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Neck Pain Relief.Dealing with Cervical Neck Pain.Are you looking for Neck Pain Relief? Before we look at different aspects of your Neck muscle Pain and it's treatment, it is useful to point out that neck pain is commonly severe in nature.Neck Pain is also usually associated with upper back, shoulder and arm pain. Stiffness is also common and often precedes neck pain. Even your jaw may become affected by your neck dysfunction. Treatment is effective and, as always, a correct diagnosis is required followed by appropriate manual therapy and exercises. Support items such as pillows - used correctly - can be of great use in treating your condition. In this section we will look at many aspects of neck pain. Starting with the anatomy of the neck, different types of neck pain and moving onto the possible causes of your neck pain. We will then look at appropriate treatment and exercise for each type of pain - including the use of relief products and appropriate use of neck support. Your neck includes 7 bony vertebrae, and their surrounding muscles, ligaments, fascia, nerves and discs (see neck anatomy further down this page).  Cervical neck pain can arise from any of the structural components of your neck.
Most commonly cervical neck pain arises from an injury or dysfunction to your neck muscles, ligaments, nerves or discs.
I divide Cervical neck pain into 5 categories:
Identifying the main cause of your pain is the priority and requires a thorough physiotherapy assessment. Manual treatment and exercises are then typically required to resolve your pain. So, what are the possible causes of your neck pain? The causes of neck pain are many - that is, there are many incidents and conditions that can trigger neck pain. You may have a hard time believing, however, that I have never seen a neck pain injury in a client who has good posture. In all of the neck pain injuries I see - the client always has a poor upper back or neck posture. Posture is ultimately the main underlying cause of neck pain and related injuries that I see.  I frequently suggest to my clients who come to me to treat neck pain that their neck pain is due
to the position that they work in.
They often question me - they say that their friend who does the exact same job as them for many years has no pain -
and therefore it cannot be true.
Ultimately, we all have different natural postures: if we were born with a poor neck and back posture and have a seated job, neck pain will result eventually. However, if you are the lucky one born with a naturally good posture you can potentially sit forever without developing a neck pain. So, widening things a little - the main causes of neck pain that I see are:
Although the above are the main 5 causes of neck pain, the treatment of neck pain is the same for each. You must find the correct practitioner, who can diagnose the cause of your neck pain accurately. A proper diagnosis is followed by the appropriate manual therapy to correct any movement or alignment dysfunctions that are found. Subsequently, good posture correction and neck pain exercises will facilitate the correction of your movement disorder and strengthen the muscles needed needed to maintain correct movement. Remember, without the correct advice, your neck pain may re-occur. As always, the diagnosis of the cause is the essential factor in the full resolution of your neck pain and stiffness. To summarise, causes of neck pain are many but the success lies in the diagnosis and treatment. This involves assessment, manual therapy, posture correction and exercises. What is your best approach to treat neck pain? There really are many answers to this question. However, the success of your treatment will depend on a correct diagnosis from the outset. Seek a Physiotherapist who is well qualified in neck pain and your result of your treatment should be very successful. Treatment of your neck pain really depends on the cause of your neck pain. If you received an injury to your neck due to a whiplash or sports injury, then there is likely to be a muscle, ligament and/or joint out of function. The treatment for this type of injury requires manual therapy to correct the alignment and function, followed by strengthening exercises to facilitate a good posture and function for your neck.  Quite often,
I see people who correct the injury, but fail to strengthen their neck and posture - and this usually leads to the re-occurrence
of their injury.
Another more common cause of neck pain is postural dysfunction - where a poor sitting posture over time weakens and strains your neck muscles and ligaments causing pain. In this case, all the manual treatment in the world will not cure your neck pain. If the cause of your neck pain is poor posture while sitting then the cure lies in the posture correction through advice - which I accompany with Pilates type exercises for my own clients. As well as manual correction and education with regard to sitting posture - I often suggest products such as neck roll pillows and back support chairs that you can use to help maintain correct posture. Posture exercises for are very beneficial for the long term resolution of your symptoms. Picture this ... if a door is out of joint - that is off its hinges - then you must put it back in its hinge first and then keep it there. Putting it back in its hinge is equivalent to manual therapy and keeping it there is dependent on postural and strength exercises for your neck. If you dont follow through with the exercises the problem may well re-occur. Ultimately, the treatment of your neck pain relies on an accurate diagnosis and subsequent efficient and effective treatment. Find the professional who understands this. Are you suffering with severe neck pain? I have seen many clients walk through my clinic doors absolutely crippled with neck pain. The severity of their symptoms often finds them crying with pain and feeling exhausted after many sleepless nights. Does this sound familiar to you? Severe neck pain often results for no apparent reason - according to the stories most patients have shared with me. However, the truth is that all severe neck pain patients that I have seen have had a long standing history of poor upper back and neck posture. A lot of severe neck pain sufferers dont realise that their posture is incorrect until the damage is done. 
