Neck Pain

Neck pain can come on with many things; it can be neck pain that comes on when you first wake up,or it only niggles and aches at you when you're driving and needs to change lanes. Sometimes neck pain can fester into headaches or even cause shoulder pain. Other times neck pain can come with shooting sensations down the arm that's when we call it radicular pain. These are some things you can see with neck pain.

• Headaches that manifest as a band around the head
• Pain with neck movements that causes shooting pain down the arm
• Feeling of "instability" putting weight on an arm
• Acheyness when you wake up

Generally someone with neck pain will know what they are experiencing and don't need the check list of symptoms. However there are some important signs to note with neck pain. If you get pain with any of these signs you need to seek advice from a GP. Some of the signs are nerve pain down both hands, difficulty with tasks like buttoning a shirt, blurry vision or nausea, dizziness, difficulty swallowing or any changes in your vision.

During the first session you will be asked about how and when the neck pain came on and what triggers it. The history of the pain helps us understand what is going on and how to help you improve. There are no scans necessary, however if you do have any done you can bring them along, we can help answer any questions you may have about them and it can also be part of the puzzle.

Following the history, we will go through an assessment where the physio will look at how your neck and shoulders are moving. Since those two joints are close in proximity sometimes they have to be treated together.

Once we have an idea of what is going on you and your physio will have a discussion about what the best course of treatment may be. You should expect to go home with some exercises or stretches to do. However, the physio will always work within your abilities.