Diagnose, relieve and prevent debilitating neck pain
Relieve pain immediately and optimise your health in the long term. This is how we work with you at St Kilda Osteopathy. You’ll get an accurate diagnosis for the cause of your neck pain, and dedicated time to ensure you understand your condition or injury.
Rather than just treat short term pain – which can return and create ongoing problems – we develop a complete plan for your specific management and care.
We treat:
- Sharp and sudden neck pain
- Dull and aching, nagging pain
- Muscle and joint neck pain
- Neck stiffness and mobility problem
- Recurring pain from an old injury
- Neck pain and headaches
- Neck pain causing pins and needles
- Motor vehicle or other accident causing neck pain, including whiplash
- Sports injuries
- Repetitive strain
- Postural strain of neck and shoulders
- Neck pain from arthritis
- Neck pain from disc injuries
- Neck pain from muscle tightness and stress
Whatever kind of neck pain you have, we will help you to feel better in the short term and establish and maintain a healthy and pain free life in the long term.
Arthritis in the neck
There are many forms of arthritis that people may suffer with but arthritis in the neck is most commonly from Osteoarthritis. This is arthritis from “wear and tear” of the joints in the neck and degeneration over time.
Arthritis in the neck can also be caused from an acute injury that may have happened many years prior and caused a major strain and change in the musculoskeletal framework, therefore putting more load on the affected joints, and hence caused early onset arthritis and pain to show up in the neck causing pain.
Arthritis in the neck commonly presents with neck pain, neck stiffness, muscle spasm, and restricted movement of the head and neck, and even the shoulders too. It can also have accompanying referred pain and muscle weakness to the shoulders, upper arms, elbow, wrist and hand/s. It may be one sided or on both sided, depending on the severity. Usually though the referral is one sided.
It can be diagnosed by your symptoms and confirmed by X-ray or MRI or CT scan. Treatment can include using heat, hands on osteopathic treatment and medication.
Neck Injury
Neck pain from an injury can be caused by many different factors. Causes can include from a motor vehicle accident, a fall or a trauma to the head or neck or upper back or even a workplace or sporting injury.
Having a neck injury can cause muscle spasm, joint lock and irritation, nerve impingement, muscle and joint degeneration, disc derangement, disc bulges (prolapse or slipped disc) associated headaches, migraines and referred muscle and nerve pain to the shoulders, arm and/or hands.
The pain associated with a neck injury may be acute or chronic, or there may even be an acute flare up of a chronic injury.
Regardless of whether the injury is acute or chronic the underlying injury and pain is what we, as Osteopaths, can help diagnose, treat, rehabilitate and manage.
Neck Pain from Sleeping
Have you ever woken up in the morning and thought "Ouch… I can’t move my neck!"
You wouldn’t believe how common it is! Known as “wry neck” or “acute wry neck” and as “Cervical Torticollis”, it is an acute and severe form of muscle spasm, joint inflammation and facet lock that occurs in the neck.
There may be been some preceding warning signs such as muscle tightness, joint stiffness, underlying stress, restless sleeping, sitting at your desk for long periods of time without moving, or for no reason at except for sleeping at a funny angle.
Pain will generally be on one side of the neck and quite intense and sharp, especially if you try and move. Your head posture will be stiff, rigid and most probably tilted to one side. And if you try and turn you will get a sharp and intense pain in the neck, both from the muscles and joints that have locked up and gone into spasm.
Osteopaths treat wry neck very often, and they usually, and thankfully, resolve in a few days, but can last up to one week.
Slipped Disc in the Neck
Disc bulges, disc prolapse, or slipped disc in the neck can be caused by factors involving trauma or more chronic conditions such as degeneration of the spine.
Disc bulges in the neck can cause constant pain, and may be worse at different times of the day, or if you have been upright or in one position for too long. Pain may be coming from the disc itself, or from associated muscle spasm and joint irritation in the neck. There may also be nerve pain if the disc bulge is more serious and severe which causes referred pain to the shoulder, arm, elbow, wrist and hand. If there is muscle weakness, pins and needles or other symptoms, these should be checked immediately too.
Osteopaths can help diagnose, treat and manage disc bulges in the neck, as well as refer to a specialist if required for further treatment and management.
Our osteopathic clinic in Melbourne is at St. Kilda. We are open Monday to Saturday and have early and late appointments available. We see patients from Melbourne CBD and other surrounding South Eastern suburbs like Elwood, Prahran, Caulfield, Middle Park, St. Kilda East, Malvern, South Yarra, Windsor, Brighton, Hampton and beyond.
To book an appointment with one of our Melbourne Osteopaths, contact us now on 03 9593 6333 or email info@stkildaosteopathy.com
