Neck Pain

The problem

With the rise of home working I’ve noticed that I see more sufferers of neck pain than I did say five years ago. It’s possible that this is because those working from home spend longer at their computers without a break and could also be related to home work station set ups which may not be as good as those people have in an office environment.

Whatever the cause, neck pain sufferers frequently have restricted movement in their necks as well as accompany neck and upper back pain. This type of pain and restricted movement can severely impact quality of life and the ability to perform day to day tasks.

In the majority of cases it’s possible to make significant improvements to pain levels and range of movement through the use of manual therapy such as massage and joint mobilisation.

Understanding your pain

As with other specific conditions that can be addressed with manual therapy, it is important to first understand the history of your neck pain before a diagnosis can be made. This involves asking you: to describe your symptoms; when and how your symptoms started; which activities provoke pain or dysfunction and so on.

The history you give me guides me in making an appropriate physical examination of the joint and surrounding tissue including joints below your neck, especially in your upper back. The examination might include observation in standing and on the treatment couch, palpation of the area as well as special tests of the joint.

Treatment

Treatment consists of applying appropriate manual therapy techniques such as soft tissue massage, joint mobilisation and stretches to the appropriate tissue. Sometimes this means a focus on the area of pain and sometimes this means relieving surrounding tissue that may have become painful or restricted either because of adaptations you have made to accommodate your neck problem or issues that are affecting the neck directly.

During the treatment we can discuss how you can improve posture and work place habits to reduce the strain on your neck and improve function. We can also discuss whether a graded exercise programme is appropriate for you and if so I can take you through the relevant exercises after the manual therapy treatment.