Osteopathy for Neck Pain

Did you know that approximately 1 in 3 adults experience neck pain at least once a year? It’s not surprising that it is a common reason that our patients come into Holistic Hands Osteopathy seeking osteopathic treatment. Research shows that neck pain is more persistent in people who have experienced back pain. As osteos who regularly treat patients with neck and back pain, we’ll share some simple steps to follow to reduce the risk of strain in your daily life. Read on to find out about the types of neck pain, and how osteopathic treatment could help.

Function of the neck

The neck, or cervical spine, contains the smallest vertebrae in the spinal column. It has several very important functions: to support the head and its range of motion, to allow blood to flow to the brain, and to protect the spinal cord.

What are the common symptoms of neck pain?

Neck pain is usually acute, which means it resolves within a few days or weeks. If it persists for longer than 3 months, it is considered chronic.

The common symptoms of neck pain include:

●     Muscle tightness, stiffness, and a decreased range of motion

●     Persistent aching

●     Pain that worsens when moving

●     Stabbing or sharp pain

●     Pain that radiates to the head, shoulders, and arms

●     Headaches

What are the common causes of neck pain?

Neck aches can be caused by something minor like sleeping in an awkward position or sitting at your desk for too long.

Some common causes of neck pain include:

●     Poor posture

●     Overuse and strain from sitting for long periods at the computer, or straining while holding your smartphone

●     Slouching forward, or straining while driving

●     Tension/stress

●     Osteoarthritis

●     Awkward sleeping position

●     Whiplash caused by vehicle accidents

●     Sports injuries

Less commonly, neck pain can be caused by serious illness or infection. If you have severe pain accompanied by fever, or numbness in your arms or legs, or you have injured your neck in a fall or accident, be sure to seek medical treatment from a doctor promptly.

How to prevent neck pain?

While it can’t always be avoided, there are some simple steps to reduce your risk of experiencing a strain, including:

●     Practice good posture when sitting and standing, especially for prolonged periods of time. If you need help to resolve postural issues, come and see us!

●     Reduce stress/tension by stretching, practicing yoga or meditating regularly.

●     Use a backpack instead of a shoulder bag when carrying a heavier load to distribute the weight evenly.

●     Check the ergonomic setup of your workstation - adjust your chair or screen to make sure the top of your monitor is at eye level. Keep your head straight, and your shoulders tracking directly above your hips.

●     Check your pillow - is it too soft or too firm? When was the last time you replaced it? You may need to try different pillows to find the right fit.

How to treat neck pain at home

You can manage some mild neck aches at home. Some of the treatments we like include:

●     Heat or ice therapy.

●     Modifying activities that aggravate or cause discomfort.

●     Gentle movement and stretching to prevent the area from tightening further.

How can osteopathic treatment help?

As osteos, we commonly treat neck and back aches in the clinic. Whether your symptoms are acute or chronic, osteopathic treatment could help get to the bottom of them. When a patient comes into the clinic with neck pain or discomfort, we will use a range of soft tissue techniques, including massage therapy, joint manipulation, and stretching which may help to increase blood flow to the area, reduce tightness, and restore your range of motion.

If you need help to manage your symptoms, come and see us. We will assess your symptoms and come up with a treatment plan to get you back to your best.

Stiff and painful neck? Facet joint injury explained

Treating stiff and sore necks has to be up there as one of the most common areas of the body we Osteo’s see on a day-to-day basis. The causes for neck pain are numerous, with some of the common causes including muscle strain, joint restriction and degeneration, and disc-related injuries. Out of those, we regularly see injuries relating to the facet joints of the neck, which are small joints formed by two vertebrae in the spine.

What are facet joints there for?

In a nutshell, there is a facet joint on either side of the spine at each level. Depending on their position, they restrict and allow certain movements, based on how the joint surfaces are orientated. In the neck, the joints are orientated in such a way that allows for relatively large amounts of movement through forward and backward bending (flexion and extension), side-to-side bending (lateral flexion), and some twisting (rotation) too. If you move your head around, you will notice your neck is the most mobile part of your spine. This can leave it a little susceptible to injury.

How do these joints get injured?

It could be something as silly as a quick glance over the shoulder like checking your blind spot in the car, or spending an extended period looking up like when having to paint a ceiling in a house. There are usually some underlying movement issues that lead you to this point. For example, joint restrictions higher up in the neck or in the mid-back. That quick glance over the shoulder could be enough to sprain the soft tissue capsule of the joint that holds it together, or the long period spent looking up could over-compress the joint surfaces and lead them to become inflamed and lock up. Mums who spend hours looking down at their bubbas can also put these joints under strain and end up with a very stiff and painful neck.

