At Blackberry Clinic our chiropractors, physios and osteopaths often see patients complaining of neck pain. These patients want to know the reason for their neck pain, the causes of the neck pain and how their neck pain can be treated. In order to determine this our practitioners will take a full history and make a physical examination of the neck and spine. Treatment can be started once the cause is determined so the treatment can be focused on the correct area. This will lead to the best outcome for the patient. Often there will be some ‘homework’ to do in the form of exercises and stretches to help alleviate some of the pain.
If the neck pain is intolerable with radiating arm pain and a slipped disc is suspected, our therapists can refer you to our Pain Management or Pain Clinic doctors who are specialised in performing interventional pain relieving injections in the neck.
Our chiropractor at Blackberry Clinic Milton Keynes, Shelley Terry, outlines some of the causes and symptoms of the most common types of neck pain she sees in patients at Blackberry Clinic.
Neck pain – What could it be?
Neck pain is very common. About 2 in 3 people develop an episode of neck pain at some point in their life. One survey done in the UK found that, of adults aged 45-75 years, about 1 in 4 women and about 1 in 5 men had recurrent neck pain. Types and causes of neck pain include:
Non-specific neck pain is the most common type. This is sometimes called ‘mechanical’ neck pain. Often the exact cause or origin of the pain is not known. It may involve minor strains and sprains to muscles or ligaments in the neck and bad posture is also a contributing factor in many cases. Neck pain is more common in people who spend much of their working day at a desk, with a ‘bent-forward’ posture.
A ‘whiplash‘ jolt to the neck, most commonly due to a car crash, can cause neck pain. A whiplash neck sprain occurs when your head is suddenly jolted backwards and forwards (or forwards then backwards) in a whip-like movement, or is suddenly forcibly rotated. This can cause some neck muscles and ligaments to stretch more than normal (sprain).
Cervical spondylosis is an age-related degeneration (‘wear and tear’) of the vertebrae and discs in the neck. To an extent, we all develop some degree of degeneration in the vertebrae and discs as we become older. It tends to start sometime after the age of about 30. One feature of the degeneration is that the edges of the vertebrae often develop small, rough areas of bone called osteophytes. Over many years, the discs of the neck become thinner. This degeneration is a normal ageing process which can be likened to having ‘wrinkles in the spine’. In many people, the degeneration does not cause any symptoms. However, in some people, the nearby muscles, ligaments, or nerves may become irritated or ‘pressed on’ by the degenerative changes. So, cervical spondylosis often causes no problems but can be a cause of neck pain, particularly in older people.
Acute (sudden onset) torticollis. This is sometimes termed ‘wry neck’. A torticollis is when the head becomes twisted to one side and it is very painful to move the head back straight. The cause of acute primary torticollis is often not known. However, it may be due to a minor strain or sprain to a muscle or ligament in the neck. Some cases may be due to certain muscles of the neck being exposed to cold (‘sleeping in a draught’). It is not uncommon for people to go to bed feeling fine and to wake up the next morning with an acute torticollis. The pain usually eases and clears away over a few days without any treatment. More chronic cases can however benefit greatly from manual therapy in order to reduce the muscle spasm.
Cervical radiculopathy is when the root of a nerve is pressed on or damaged as it comes out from the spinal cord in the neck (cervical) region. As well as neck pain, there are symptoms such as loss of feeling (numbness), pins and needles, pain and weakness in parts of an arm supplied by the nerve. These other symptoms may actually be the main symptoms rather than neck pain. The common causes of a radiculopathy are cervical spondylosis and a prolapsed disc. Various less common disorders can also cause cervical radiculopathy.
More serious and rarer causes of neck pain include: rheumatoid arthritis, bone disorders, infections, cancers, and serious injuries that damage the vertebrae, spinal cord or nerves in the neck.
If you have a pain in the neck and want to get to the root cause, book an appointment for one of our clinicians to assess and see what could be the cause and what you can do to resolve it.
