Neck Pain Adelaide

City Physiotherapy treats all types of Neck Pain

Wry Neck | Torticollis

A wry neck is a common term for a very stiff neck usually causing severe neck pain, which has begun suddenly after no injury, usually after sleeping. It can feel like your neck will never be able to move again and you experience neck pain every time you try to turn your head, but don’t fear! This is a common thing to happen and is simply muscles in your neck tightening up and becoming sensitive. Neck Pain from a wry neck can be treated by your physiotherapist with a range of techniques including joint mobilisation, soft tissue massage, hot/cold therapy, posture, sleep & medication advice, and dry needling which often return excellent results. It is important however to distinguish a simple wry neck from more serious conditions such as a cervical nerve irritation, which is why you should always consult your City Physiotherapy physiotherapist to assess, diagnose and treat your condition.

Postural Neck Pain | Don’t underestimate how damaging this can be

Postural neck pain will often be of slow onset and vague description, ranging over an area of the body, usually the neck, shoulders, shoulder blade, and upper back.  It is often worse after an aggravating prolonged posture such as sitting at your computer/ desk all day or after driving for a long time.  A forward head posture can also contribute to many other pains such as headaches, migraine, dizziness, shoulder and rotator cuff issues, TMJ/jaw pain, lower back pain, upper back pain, radiating arm pain, chronic cough, sleep apnea, chronic fatigue, carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow, visual issues, acid reflux, degenerative joint and/or disc disease. Simply trying to sit up tall and pull your shoulders back does not fix postural neck pain.

How do I fix neck pain from poor posture?

Postural pain in the neck is one of the most common presentations in our physiotherapy clinic.  Our clinicians are very experienced in assessing which part of your daily life and work routines are contributing to your pain. Our Physio’s will work with you to relieve pain through thorough assessment, hands-on physio treatment, then aim to prevent your neck pain from returning by adjusting routines, teaching exercises to strengthen weak muscles and lengthen tight muscles, provide advice on work station ergonomics, sleep positions and adjustments that may need to occur at home, during gym, sporting or other hobbies. Postural neck pain may take longer to disappear than other pains, especially if it has been around for a long time.  It is highly likely that your postural endurance muscles do not have the capacity to keep you sitting or standing without a forward head posture, due to having become quite underactive over time.  Your Physiotherapist will assess and offer your long term strategies to rectify these underactive muscles.

Whiplash

Whiplash is a traumatic injury of the neck which involves a sudden forceful movement and subsequent damage done to the neck. Symptoms commonly involve pain and stiffness and can be difficult to resolve if left alone. Your physio will encourage an active approach using a safe level of movement and activity to encourage you to return to normal activities as soon as possible. Combining this approach with commonly used pain relief techniques such as hands-on physio, exercises, massage, heat, and dry needling delivers the most effective pathway to avoid this injury turning into a long term pain.

Central Neck Pain | Cervical Radiculopathy | Neck Disc Bulge | Pinched Nerves in Your Neck

Most people associate disc problems with lower back pain, however, cervical discs are also sometimes the cause of our pain. Disc pain will usually feel like a shooting or stabbing pain and will often cause the person to feel very stiff in the morning. The disc can apply external pressure to the nerves in your neck causing irritation to your nerves which can be extremely painful. Although as physiotherapists we can’t replace your disc, we are able to employ many strategies to help you live your life pain-free and restriction-free.  Your physiotherapist will help you by retraining movement patterns in your neck, ensuring your neck and upper back spinal joints, muscles and nerves are moving well and are not stiff and tight.  A longer-term strategy to ensure your cervical discs are not under any more strain than they already are is teaching you how to perform deep neck flexor muscle training. This is a very important and well-researched strategy that helps to strengthen the muscles in our neck which stabilise it during many daily activities, including sitting or standing at your computer work station for many hours a day.

If you are experiencing neck pain, don’t out up with pain, City Physiotherapy is here to help you get our of pain and stay our of pain with long term treatment solutions to your neck pain.  Give us a call on 8212 4886 or Book online 24/7.

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