THE NEWSLETTER ABOUT YOUR HEALTH AND CARING FOR YOUR BODY Health Tips Newsletter
SAY GOODBYE TO NECK PAIN
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INSIDE : • Focus On Neck Pain To Relieve Headaches • Featured PT
• Exercise Of The Month • Patient Success Spotlight
With excessive forward head posture, we are placing a greater strain on our necks, causing the muscles to tighten up and restrict our range of motion (ROM). Neck pain isn’t just associated with postural problems, it can also be caused by trauma such as a fall, a sports injury, a car accident, or degenerative changes such as arthritis. These conditions can also irritate nerves that originate in the neck and send numbness, tingling and pain all the way into the hands.
Chin tucks are a great start to managing your neck pain, but our certified Physical Therapists at Excel can work with you to identify the true source of your pain, determine what other activities may be contributing, and then create an individualized plan based on your goals and needs. Our treatment model focuses on hands-on therapy, combining it with therapeutic exercises which is consistent with the most up to date research (JOSPT 2017). Our therapy is a gentle hands-on approach that focuses on specific neck movements, and mobilizes the cervical and thoracic spine to address your specific biomechanical requirements, reducing tension on the neck. Your therapist will provide a number of exercises that can be performed in the clinic and at home. This plan will strengthen both the neck and the shoulder regions, while also concentrating on coordination, proprioception, and postural training. This multimodal approach of hands-on therapy and therapeutic exercises is your first step to saying goodbye to neck pain. Whether you want to return to driving, get back to work, or simply look over your shoulder without pain, at Excel your therapist will help you devise a plan to reach these goals in the fastest, safest and most effective way possible.
By Tara Chadwick, PT, DPT
Whatever the source of your neck pain, recent research shows that early physical therapy intervention is associated with lower rates of opioid prescriptions, a reduction in the need for imaging, such as X rays and MRI’s, and reduced out of pocket cost for patients (Ford 2018). Thankfully, if you are experiencing pain or if you spend a lot of time on the computer, there are simple exercises you can start today that will improve your neck motion and posture. Chin tucks are a great exercise which can be performed almost anywhere. Start by sitting up tall and placing your index finger on your chin. Without moving your finger, draw your head directly backward away from your finger, like you are making a double chin. Hold for 10 seconds and repeat. This simple exercise will help to start retraining your neck muscles and provide greater support for your head. These are gentle exercises and shouldn’t cause any discomfort, but if you are unsure if you are performing them correctly, you can always talk to one of our therapists.
Sources:
1. Horn ME, Fritz JM. Timing of physical therapy consultation on 1-year healthcare utilization and costs in patients seeking care for neck pain: a retrospective cohort. BMC Health Serv Res. 2018;18(1):887. 2.BlanpiedPR,GrossAR,ElliottJM,etal.NeckPain:Revision2017.JOrthopSportsPhysTher.2017;47(7):A1- A83.
YOU DO NOT NEED A DOCTOR’S PRESCRIPTION TO SEEK PHYSICAL THERAPY IN THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA YOU HAVE DIRECT ACCESS TO PHYSICAL THERAPY
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