Physiotherapy for Neck Pain

Neck pain is one of the most common sources of discomfort experienced by our Orleans patients, Pain or discomfort in your neck may be caused by a range of issues, from posture to injuries and more. Here our physiotherapists at Motion Works Physiotherapy Orleans explain some of the causes of and treatments for pain in your neck.

Neck pain and wildly vary from a slight discomfort to debilitating and extremely painful. Neck pain is also quiet common. It can last anywhere from a day or two to weeks on end.

At Motion Works Physiotherapy Orleans, our team of physical therapists are able to assist you an identifying the cause of your pain and providing your with treatment and education to alleviate your discomfort and prevent the pain from returning in the future. 

What Are The Causes of Neck Pain?

Neck pain can be caused by a wide range of underlying conditions of behaviours, some more common than others. Some causes of neck pain include:

• Sleeping poorly or in an uncomfortable position.
• Using the computer for longer periods of time.
• Straining your neck and shoulders after lifting heavy objects (such as at the gym).
• Injuring your neck in an accident (such as whiplash from a minor car collision).
• You have just undergone a surgery on your neck and have been left with some pain and stiffness as you recover.

More serious health issues or other underlying conditions can also be at the root of your neck pain.

What Are The Symptoms of Neck Pain?

You might think that you know exactly what to look for when keeping an eye out for neck pain: pain in your neck and shoulders! Usually pain in your neck is a symptom of something else and is the think you look out for. 

However, pain in your neck can appear in a number of different ways and as different sensations throughout your body in ways that aren't always obviously associated with your neck.

Some of the more obvious symptoms of neck pain include stiffness or a lack of mobility in your neck and a noticeable pain in the surrounding area. Some less obvious symptoms that can indicate issues in your neck include headaches, numbness, pain or pins and needles in your arms, and a weakness in your hands. 

If you notice any of the above symptoms in yourself, contact a physiotherapy clinic right away to start treatment.

How Does Physical Therapy Treat Neck Pain

When practices physiotherapy for neck pain relief, the physical therapists at Motion Works Physiotherapy Orleans use a variety of different techniques and treatments depending both on the severity of your pain and its root cause. The purpose of physiotherapy is to help your body become strong and for you to learn enough to avoid to injury or pain again in the future. 

Our physiotherapists with start with a conversation with you about how you are feeling. The more they know about your pain and your recent activities, the easier they will be able to diagnose the cause of your pain and address it with their treatment.

After identifying the causes and severity of your neck pain, our physical therapists use two different broad kinds of physical therapy to treat your neck pain: passive and active. 

Passive physical therapy involves treatments which don't require action on your part such as massages, ultrasound, cold and hot packs and electrotherapy. Active physical therapy will require you to do a series of prescribe exercises and activities which will be designed to strengthen your neck, restore your mobility and ensure that your pain doesn't arise in the future.

Some combination of the two is usually used to treat neck pain depending on its severity. Your physiotherapist will work with you to make sure you are feeling as good as new, as quickly as possible.

When Should I Avoid Physiotherapy For Neck Pain?

While most cases of neck pain are treatable with physiotherapy, alleviating your pain and increasing the speed of your recovery, there are situations where this course of treatment should actually be avoided!

If you are suffering from a severe health condition which is the source of your neck pain such as a tumor in the area around your neck or a fractured spine, physiotherapy may actually exacerbate the issue and will not help your recovery.

Likewise, some people's bodies aren't up to the demands of physiotherapy and would not tolerate it. 

In all of these cases, speak with your physician about ways of alleviating your neck pain, or addressing its root cause, in other ways.