 Can an Osteopath help?

Of course! We can help, and in many ways other than just using our hands. When you come into Holistic Hands Osteopathy we will take you through some questions to get an in-depth look into your life and the issue you’re currently experiencing. There are likely to be many things in your life that have led you to this stiff and painful neck and we want to make sure we tick off and address all of those risk factors. We’ll look into your personal and work life, hobbies and sports and even how you spend your time relaxing and sleeping. These are all areas that can play a part.

We will of course assess you physically. You may have a neck issue, but we will take a keen interest in what your shoulders, mid and low back are doing, as well as the pelvis and beyond into the legs. Once we can see how your body is working as a unit, we will discuss the treatment plan with you and get to work. Initially we will focus our attention on relieving your pain. We’ll use our hands to massage the muscles, mobilise the joints and we may use manipulation to achieve optimal joint motion and muscle relaxation. We’ll then give you some pointers on exercise and lifestyle advice so you can leave knowing how to manage the problem and continue to improve further at home.

A locked facet joint will typically take a few days to calm down following injury. Once the initial inflammation reduces, the pain decreases, movement improves and you should start to feel normal again. Within a few treatments, we’ll have you pain free and moving better than you have in a long time - this is where our work on the rest of the body comes in to play. It’s never JUST a neck issue!

Stiff neck anyone? Call us today and we’ll get you on the mend :)

The most common headache

Did you know it is estimated that 50% of the global adult population have experienced a headache within the last year alone - that’s over 3.5 billion people! Unfortunately, there are too many types of headache to be able to cover them all in one blog, unless you fancy reading through about 50 pages of text… Yeah we thought not! We figured a good place to start would be the headache that is most commonly experienced throughout the general population. We introduce you to the ‘Tension-Type Headache’ (or TTH).

WHO DOES IT AFFECT?

It is estimated that around 7 million Australians experience TTH, affecting approximately 42% of women and 36% of men. A person will commonly begin to experience them during teenage years and may experience a peak in headaches around their 40’s, as headaches begin to tail-off after this period in life. People who experience TTH on less than 15 days per month are classified as having ‘Episodic TTH’. Those experiencing them for more than 15 days per month are classified as having ‘Chronic TTH’.

KNOWING YOUR HEADACHE

Different types of headache come with different signs and symptoms. For TTH, there are some common things to look out for. These include:

 

•   A tight band or ‘vice-like’ sensation of mild to moderate pain around the head

•   Pain across both sides of the head

•   Constant pain that may last anywhere from 30 minutes to several days

•   Scalp, neck and shoulder tenderness accompanying your headache

•   Difficulty concentrating or sleeping

•   Restricted neck movements

•   Depression and/or anxiety

Symptoms of TTH and migraine (another type of headache) may overlap slightly, but TTH are not usually described as throbbing, one-sided, or accompanied by visual disturbances, light sensitivity, nausea, vomiting, or worsening with activity; whereas migraines regularly are.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES?

Despite the name, TTH are not always caused by tension or stress in a person’s life. TTH may be triggered by many things, including:

•   Excessive frowning

•   Teeth grinding or jaw-clenching (called ‘bruxism’)

•   Postural strain from work or driving

•   Exposure to bright lights or loud noise

•   Prolonged reading

•   Stress, anxiety and depression

•   Excessive tiredness or fatigue

•   Medication overuse

This last one is of particular importance, as the overuse of painkillers to treat TTH can ignite the onset of another type of headache known as ‘Chronic Daily Headaches’. These headaches are usually unaffected by pain medication and the person may also begin to experience migraines. Symptoms tend to be more severe than your average TTH.

CAN THEY BE TREATED?

Fortunately, there is a lot of help out there for such headaches. Usually the best course of action is to remove the trigger for your headache. This can be sometimes hard to work out, and we can help you identify what might be the root cause of your headaches. Your therapist can help to resolve those tight and sore muscles around the head, neck and shoulders by performing soft tissue massage, joint mobilisation and possibly manipulation techniques. They will also look at your posture when standing, sitting and lying down to try and highlight areas for improvement.

Other forms of treatment may include:

•   A visit to the dentist if you grind or clench excessively

•   Relaxation, breathing and stress-relieving techniques

•   Improving sleep patterns and cycles

•   Psychological therapy which may or may not include anti-depressant/anxiety medication

•   A visit to your GP to discuss medication use, if the cause of your headache has been highlighted as potentially relating to the amount of medication you are taking – remember those chronic daily headaches we mentioned earlier?

So, please do not suffer headaches in silence. Speak out (it’s good to talk after all) and book an appointment with your friendly Osteo to start your journey to beating headaches. You’ll feel the tension just melting away!