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Physical Therapy for Neck Pain

Neck pain is one of the most common conditions that we see in our physical therapy office in Greenville, South Carolina.  It’s so common, we created a free guide to help people kickstart their recovery process.  The types of neck pain we treate include pain in the back of the neck, upper spine area, or just below the head.  We also treat neck pain when there is nerve involvement.  In these cases, neck pain extends beyond the back of the neck to areas such as the upper back, shoulder, and arm.

Neck pain most frequently affects adults aged 30 to 50 years.  Risk factors for developing neck pain include poor posture, repetitive lifting, cycling, and office and computer work.

People with neck pain can have difficulty performing activities such as working, driving, athletic activity, or simply turning their heads.  Fortunatley, the majority of neck pain episodes do not require surgery and respond well to physical therapy.

People with neck pain may experience stiffness in the neck, and may describe the pain they feel as:

  • Sharp
  • Stabbing
  • Dull
  • Aching
  • Throbbing
  • Tingling

Some of the common signs of neck pain include:

  • Inability to bend or rotate the neck
  • Difficulty looking up
  • Difficulty looking over the shoulder
  • Weak arm and shoulder muscles
  • Muscle spasms

Some patients may also experience:

  • Pain in the neck, upper back, shoulders, arms, or hands
  • Numbness or tingling in the neck, shoulders, arms, or hands
  • Weakness in the arms
  • Increased pain when coughing, sneezing, reaching, or sitting
  • Inability to stand straight or sit up straight
  • Stiffness when trying to move, or a feeling of being “stuck” in a position such as stooped forward, or with the head leaning to the side
  • Tight muscles
  • Headaches
  • Inability to remain in one position for a long period of time, such as sitting or standing, due to pain
  • Pain that is worse in the morning or at night
  • Difficulty sleeping due to pain

The physical therapists at Movement Solutions design custom trailored programs to help people, ages 40-60, overcome neck pain and injury and get back to being active without uneccessary medications, injections, or surgeries.

This process often begins with a free 15-minute phone consultation.  This is an opportunity to talk with one of our physical therapists about your neck pain.  We will listen to how your neck pain is affecting you, discuss how we can help, and let you know what your options are moving forward.  If you’re interested in a phone consultation, click HERE and complete a short form.

For patients who are interested in working with us, but want to make sure we’re the best fit, the next step is a free Discovery Session.  This is an opportunity to ask questions so you can have clarity with what’s going on and confidence that we can help.  We want our clients to be certain that we’re the best physical therapist for them.  If you’re interested in a Discovery Visit, click HERE and complete a short form.

Once we know that working together makes sense, we move on to the Evaluation.  The purpose of the evaluation is to get to the root cause of the problem and know how long it will take to get lasting results.

Our treatement process of neck pain is broken down into three phases.

Phase 1:  Alleviate Pain and Discomfort

Pain improvements can be made quickly with hands on therapies such as soft tissue work, gentle joint mobilizations, or dry needling.  Often times it makes sense to start on with these hands-on therapy to calm down irritated and inflamed tissue around the neck.

Phase 2:  Restore Movement and Mobility

Once pain is alleviated, we need to restore the neck, upper back, and shoulder’s ability to move.  We also need to restore movement quality.  We spend time on developing good movement habits to prevent falling into the pain cycle again.

Phase 3:  Develop Strength and Durability

To achieve lasting results, we need to develop strength and durability through resistance exercise.   The types of resistance training we use at our office include bodyweight, bands, dumbells, barbells, and kettlebells.  We develop foundational strength to get the lasting results that our clients expect.

At Movement Solutions, our three-phase approach with physical therapy makes overcoming neck pain possible. If you have neck pain and you’re interested in a long term solution, we would love to talk with you about how we can help.  If you’re eager to get started but want to know more about cost and availability at our physical therapy clinic,, click HERE and complete a short form.

If you would like further information on overcoming neck pain, we have a free guide that can give you further insight into your neck pain and can kick start your recovery process.

If you’re in neck pain and unsure about what your next steps should be, call us at (864) 558-7346 and ask how we can help.

Physical Therapist Dr. Tim Varghese
AUTHOR

Dr. Tim Varghese

Movement Solutions

"We Help Active Adults, Ages 40-60+ Overcome Pain And Injuries And Get Back To Their Favorite Activities Without Unnecessary Medications, Injections, Or Surgeries."

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