Neck pain can be a debilitating health problem. Your head is relatively heavy and balanced on a support made up of seven bones called vertebrae. The vertebrae are separated from each other by discs, stabilised by joints and ligaments and moved by muscles. This structure allows your neck to be mobile.

If you are one of the many Australians that suffers with neck pain, you will be pleased to know that our proven approach may offer the solution you have been searching for. Our guide aims to help provide clarity on neck pain and answer some common questions surrounding it.

What is Neck Pain?

Neck pain affects up to 70% of us at some stage of our lives. The good news is that our Perth physios can help relieve neck pain with gentle hands-on treatment and exercises. Even those suffering from long-standing neck pain can benefit from My Physio Perth’s chronic pain management strategies.

Onset of pain may be immediate or there may be a slow onset – pain gradually increases over several days or weeks. Pain or deep ache of the neck, shoulder or arm (this needs to be differentiated from true shoulder pain, such as tendonitis\bursitis). There may be burning or tingling of the arm or hand or headaches.

It may be continuous, or only occur when you are in a certain position. The pain may be aggravated by turning your head, looking up or looking down, you may experience tightness of the neck and shoulder muscles and have a reduced range of motion of the neck.

What are the Common Causes of Neck Pain?

In most cases, neck pain is not due to a serious disease or injury and often the exact cause for the pain is unclear. Most are probably due to minor sprains, strains or sensitivity of structures.

This comes as no surprise when we consider the activities of modern life such as sitting in front of a computer, watching prolonged periods of television and becoming more sedentary.

Ergonomic Setup

Prolonged periods of sitting at work is a common cause of neck pain.

The human head weighs 5kg on average so sitting in the same position for prolonged periods, can strain or irritate nerves, muscles, joints, ligaments and discs of your neck. Stress (physical or emotional), awkward positions, or unaccustomed activities can cause neck pain - or even make existing neck pain worse. If you are experiencing neck pain, it is important that you have your condition assessed by a physiotherapist.

Discover 5 simple fixes for neck pain below to improve your sitting tolerance.

Sleeping Position / Pillows

Your sleeping position and choice of pillow may cause significant neck pain. For example, lying on your stomach requires full rotation of your neck leading to a combination of compression and stretching forces on your neck muscles and joints.

Learn more on sleeping posture and pillows to correct your sleeping position.

Depression / Stress / Anxiety

Mental health is one of the leading causes of neck pain and back pain among the general population. Depression, stress and anxiety also lead to poor sleep quality, which further exacerbates neck pain.

Learn more about the importance of sleep and how simple strategies like belly breathing, meditation and exercise can control your stress levels.

Age / Degeneration

It may not be surprising that age and degeneration lead to a higher prevalence of neck pain. It’s important to remember that keeping fit and healthy is the most effective way of managing degenerative conditions that lead to neck pain.

Sports Injuries and Whiplash

Neck injuries can often result from motor vehicle, sports or occupational accidents. Damage may occur to vertebrae, joints, nerves, discs, ligaments and muscles.

A common neck injury is the acceleration/deceleration injury or ‘whiplash’ where the head is thrown forward or backward. Our Perth physios should assess these injuries as soon as possible.

Because neck pain could be an indicator of various illnesses, a physiotherapist can perform an assessment to help determine the source of pain and its behaviour in the body. The location of the pain and how it behaves can provide an understanding of the underlying physiological problem and provide a plan to treat neck pain effectively.

What Symptoms Come with Neck Pain?

The majority of neck pain is the result of minor sprains, strains or inflammation. These will settle with time and gentle physio treatment. However, the following are signs that you should be aware of:

• Severe neck pain
• Severe headache
• First-time headache
• Waking up with a sore neck
• Neck stiffness when turning head
• Referred pain in the arm
• Pins and needles or numbness in the arm
• Loss of muscle strength in the arm

Problems within the neck can also cause headache, shoulder pain due to a pinched nerve, TMJ or jaw pain, muscle spasms, pins and needles in the hands, carpal tunnel syndrome and severe pain in the upper back.

If you have any of the above symptoms, ensure you contact My Physio Perth or your doctor for immediate assessment.

What are the Best Treatments for Neck Pain?

Our Perth physios have a range of mild treatment methods for neck pain that are sure to help. These treatment techniques include:

• Soft tissue massage
• Dry Needling
• Gentle Joint Mobilisation
• Postural Taping
• Manipulation
• Joint mobilisation techniques
• Strengthening, stabilising and stretching exercises to help you manage your problems long-term
• Trigger point therapy
• Advice and recommendations for ergonomics/desk setup and activity modification

Book a check up with My Physio Perth today or contact us with any questions you may have.

Research tells us that symptoms lasting longer than three months become habitual and are much harder to solve. The sooner you get on top of your neck symptoms the better your outcome.

Neck Pain in Office Workers

It’s no surprise that chronic neck pain is highly prevalent in office workers. What you may not know is how simply you can reduce the stress and strain on your neck. Here are 5 simple fixes to help prevent neck pain that you must implement now if you haven’t already! They are equally effective for sitting and standing desks.

Read 5 Tips to Ease Low Back Pain

Bring your keyboard and mouse close!

It’s simple physics… The further you reach with your arm, the longer the lever arm and therefore the higher forces that the muscles around your neck and shoulder have to counteract.

Rest your elbow and forearm on the desk or arm rest!

The muscles around your neck and shoulder work extremely hard to support the weight of your arm when it’s elevated. Simply resting it on the desk or arm rest allows those muscles to relax and reduces the stress on the neck. You may need to adjust your seat or desk so that your elbows rest comfortably at desk height.

Position your screen in front of your eyes!

You wouldn’t choose the side seats at the cinema so why sit with your neck turned all day at work. The asymmetric stress on the muscles and joints of the neck can contribute to neck pain.

Make sure you can easily read the text on your screen!

If you can’t easily read the text on your screen, you will naturally lean in to get a better look. Position your screen so that you can comfortably read it. Do you need a bigger screen? Or perhaps you should be wearing those glasses?!

Have regular breaks!

This is arguably the most effective way of reducing neck pain in office workers. We are designed to move - not to sit still for hours at a time. Even a 30 second break allows your muscles to reset and has proven to be an effective way to reduce and relieve pain in the neck.

If these simple fixes don’t cure your persistent neck pain, ensure you consult with one of our expert physios at My Physio Perth.

Get Effective Neck Pain Treatment from My Physio Perth

Neck pain can not only be an annoyance - it can become a major hindrance and cause problems in other aspects of your life.

My Physio understands this - our Duncraig physio team can conduct an in-depth assessment of your neck pain based on symptoms and more, before offering a plan to help relieve pain and restore mobility.

For quality neck pain treatment, look no further than My Physio Perth. Book Online Now!