Most people can expect to experience some neck pain (cervicalgia) in their lifetime. Neck pain has many causes ranging from an injury or strain to chronic postural-related. Depending on the cause of the neck pain it may be localised or be felt down into the shoulder, the arms, or up towards the head. As a result, you may feel sharp pain, stiffness, reduced mobility or muscle weakness in any of these areas.

Although many forms of neck pain are related to soft tissue injuries or strains. Neck pain also can be a symptom of an underlying issue relating to the cervical spine, disc herniation or cervical spondylosis. All of these disorders can be treated in clinic with us. Neck pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal problems and people often don’t realise that treatment for any level of neck pain is readily available from your physiotherapist and that it can hugely improve your quality of life.

Types of Neck Pain

The 7 most common types of neck pain are muscle pain, muscle spasms, headaches, facet joint pain, nerve pain, referred pain and bone pain each with its own causation, diagnosis and treatment. In clinic we will carry out thorough screening and assessments and also speak with you about your past injuries, pains and emotional stress. This is to eliminate any possible serious issues and give us a holistic view of your physical and emotional well-being which plays a role in pain diagnosis.

Neck pain symptoms

As mentioned earlier there are varying degrees of seriousness and pain related to neck pain. If you have not been involved in a serious incident and are not rehabilitating a serious injury there are a few common symptoms of neck pain may you may not be aware of.

• Pain that is often worsened by holding the head in one place for long periods, such as working at a computer
• Muscle tightness and spasms
• Decreased ability to move the head
• Shoulder and trapezius pain
• Disturbed sleep in the night due to waking with pain in the neck or trap area
• Difficulty or inability to bring the neck into line
• Pain on cough or sneeze
• Pain eased by supporting the head
• Tension headaches

Physio Treatment For Neck Pain Relief

What can a Chartered Physiotherapist do? Our goal is to get you back moving pain-free and to not feel the emotional burden of restricted movement or injury. After screening and assessments, we will work with you to get you back moving pain-free and educate you on different techniques to manage and improve your neck pain. In a 1:1 session, this can look like

• Joint mobilization and manipulation techniques
• Deep Tissue Massage
• Myofascial release techniques
• Dry Needling / Trigger Point Acupuncture

We can also work with you to provide education and at-home treatments and plans. This would look like

• Stretching, corrective strengthening and postural exercises – an exercise programme specifically tailored to you and your concerts to improve your problems. We can also advise you on appropriate group exercise interventions such as Pilates
• Education on how to do Kinesio-Taping
• Ergonomic assessment and advice
• Pillow Analysis and recommendations

Neck Pain Treatment At Home

Some small points to take on board to manage your neck pain at home are all based on your posture and balancing the demand you put on your upper body.
Practice good posture and position electronic devices, like computers and phones at eye level, so you don’t have to slouch or strain your neck when using them.

1. Adjust the seats in your car to maintain good posture while travelling.
2. Adjust your sleep position. Maintain good posture when you’re asleep. If you sleep on your back or side, use a pillow to support your head so your head and neck are aligned with the rest of your body. If you sleep on your back, place a pillow underneath your knees to take additional pressure off your low back.
3. Avoid sleeping on your stomach with your head turned.
4. Stay active. You can use many of the same exercises used to relieve neck pain to prevent it. If you work a job that involves sitting for long periods, take occasional breaks to move around and stretch your entire body.
5. Exercise your upper back extensor muscles. It’s normal to lose strength in your upper back as you age. As a result, your shoulders rock forward, and your head tips forward in a position in front of your spine. This positioning puts additional strain on your neck and upper back.

At Galway Physio, we will treat the neck pain symptoms that you have to help with your pain and to strengthen your neck. Sufferers of neck pain often report high recurrence rates and for this reason, it is vital that any incidence of neck pain is managed appropriately as soon as possible.