Physical Therapy for Neck Pain and Neck Injuries
Neck Physical Therapy
IS NECK PAIN INTERFERING WITH YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE?
Whether it’s a new pain you are experiencing or an ongoing problem, discomfort in this area can be a literal pain in the neck. Hours sitting at your desk working each day, that fender bender you had last week, years of looking down while working on items with your hands can all lead to acute and chronic neck pain and stiffness and an amalgam of symptoms from headaches to arm weakness. While sometimes it may seem like these symptoms will never go away, physical therapy is an effective option to help reduce these symptoms that will also empower you to implement strategies to prevent them from recurring. This article will help you to understand the causes, symptoms and possible interventions that you can expect during a physical therapy treatment.
LET’S GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE NECK AND HOW IT FUNCTIONS:
The neck, as we call it, is formally known as the cervical spine and is made up of 7 bony vertebrae that connect the bottom of the skull to the top of the upper back and ribcage. This area of the spine is made to be strong enough to support the weight of the skull and brain while still allowing for the many degrees of rotation, side bend, flexion and extension of the neck that we use daily. In between each vertebrae is an intervertebral disc which provides cushioning and shock absorption. Traveling through the bony spinal canal created by the vertebrae is the spinal cord which carries motor and sensory information to and from the brain to the rest of the body through nerves that exit the small canals created by the vertebrae on the left and right side.
There are many muscles that attach to the skull and neck bones and connect to lower vertebrae, the shoulder blades, the clavicle, and the upper ribs. Some muscles are more superficial--closer to the skin--that act as movers of the neck and other bones while other muscles lie deeper and act to stabilize the neck and head.
It is important to understand that while in some cases a specific anatomical structure may be primarily to blame for your neck pain or discomfort, often times the underlying cause is due to faulty movement patterns or an imbalance in the length and strength of surrounding muscles and your physical therapist at Evolve will be evaluating how you move as much as he or she is examining the structures of the neck.
WHAT MIGHT BE THE CAUSE OF YOUR SYMPTOMS?
Dysfunction occurring in the cervical spine can present in many different ways. Some people may experience localized pain or stiffness in the muscles or joints of the neck itself, others may primarily experience headaches while in some cases people will complain of what we call radicular symptoms in their arms, meaning pain, weakness or sensory disturbances that originate from the nerves exiting the neck vertebrae that manifest in the arms and hands.
The good news is, your physical therapist is well-trained to spot all of the contributing factors to help create a comprehensive treatment plan. To help you to better understand some of the causes of neck pain and how your physical therapist will treat them, here are some examples:
Whiplash: Whiplash occurs when neck muscles are strained and tendons are stretched in response to a quick and uncontrolled forward and backwards movement of the neck beyond its normal range of motion. Whiplash can occur as the result of a hard tackle in football or from being hit from behind by another car while waiting at a stoplight. Pain and stiffness may not set in right away but take a day or two to manifest. In the first few days after injury your physical therapy treatment will focus on protecting the injured tissues which may include wearing a soft neck collar, using ice or electrical stimulation for pain and passive range of motion. As your healing progresses your physical therapist may implement hands-on techniques like soft tissue or joint mobilizations and you will begin to perform exercises to stretch and strengthen affected muscles to restore normal motion.
Intervertebral Disc Herniation: Between the bones of the spine lie the intervertebral discs which provide height and cushioning. A herniation of the jelly-like center (nucleus) of the disc through the outer, tougher layer (annulus) is called a disc herniation and it can occur from a sudden trauma or due to gradual age-related changes in the disc. It can sometimes place pressure on the nerves where they exit the spinal canal causing pain both locally and at times, into remote areas such as the arms and hands. If severe enough it can cause changes in the sensation of the skin and strength of muscles in the arms. During your treatment your PT will be prescribing you a series of movements and exercises to help relieve the pressure on the nerves and optimize your movement patterns to minimize future discomfort. They may also implement manual therapy, hands-on techniques such as joint and soft tissue mobilization.
Cervicogenic Headache: Originating from the joints of the upper cervical spine, this condition often causes chronic headaches that radiate from the lower skull upwards and are perceived in the head and/or regions of the face. Cervicogenic headaches are characterized by pain on one side of the head (sometimes both sides), diffuse pain in the shoulder or arm on the same side and stiffness or reduced range of motion of the neck. Cervicogenic headaches may develop after a recent trauma such as a concussion or may be aggravated by specific neck movements or sustained postures. Physical therapy to treat these headaches might include modalities such as heat or electrical stimulation to reduce pain, education on ergonomics and posture to limit aggravation of neck structure, exercises, breathing techniques and stretches to balance the strength and flexibility of the neck muscles, and mobilization or manipulation of the joints in the cervical spine.
While neck pain can be disruptive to your daily life, conservative treatments such as physical therapy are often highly effective. A physical therapist at Evolve can help you get on the road to healing your neck pain. Our therapists do not just treat symptoms, but we get to the root of the cause. We strive to enable our patients to live pain free, and prevent the recurrence of related issues.
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About EvolveNY-
Brooklyn’s Premier Holistic Physical Therapy Clinics-
There’s physical therapy, there’s training, and then there’s EVOLVE. We use the science of biomechanics merged with fitness to help our patients get better and stay better!
First we evaluate, then we heal, then we strengthen our clients so they can reach their goals, feel better, and live happier lives. We do so by utilizing a range of core techniques and specialized treatments to reduce pain, improve mobility, enhance physical strength and deal with the underlying issues, not just the pain itself.
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