Physio For Neck Pain
Have you woken up with a stiff neck?
With many of our clients working from home, many of our clients have been seeing our Physiotherapists after waking up to a stiff and painful neck. The most common neck problem we see is what Physiotherapists diagnose as Wry Neck. This happens when the cervical neck joints, more commonly the facet joints, become restricted and the surrounding muscles spasm to protect the joints. This leads to acute pain on one side of the neck and restriction of movement to the one side.
Don’t struggle through Neck Pain!
“Wry Neck is commonly caused by the restriction and painful movement of the small rotating joints in the neck”
What causes Wry Neck?
With a sudden onset of neck pain, Wry Neck is commonly caused by the restriction and painful movement of the small rotating joints in the neck. Despite what we normally hear “I just woke up with neck pain” there are normally a number of predisposing factors leading to the Wry Neck.
These include:
- Poor posture at work
- Sleeping with the incorrect pillow
- Sustained or repetitive movements in a forward-leaning position
- Instability and weakness around the neck and shoulders
- Lack of regular movement and exercise
How do we fix it?
To begin the Physiotherapist will conduct a thorough assessment of your neck, shoulders and upper back. Once diagnosed the following treatments may include:
- Hands-on Physiotherapy treatments such as joint mobilisation and muscle releases
- Stretches and neck exercises
- Strengthening exercises to prevent the re-occurrence of the neck pain
- Dry Needling
- Taping
- Pillow fitting
- Postural training
How can you prevent it?
Prevention is always better than a cure. We recommend you have your work desk set up correctly, check out our posture correction blog and working from home set up blog.
Keep exercising, keep active and keep moving to prevent further neck pain.
If you are having ongoing neck pain or want to learn more about preventing Wry Neck, speak to one of our Physiotherapists today or book an appointment online.
Check out our Physiotherapy video below to find out more about stiff neck and the physiotherapy treatments we use to get you out of pain and back to your active life.
