NECK PAIN

It’s easy to forget that the world of today is full of driving, hunching over screens and plenty of stress, which all may impact our cervical spine. It’s no surprise that neck pain has become one of the most common complaint we hear from our patients. By supporting the weight of the head, your neck has tough job. Millions of people experience chronic neck pains, aches and discomfort at some point in their lives.

NECK PAIN STATISTICS

Neck pain can be described as diffuse of pinpointed pain in the posterior (back) of the neck ranging from the top of the cervical spine (which is the base of the skull) to the first thoracic spinous process. The pain can either be new-onset, acute or greater than 7 days with is classed as sub-acute. If you experience the pain for longer than 3 months, your complaint is considered to be chronic in nature.
Statistically, women are more likely to suffer from neck pain than men, with the mean age of onset being 45 years for women and 60 years for men. There are a number of risk factors for the development of chronic neck pain:

  • high physical workload
  • work-related emotional exhaustion and stress
  • common mental disorders
  • sleep problems
  • overweight and obesity
  • chronic lower back pain

WHAT HAPPENS IN A NECK PAIN CONSULTATION?

Neck pain presentation is often more complicated than other regions of the spine. This is because the neck is quite complex and can be influenced by many other factors in the kinetic chain. For example, a person who has a shoulder injury e.g. a rotator cuff tear may also present with chronic neck pain, which is often secondary to the tear itself. There may be a history of whiplash or the person may work at a desk for long hours, resulting in postural related pain.
Our practitioners use a number of clinical tests, along with your history to determine a working diagnosis. They construct a comprehensive care plan to help reduce your pain but also to work out how to keep your symptoms at bay. Unfortunately, chronic neck pain is not like a cold that goes away, we have to combat the primary cause to the pain in order to see good results. This may also mean doing some specific exercises at home to stretch and strengthen the muscles around the thoracic spine and neck. Our practitioners use several methods to work towards reducing pain and restoring range of motion, this may include manipulation, activator method, dry needling, soft tissue therapy and more. In addition to pain relief care, we also look at lifestyle factors such as pillow choice, stress, postural habits and diet. These can all influence how well you recover from your pain.

Call Our Practice Or Book Online

Whether you neck injury is old or new, our team are experienced in techniques to assist in alleviating your pain and get you back to living a healthy and vibrant lifestyle. So, call us today on (08) 9284 6662 or book online with one of our friendly practitioners.