There’s a reason for the expression “a pain in the neck” and that’s because neck pain is a really annoying, yet common pain. The pain can range from mild soreness and stiffness to extremely debilitating. It can gradually develop and worsen over time or come on quite suddenly.
Some things you may experience are:
- You can’t turn your head fully to reverse your car.
- You can’t move your head very much at all without terrible pain.
- You have shooting pains in your neck, shoulder blade and down your arm.
- Your arm just aches like a really bad toothache and you can’t find a comfortable position.
- You have terrible headaches.
- You feel dizzy.
- You have pins and needles down your arm and your arm feels weak.
- You sleep poorly and wake up stiff most mornings.
Your neck can even cause problems in your ear.
You’ll hear scary diagnoses like
- Herniated, slipped or bulging disc.
- Pinched nerve.
- Whiplash.
- Degenerative arthritis.
You might even be told there’s nothing can be done and you’ve got to live with it.
So what can you do?
The first thing is not to panic. 75% of people have neck pain at some point in their lives.
The majority of neck pain episodes will resolve with physiotherapy treatment. Gentle, hands on therapy (no aggressive “cracking”) will help to regain movement. Soft tissue work on your muscles will decrease muscle tension. Stretches and strengthening exercises can help provide a long term solution. Improving your sleeping posture and workstation set up will also help.
It is important not to rush into surgery. Many people have a CT scan or MRI which will show up things that are not even related to your current problem and have been there for years. These are just normal signs of aging, like “wrinkles on the inside” and not the cause of your pain. A thorough physiotherapy assessment will arrive at the right diagnosis and the correct course of treatment.
Let’s get you back to living the life you deserve without neck pain.
