Coastal Physiotherapy provides help for neck pain to the North West Coast of Tasmania including Burnie and Somerset.

Do you have symptoms including the following?

• Persistent neck pain in the morning
• Hard to reverse the car or look at traffic in one or both directions
• Headaches
• Tingling or numbness into the arms
• Muscle spasm or tightness in the neck
• Cracking or grinding within the neck
• Weakness into the arms

 What causes neck pain?

Neck pain is very common along the North West of Tasmania with as much as 10% of the population suffering some type of neck pain in their lives.  It can be caused by many factors including:

• Trauma (fall, car accident, sports injuries, lifting and carrying heavy objects)
• Posture (prolonged poor sitting, standing and lying positions)
• Muscle imbalances (weakness in the deep neck muscles)
• Existing medical conditions
• Arthritic conditions

Injuries to the neck often happen when you do something new, different, repetitive or strenuous, such as lifting something heavy in the garden or around the home.  This neck pain may also occur because of a build up of stress on the neck that gradually turns into an injury due to poor posture at work, home or a combination of both.  This neck pain may also lead to headaches.  Here at Coastal Physiotherapy we are trained in assessing and forming a treatment plan to get you back into normal life again without this neck pain.

Assessment:

Coastal Physiotherapy will conduct a comprehensive history, assessment of your neck including a neurological evaluation to find out exactly what is causing your neck pain.  Other tests that we may be suggested include an Xray, CT scan or MRI if it is appropriate.

Treatment:

Coastal Physiotherapy’s treatment plan for your neck pain will focus on correcting your function by getting your stiff joints moving, your imbalanced muscles working better and strengthening any identified weak muscles.

Techniques that we use for your neck pain include spinal mobilisation, muscle releases, strengthening work, stretching and a supervised gym/pilates program.  We may also recommend a contoured pillow to provide the correct support to your neck when you are sleeping.

Some simple steps you can take to get some short term relief and give your neck the best chance of healing quickly:

• Keep Moving: It is very important to keep moving as much as you comfortably can to avoid stiffness.
• Use Heat: Heat has shown to improve pain and function in the first 48 hours of neck pain.
• Watch your posture: Try to keep your neck in a neutral position during activities including watching TV, reading or using your computer.
• Exercises: Some basic neck stretches may reduce neck stiffness and muscle tightness.

Please contact us to arrange a comprehensive neck pain consultation to help identify the exact nature of your neck pain and begin to correct it with help from Coastal Physiotherapy (Burnie and Somerset).