Neck pain is one the most common sources of discomfort reported by our patients in the Stittsville area. Discomfort or pain in someone's neck can be caused by posture issues, injures, or other health problems. Here, our physical therapists at Motion Works Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Centre explain some of the treatments for and causes of pain in your neck.
Neck pain can vary from mildly uncomfortable to extremely painful or debilitating. Neck pain is very common and can last anywhere for days to weeks and beyond. At Motion Works Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Centre, our team of physiotherapists are able to help identify the cause of your pain as well as providing treatment and education to ensure you can prevent such pain from reappearing in the future.
What Are The Causes of Neck Pain?
Neck pain can be caused by a wide range of causes, some more common than others. Some of these causes of neck pain can include:
- Using the computer for longer periods of time.
- Sleeping poorly or in an uncomfortable position.
- Straining your neck and shoulders after lifting heavy objects (such as at the gym).
- Injuring your neck in an accident (such as whiplash from a minor car collision).
- You have just undergone a surgery on your neck and have been left with some pain and stiffness as you recover.
More serious health issues or other underlying conditions can also be at the root of your neck pain.
What Are The Symptoms of Neck Pain?
It might seem that you should know exactly what to look for when keeping an eye out for symptoms of neck pain: pain in your neck and shoulders. Usually pain in your neck is itself a symptom of something else. It is the thing you look out for!
However, your neck pain can appear in a number of different ways and sensations in your body which aren't always obviously associated with what you think of when you think about neck pain.
Some of the more obvious symptoms of the neck pain include a lack of mobility and a stiffness in your neck as well as noticeable pain in the surrounding area. Some of the less obvious symptoms that can indicate issues with your neck muscles can include headaches, weakness in your hands, or a numbness, pain, or pins and needles in your arms.
If you notice any of the above symptoms in yourself, contact a physiotherapy clinic right away to start treatment.
How Does Physical Therapy Treat Neck Pain
When practices physiotherapy for neck pain relief, the physical therapists at Motion Works Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Centre use a variety of different techniques and treatments depending both on the severity of your pain and its root cause. The purpose of physiotherapy is to help your body become strong and for you to learn enough to avoid to injury or pain again in the future.
Our physiotherapists with start with a conversation with you about how you are feeling. The more they know about your pain and your recent activities, the easier they will be able to diagnose the cause of your pain and address it with their treatment.
After identifying the cause and severity of your neck pain, physiotherapists use two different broad types of physical therapy to treat neck pain: passive and active physical therapy. Passive physical therapy involves treatments which don't require activity from the patient such as massage therapy, ultrasound, hot and cold packs, and electrotherapy. Active physical therapy for neck pain involves the patient undertaking prescribed exercises and activities designed to strengthen their neck, restore their mobility and ensure that the pain does not arise again.
Some combination of the two is usually used to treat neck pain depending on its severity. Your physiotherapist will work with you to make sure you are feeling as good as new, as quickly as possible.
When Should I Avoid Physiotherapy For Neck Pain?
While in the majority of cases of neck pain, physiotherapy can help alleviate your neck pain and speed your recovery, there are certain situations where this course of treatment should be avoided. In particular, if your are suffering from a severe health condition which is causing your neck pain like a fractured spine or a tumor in the area around your neck, physical therapy won't be able to help you recover. It may even exacerbate the issue!
Likewise, some people's bodies aren't up to the demands of physiotherapy and would not tolerate it.
In all of these cases, speak with your physician about ways of alleviating your neck pain, or addressing its root cause, in other ways.