Understanding It
What Neck Pain Is
The neck supports the weight of the head through seven small vertebrae, a set of discs, and a large number of muscles and ligaments. It is built for mobility, which means it is more exposed to strain than the rest of the spine.
Most neck pain is mechanical: coming from the joints, muscles and ligaments rather than from nerve compression or disease. It is often described as non-specific, meaning no single structure can be pinpointed, which is common and not a cause for alarm.
How does it usually present?
- Aching or sharp pain in the neck, often one-sided
- Stiffness and reduced ability to turn or tilt the head
- Pain spreading into the upper shoulders, between the shoulder blades or into the base of the skull
- Headaches originating at the back of the head
- Muscle tightness or tenderness on touch
- Symptoms worse after long periods at a desk, on a phone, or after poor sleep
- Occasionally pins and needles or referred pain into the arm
When to Act
When to Seek Help
See a clinician if pain persists beyond a week or two, keeps returning, is disturbing sleep, or comes with arm symptoms.See your GP promptly if you have unexplained weight loss, fever, a history of cancer, or neck pain that is constant and markedly worse at night.
Seek emergency care immediately if you have:
- Neck pain following a significant accident, fall or head injury
- Severe headache with neck stiffness and fever, or sensitivity to light
- Weakness, clumsiness or numbness in the arms or legs
- Problems with balance, walking, or bladder or bowel control
- Sudden severe neck pain unlike anything you have had before
Causes & Risk
What Causes It and Who Is at Risk
Common contributors include sustained postures at a screen or phone, sleeping awkwardly, sudden movements, stress-related muscle tension, and previous neck injury. Age-related changes in the joints and discs become more common from the forties onwards and can contribute, though they are also found in people without symptoms.
Whiplash from a motor vehicle accident is a distinct cause with its own management pathway.
How We Help
How Our Team Can Help
Our osteopaths and physiotherapists assess how your neck moves, which structures are irritated, and what in your day is keeping it irritated. Treatment may include manual therapy and soft tissue work, graded exercise for the neck and upper back, and practical changes to your workstation, phone use and sleeping set-up.
Osteopathy
Manual therapy and soft tissue work, graded exercise for the neck and upper back, and practical changes to your workstation, phone use and sleeping set-up.
Physiotherapy
Manual therapy, graded exercise, and practical adjustments to the daily activities keeping the neck irritated.
Remedial Massage
May be used alongside where muscular tension is a major contributor, particularly for headaches originating from the neck.
For headaches originating from the neck, treatment aims to address the neck itself rather than the headache in isolation. We work within the evidence and will refer back to your GP where medical assessment is the appropriate next step.
Starting Out
What to Expect at Your First Appointment
Your clinician will ask how the pain started and what aggravates it, screen for the warning features above, and examine neck movement, joint function and muscle tension. Where arm symptoms are present they will also test strength, reflexes and sensation.
You will receive an explanation, initial treatment, and a plan including exercises and practical adjustments. Appointments are available in clinic at Roxburgh Park or in your home.
Ready to book?
Ready to get started?
Contact inOne Healthcare on 1300 765 456 or submit a referral online. Neck pain is most commonly managed by our Osteopathy, Physiotherapy and Remedial Massage teams.
info@inonehealthcare.com.au
Flexible Options
Funding we accept.
Medicare
TAC
NDIS
Support at Home
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Free 20min Consultation
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