The good news is that posture correction will help resolve your neck pain greatly and is an absolute necessity for the prevention of further episodes of neck pain.
The most common causes of severe neck pain are muscle spasms - often known as a "Crick in the neck" - and facet joint mal-alignments resulting from whiplash injuries, or other impact injuries on the sporting field. A correct diagnosis by a Physiotherapist is absolutely essential for the correct treatment of your neck pain - followed by a correction in joint alignment as necessary. If your injury is muscular apply heat 3-4 times a day and try appropriate neck pain exercises to help in the recovery from your pain. Take anti-inflammatory medication if the pain is very severe, and move your neck and back in all directions that do not hurt. If your severe neck pain is not improving within 72 hours then seek medical advice from a doctor. Severe neck pain, if not managed well, may result in the episodes continuing. Correction of the cause of your severe neck pain is the main concern as with all injuries I treat, and if the cause of your neck pain is postural, then you must understand and seek advice in the correction of your posture. Severe neck pain will not be severe for long if you manage it well. If in doubt - talk to a qualified healthcare practitioner! Please feel free to read the following articles which highlight other aspects of Neck Pain Relief: The anatomy of the neck is very complex. However, I will attempt to make neck anatomy in this article as simple as I can for our purposes! Read more about Neck Anatomy. The base of your neck connects with your upper back, so it is very common for symptoms of neck pain to spread to the upper back area. The neck and upper back essentially work as a unit. Read more about Neck and Upper Back Pain. This is due to the nerves in your neck being damaged or trapped, resulting in a referral of pain into your arm. Remember, the body rarely presents you with pain at the site of an injury - hence the importance of a correct diagnosis. Read more about Neck Shoulder Arm Pain. Often you can have a stiff neck without pain. Your body is sending you warning signs with stiffness and pain, but unfortunately we generally only listen to pain! If we seek help when stiffness develops we can often avoid the pain! I put this lack of response down to lack of awareness and plain old human nature! Read more about Stiff Neck Pain. 
Another description for pinched nerves in the neck is impinged nerve or trapped nerve. What this implies is that a nerve in your neck is squeezed in some way, resulting in nerve pain in your neck and probably down your arm. Read more about Pinched Nerve in Neck. A neck spasm is an involuntary contracture of a muscle in your neck. The muscle shortens in length and remains in a contracted position for the duration of the spasm. Read more about how to treat a Neck Spasm. Neck-related headaches can trick you! Commonly, a client can present to my clinic with a severe headache and with a history of neck pain or neck stiffness. Rarely have my clients linked the two before arriving at my clinic. Read more about Neck Pain Headache. Depending on the nature of the trauma you have had - it may be possible to do some gentle neck exercises. However, it is usually important to see a professional for an opinion beforehand. The treatment for your neck pain will involve some exercises that you will need to carry out at home. Read more about Neck Pain Exercises. 
There are many good and and many poor quality neck pillows on the market. The bad ones will not help you resolve your neck pain. Read more about Pillows to Help Neck Pain. Neck pain behind your ear can be quite common. The causes of neck pain behind the ear are many. The most common causes of this condition that I see are ... Read more about Neck Pain Behind Ear. Arthritis of the neck may be as a result of one of two types of arthritis: Osteoarthritis or Rheumatoid arthritis. Read more about Arthritis of the Neck. This is due to the nature of a whiplash injury, which frequently has primary effect on the neck. Read more about Whiplash and Neck Injury. TMJ and Neck Pain are very closely associated - clients with TMJ pain normally have associated neck pain. The TMJ is closely related to the neck both anatomically and functionally. Let's explain this a little more. Read more about TMJ and Neck Pain. The most common cause of herniated discs in your neck is poor posture - or lack of good posture! Commonly I see clients who sit for long periods of time in poor postural positions developing disc-related problems. Read more about Herniated Disc In Neck. Although it is true to say that I have never seen anyone who uses a neck massager to have a fatal result to their health with its use, I have seen many damaged muscles and ligaments arising from inappropriate use of neck massagers. Read more about Neck Massagers. Neck stretches are many and varied. However, I am going to share with you neck strectching approaches that I find most useful on a daily basis in my physiotherapy clinic. Read more about Neck Stretches. Want to hear what other people are doing to Manage and Prevent Back Pain? Subscribe to my monthly email newsletter, "Healthy Back - Healthy Life". Full of tips on how to get back pain out of your life.
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