A Pain in the Neck
As a physiotherapist, I come across my fair share of stiff joints and tight muscles, however one of the most common areas by far for aches and pains has to be the neck.
More often than not people present in the practice frustrated with one or more of the following symptoms:
- a dull constant ache in the neck and shoulders
- difficulty to turning to one side or the other
- an ache between the shoulder blade and the spine.
- a feeling of tightness in the neck and shoulders
- a feeling that the shoulder is not sitting in the right place
- sitting for long periods and working really triggers their discomfort
- can't get comfortable whilst sleeping
- headaches at the back/front of the head and sometimes behind the eyes
Whilst these symptoms could be the result of a number of diagnoses, the increasingly common cause is cervical postural syndrome.
Predominantly seen in the desk jockey population, cervical postural syndrome is unfortunately the bi-product of our modern lifestyle and the nature of many jobs. It stems from- you guessed it - your posture!
Modern facilities are making our life easier and with them the need for us to move is becoming less and less. As a result the strength and endurance, not just in our postural muscles (see above picture), but also in many other major muscle groups, such as our gluteals and core muscles, is not what it needs to be.
You've all heard the saying; “if you don't use it, you lose it!”. So as our postural muscles become weaker, their ability to support the neck also diminishes. You can imagine that the neck is not going to be happy when it doesn't have any help to hold it up. It's like asking you to go to work without a car- you'd have to walk to work all of a sudden, you'd be tired and cranky. Same goes for your neck. the joints and muscles become irritated and hence you feel pain. Often times, weak muscles also become tight, adding to the problem.
The good news is, if you are relating to one or more of the symptoms mentioned above, a physiotherapist will definitely be able to help you out! A few select stretches as well as a good strengthening regime such as a personalized clinical exercise program to help build endurance in neck, shoulder and core muscles, can certainly improve your pain levels and functional capabilities.
So head into the clinic today so we can get on to tackling your 'pain in the neck!'. In the mean time, be sure to keep your neck moving frequently with shoulder and neck rolls throughout the day. If 'not using it is loosing it', then 'movement is medicine!'.
Arpitha (Arpi) Shastry
Physiotherapist, Back In Motion Rowville
Click on the images below to expand.
