Think back to the times when you have fallen asleep in an awkward position and had the unexpected pleasure of waking up to a “crick in your neck.” You know when you have an aching neck it makes it very difficult to turn your head to check your blind spots when driving, bend your head forward to check your cell phone, or enjoy knitting or crocheting without discomfort or pain.
Now let’s say you’re like most people who think “oh, it’s not that bad”. When not handled appropriately and immediately, this small “crick” in your neck can lead to:
- Tension headaches
- Facet joint (the junction between two neck vertebrae) dysfunction
- Inability to perform daily tasks safely
Good News! Physical Therapy can address many of these ‘pain in the neck’ problems. It’s important to remember that in order to address any kind of pain or discomfort for good, you need to handle the root cause of that problem. In most cases, the root cause of this pain is tightness and bound up muscles in the neck. Heat, massage and medication will handle this discomfort temporarily, but not permanently. Physical therapy is an effective and conservative treatment option to relieve your aching neck FOR GOOD!
Common Causes of Discomfort and Pain:
- Sleeping in a compromised position. Before you go to bed each night, it’s important to think about which position provides you with the most comfort and spinal support. For instance, those who sleep on their side tend to need additional pillows to prop their head up so it stays in line with their spine.
- Improper Posture. When someone is constantly in a forward head position, or when they have to rotate their head in one direction for an extended period of time, they risk adding additional stress to the neck muscles.
- Sports. Athletics can also be a main cause of the “crick” in your neck, especially sports that involve quick and aggressive movements of the shoulders and neck, such as golf and tennis.
- Improper setup. This could be a work station, your television at home or even your phone in your hand. Each of these activities should be done with proper setups in order to help avoid any achy neck issues. Work stations should be set up to minimize all discomfort.
If you’re dealing with any kind of neck pain or discomfort, CALL Loudoun Sports Therapy Center at 703-450-4300 TODAY. Our Physical Therapists will begin helping you to alleviate your pain so you get back to the things you enjoy most.
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