whiplash is most common during car accidents, but can also happen in sports or other trauma. Symptoms of whiplash can include dizziness, fatigue, headaches, pain, stiffness, tenderness in your shoulders or upper back, and tingling in your arms. Seek help early so that you might lower the risk of entering a visicious cycle of chronic pain.
Common causes of neck pain
Common causes of neck pain we see in the clinic could arise from the surrounding muscsles or joints around the neck.
Weakness or tightness in the neck, shoulder or chest muscles may also cause pain in the neck.
Speak to our Physiotherapist who will be able to ascertain the source and cause of your neck pain!
Tailored Neck Rehabilitation Programmes
At The Rehab Centre, we do not believe in stop-gap solutions to treat your pain and we don’t take shortcuts. After we’ve assessed your symptoms and uncovered the root problem, we’ll put together a customised rehabilitation programme just for you.
Most of us with neck pain don’t seek treatment and many self-manage either relying on time, over-the-counter medication or self-management strategies commonly gleaned from the internet. When treatment is sought from a health practitioner, conservative management is the first line of management. Recurrence is common whether the neck disorder begins as a minor or significant pain.
A typical session with your Physiotherapist might look like a time of understanding your pain, having a thorough assessment of your neck and the region and after, prescribing specific exercises that will address your concerns.
Having neck pain and you have been on Google for neck pain relief, neck pain treatment, neck pain exercises or neck pain remedy? Look no further! Allow our Physiotherapists to deploy effective preventative and management strategies to assist and empower you to reduce the incidence, recurrence and consequent burden of neck pain! Forget traction machines for neck pain or ultrasound therapy for neck pain. Chat with us to find out more if you can learn to manage the aches and pain you experience and be free from frequent visits to medical clinics!
Common Treatments for Neck Pain
Here are some common treatments and rehabilitation approaches we take for neck pain:
Acute Neck Pain
For patients experiencing acute low back pain, we focus our rehabilitation programmes on:
- Education. We want to help you understand the makeup of your neck, why you’re experiencing pain, and how our plan will help you alleviate it.
- Assurance. There’s a low chance you have a serious or long term neck condition. We’ll assure you that all will be okay, and help you adopt a positive mindset.
- Manual Therapy. Manual therapy can include massage or joint / soft tissue mobilizations. It can help relieve stiffness and improve range of motion
- Electrotherapeutic Agents. Agents like TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) are low-voltage electrical currents that disrupt pain signals and reduce discomfort.
- Gradual Movement within Comfort Levels. We’ll slowly introduce gradual movements and exercises within your level of comfort to get your neck back to 100%, or as close as possible.
- Return to Activity. Our ultimate goal is to get you back to the daily and extracurricular activities you love – pain free.
Chronic Neck Pain
Chronic neck pain can be common, especially for those who work in an office setting and spend much of their day crouching over a computer. Our ultimate goal is to understand the root cause of the pain and to strengthen the neck and shoulder muscles. For patients experiencing chronic neck pain, we aim to:
- Advise and Educate. If you’re experiencing persistent neck pain, we want to not only treat you, but educate you on how to manage your neck pain going forward.
- Assurance. Even if you’ve been experiencing neck pain for months or years, it’s unlikely to be serious or crippling. Changing your mindset and shifting your expectations regarding your pain can be incredibly helpful.
- Heat Therapy. Heat can help your muscles relax, often reducing pain and improving mobility.
- Graduated Movement Programme. Lastly, we’ll gradually introduce new movements and exercises to help you return to function and daily activities you love.
How to relief neck pain?
You might have worken up with some neck pain, which might go away within a day or two. Some may be more stubborn. Consider using a heat pack to reduce the tightness around the area or soak yourself in a warm bath. This would help relief your neck pain
Neck pain relief. Is this the goal of therapy?
Pain is an important consideration and you would usually seek pain relief as a primary goal of treatment. And you are right! You want pain relief from your neck pain. You’re looking for a neck pain remedy. As important as pain relief may be, it is but one consideration. Pain and injury to any region of the musculoskeletal system have profound effects on the neuromuscular system and the human body.
The neck is no exception. Although pain relief is an important outcome, your Physiotherapist at The Rehab Centre also focuses on decreasing the recurrence rate. It is not good just to have a quick fix for your neck pain. Rehabilitation and exercises for your neck pain will be targeted and specific to restore neuromuscular function and it is a logical component of the management program.
Pain is not the only symptom of neck disorders. Other symptoms of neck pain disorders may include feelings of dizziness and unsteadiness, blurred vision and cognitive difficulties such as problems concentrating. Neck pain exercises may include strengthening of your neck muscles or shoulder muscles or improving the mobility in your neck and upper back in order to restore normal movement in your neck.
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