Why Does My Neck Hurt?

Osteopaths are highly skilled in treating patients with neck pain. During treatment, our focus is on treating the root cause of your pain. Therefore, we will rarely only focus on your neck; we will examine your entire spine, where we may often find additional structures that contribute to your neck pain.

Along with osteopathic treatment, we also address any other predisposing factors, such as poor ergonomic set-ups and stress, which could exacerbate your pain.

6 Symptoms Of Neck Pain

Some common symptoms associated with Neck Pain are:

1. A burning or prickling sensation in the neck
2. Intense pain in the shoulder and/or radiating down the arm
3. Inflammation of the joints in the neck
4. Disturbed sleep patterns (due to pain lying in bed)
5. Restricted mobility and loss of range of motion in the neck (e.g. unable to rotate neck whilst driving)
6. Headaches associated with neck pain

What Causes Neck Pain?

1. Biomechanical Issues: This is probably the most common cause of neck pain. Neck pain can arise from using and loading the neck when working at your desk, sleeping, exercising, driving, and many more. Spinal restrictions in the neck and throughout the spine right down to the pelvis can have an immense impact on how your neck functions as part of your entire skeleton system. Even grinding your teeth and jaw tightness can affect the neck.
2. Trauma: where someone has a sporting accident, fall or car accident, for example – Direct tears to discs, ligaments, muscles or damage to cartilage and nerves can occur.
3. Osteoarthritis: a common condition affecting neck joints in the elderly or patients who have had several neck injuries in the past.
4. Diseases: Certain diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, meningitis or cancer, can cause neck pain.

Neck Pain Conditions Suitable For Osteopathic Treatment

• Generalised Aches and Pains
• Trauma, Injuries and Sprains
• Postural Over Strains from Prolonged Sitting
• Whiplash
• Trapped / Irritated Nerves
• Jaw Pain
• Headaches – Migraine Headache, Tension-Type Headache and Stress and Cervicogenic Headaches

Do I Require Imaging? 

An osteopath will undertake a detailed medical case history and consider all the above causes of neck pain during the initial consultation. A thorough examination of the neck and the entire spine and peripheral joints will be undertaken to determine the root cause of your neck pain.

In cases where acute trauma (tear to a ligament, cartilage or muscles) is suspected, we can refer a patient for imaging of the Neck (MRI, Ultrasound, X-Ray). If surgery is required, our Osteopaths will refer you to an Orthopaedic specialist. You do not need to see your GP for this referral. We have an excellent network of Surgeons and Musculoskeletal specialists that we refer to.

How Can An Osteopath Help?

Once we have diagnosed that your pain is coming from various structures in your neck or spine, we will compile a comprehensive treatment plan tailored specifically to each patient. Treatment plans centre around osteopathic treatment using highly skilled techniques to ease your neck pain, restore movement, and ease aches and pains in your neck. We also focus on more long-term rehabilitation exercises to improve mobility and strength in your neck and spine.

It’s also important to remember that neck pain can affect people of all ages; children, teenagers, the elderly – it’s is not always caused by old age!

When we treat patients with neck pain, our main aim is to return patients back to health and the activities they normally enjoy doing as quickly as possible!

How Long Will It Take For My Injury To Heal?

The process of healing begins almost immediately after a neck injury and proceeds in a relatively organised fashion. It follows 3 Phases of Healing that often overlap and can take anywhere from a few weeks to months to heal, depending on the severity of the injury. For more information about the healing process – Click Here.

So don’t suffer neck pain needlessly – we’re here to help!

If you are struggling with neck pain or headaches – Our Osteopaths are here to help you!

Please do not hesitate to contact Lorraine Herity at Better Health Osteopathy in Christchurch today. Call 027 755 5700 or book online.