Neck Pain Relief
Neck Pain Hindering Your Daily Life? Find Relief with Physical Therapy
Physical Therapy Relieves Neck Pain Naturally!
Neck pain can cause debilitating and extremely uncomfortable sensations, especially if the pain stretches from your neck down to your shoulders.
According to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), approximately one-third of the population will experience neck pain in any given year. It can get worse if left untreated, and in severe cases, surgery may even be needed.
Your neck is an integral area of everyday movement, and sharp pain can prevent you from functioning properly in your day-to-day life.
Whether your neck pain presents difficulty when trying to sit up straight in your chair at work or tilting your head down to tie your shoes, physical therapy can help get you back to a normal, pain-free function.
Fortunately, many people are able to find relief from their neck pain every year through the help of physical therapy.
Our Eden Prairie, MN physical therapy practice is dedicated to providing you with the relief you need.
How can physical therapy relieve my neck pain?
Did you know that physical therapy is one of the best methods for treating neck pain? At Wellspring Health Center, our physical therapists utilize a holistic approach digging deeper into the root causes of your pain. For example, during the initial physical evaluation, we analyze the range of motion in your neck, as well as document imbalances in related muscles, soft tissues, and overall posture.
We then work as a team with our sports medicine provider to order any indicated diagnostic tests, create a diagnosis and treatment plan. We work together with you to understand the goals and expectations of each step in your individualized treatment plan, with the main focus of treating the underlying root causes of your pain.
A holistic physical therapy approach for your neck pain may include hands-on methods like myofascial release, joint mobilization, active release technique (ART), as well as hi-tech therapies like cold laser therapy, percussion therapy, electrical muscle stimulation, and computerized joint mobilization to release tension patterns, and restore fluid motion in the joints and soft tissues.
Our Eden Prairie, MN physical therapists also have advanced training in holistic techniques like Pilates Matwork Therapy which uses whole-body movements to strengthen the muscles that support the neck and back. This advanced form of exercise not only helps in the recovery of an injured body part, but it also goes beyond that – it helps with improving strength and movement throughout the entire body – avoiding re-injury in the future.
Are you experiencing any of these symptoms?
When someone experiences neck pain, it typically runs from the base of their skull to the top of their shoulder blades, finally settling in the back of the neck. There are a number of reasons why neck pain may occur.
The pain can vary in severity, from a constant dull ache to sharp and stabbing pains. Neck pain can sometimes include additional symptoms, including but not limited to:
- Loss of sleep due to pain and discomfort.
- Numbness or tingling into the upper extremities.
- Headaches.
- Arm weakness.
- Inability to fully stand up or sit up straight.
- Stiffness and muscle tightness in the upper body.
- Discomfort and pain when remaining in the same position for too long.
What’s causing my neck pain?
Neck pain is most commonly caused by an injury to the tissues or bone structures in the neck; however, certain degenerative conditions can also lead to neck pain.
Some common conditions that give you pain in your neck include:
Tech Neck
When you’re working on a computer or looking down at your phone, the muscles in the back of the neck have to contract to hold your head up. The more you look down, the more the muscles have to work to keep your head up. These muscles can get overly tired and sore from looking down at our smartphones, working on computers, or looking down at our tablets all day. That’s what we call “tech neck.”
What are the symptoms of tech neck?
Headaches, stiff necks, neck spasms, and pain between your shoulder blades are common complaints. Some people say they have a hard time looking up after looking down for a long time. In severe situations you could get numbness or tingling or weakness that goes down into your arms because of a pinched nerve in your neck.
How can tech neck cause more serious problems?
What happens initially is that the muscles have to strain to hold your head up. But the muscles tighten, and, as they do, they put more pressure on the discs. That makes the discs wear out faster, and as the discs wear out faster, they can bulge or even rupture. If the ruptured disc pinches a nerve, you can get pain, weakness, or numbness in the arm, which may end up requiring surgical treatment. Choosing physical therapy first for tech neck symptoms has saved many patients from surgery.
Illnesses
Certain diseases and ailments can result in neck pain, such as rheumatoid arthritis, meningitis, or cancer.
Nerve compression
If you have a herniated disc in your neck, or narrowing of the foramen (space where the nerves exit the spine), the nerves that branch out from your spinal cord can become compressed. In some cases, nerve pain can even extend from the neck all the way down to the hands and fingers — a condition known as “radiculopathy.”
Joint degeneration
Much like any other joint in your body, the neck joints can erode with age, causing pain. Conditions such as osteoarthritis can also reduce the cartilage between the vertebrae in the neck, also resulting in neck pain.
Injuries
Whiplash is one of the most common injuries that result in neck pain, typically sustained by an automobile or high-impact sports collision. This is known as a “strain” injury, causing the head to whip rapidly back-and-forth, thus affecting the soft tissues in the back of the neck.
Muscle strains
The muscles in your neck can become strained by overuse. Even something as simple as sitting at your desk all day with your neck craned toward the computer screen can lead to a strain in your neck muscles.
Get started on relieving neck pain naturally today
Don’t let your daily discomfort be a pain in the neck any longer.
Contact our office to book a Free Consultation with one of our licensed Eden Prairie, MN, physical therapists today!
We will help you get started on the road toward long-lasting pain recovery.