Injuries and prolonged wear and tear can cause neck pain. We provide relief for:

• Muscle strains usually related to sustained physical activity such as sitting at computer terminals for prolonged periods of time. Acute strain may occur after sleeping in an awkward position.
• Osteoarthritis resulting from the narrowing of the intervertebral discs located between the vertebrae of the spine. The adjacent vertebrae grow spurs in response to the increasing pressure placed on them. The bony growths can cause localized pain in the neck or arm related to nerve compression.
• Herniated intervertebral discs, which cause arm pain more frequently than neck pain. The pinching of a nerve in the neck causes severe arm pain (brachialgia). Disc herniations can cause a loss of function of the nerve including loss of reflex, sensation or muscle strength.
• Spinal stenosis which is a narrowing of the spinal canal that causes compression of the spinal cord (cervical myelopathy). The narrowing is caused by disc bulging, bony spurs and thickening of spinal ligaments. The squeezing of the spinal cord may not cause neck pain in all cases but is associated with leg numbness, weakness and incontinence.
• Whiplash, an acceleration-deceleration injury to the soft tissues of the neck, most commonly caused by rear-impact motor vehicle accidents. The pain and stiffness associated with these accidents generally develop 24 to 48 hours after the injury.

Live Without Pain

Neck pain may result from abnormalities in the soft tissues–the muscles, ligaments, and nerves–as well as abnormalities in the bones and joints of the spine. The most common cause of neck pain is soft-tissue abnormalities due to injury or prolonged wear and tear. In rare instances, infection or tumors may cause neck pain. In some people, neck problems may be the source of pain in the upper back, shoulders, or arms.

Seeking physical therapy care:

One should seek physical therapy help if you’re experiencing any headaches, stiffness in the neck, a decrease in range of motion, and/or upper shoulder pain. At Back In Motion Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine, we not only want to alleviate your pain, but show you ways to help prevent your symptoms from coming back.



Low Cost of Therapy for Neck Pain

A recent study out of the Netherlands has shown that patients treated for neck pain with manual therapy, provided by a manually trained physical therapist, displayed quicker recovery times with less cost. For the best results at the lowest cost, cervical mobilizations done by a skilled manual physical therapist are the answer.

(Korthalsde, Bos I et al., Cost effectiveness of physiotherapy, manual therapy and general practitioner care for neck pain: Economic evaluation alongside a randomized controlled trial. BMJ, 2003; 326:911.)