Neck Pain Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Bacci & Glinn Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is often the best solution for long-lasting pain that is difficult to treat

No matter how hard we try, pain is unavoidable. It may be uncomfortable, but pain is actually pretty helpful. It’s the body’s way letting us know that something is wrong and that it needs attention. Most of the time, this “pain signal” eventually goes away either on its own or after tending to it (like putting ice on a sprained ankle). But for some people, the pain signal continues long after the problem has been resolved. When it lasts for three months or more, the term “chronic pain” is used, which is usually a troublesome issue to fix.

Your Nerves are Sensors – Pain is an Output from the Brain

When you injure yourself, pain-detecting sensors become activated in that area. These sensors then send a message in the form of an electrical signal to the brain, which processes the signal and sends out a message that something is wrong. After most injuries, this signal stops after the cause of pain is resolved, meaning the injured area has healed. But with chronic pain, these nerve signals continue sending messages that you are in pain even though there is no longer any injury.

Unfortunately, the reasons behind why chronic pain occurs are not well understood. For some individuals, pain from conditions like headaches/migraines, arthritis, back pain, infections or nerve damage is the original source of pain. But even more confusing are cases in which there was no known injury or condition responsible, and yet the patient continues to experience similar chronic pain symptoms.

Chronic Pain Can be Effectively Treated with Natural Physical Therapy Care

Unlike injuries in which there is a specific cause of pain and disability, chronic pain is often far more difficult to treat, since the problem is more related to the nervous system than any physical issue. On the bright side, recent research is helping experts better understand the mechanisms behind chronic pain and what treatments are effective for addressing it. Physical therapists often see patients with chronic pain and are equipped to treat them with a variety of interventions that have been found to be helpful. Some of these include:

Education on how the brain and nervous system are causing the pain
Strengthening and flexibility exercises
Hands-on (manual) therapy techniques
Posture and body mechanics awareness

A recent study investigated the use of routine physical therapy and the addition of a technique commonly used by therapists called cervical mobilization for chronic neck pain. They found both to be beneficial, which can be seen in the study’s conclusion:

The results suggest that a combination of cervical mobilization with routine physical therapy is more effective for reducing pain and disability and improving neck muscle endurance and neck flexibility in patients with chronic mechanical neck pain compared to routine physiotherapy alone

So for those of you who have been dealing with any type of chronic pain and are frustrated with your progress, the best decision you can make is to see a physical therapist for a personalized, comprehensive treatment program that’s right for you. For more information, click here to contact us.

Chronic Neck Pain Treatment in Visalia

For long-term neck pain that just won’t go away, a comprehensive physical therapy program is the fastest path to improvement

Cervical spine pain is a common diagnosis and for many it can last more than three months (then you are labeled as a chronic pain patient). Physical therapy is a definitely something to consider if you are looking for chronic neck pain treatment in Visalia.

Neck pain is one of the most common health problems throughout the world, and it’s second only to back pain when it comes to painful disorders affecting the muscles or bones. Statistics vary on just how prevalent neck pain is, but some figures estimate that up to 80% of Americans experience at least one episode of neck pain each year. Dealing with neck pain can prove to be a major obstacle in living and functioning normally, and can even lead to some individuals being unable to work.

The majority of people who get neck pain improve on their own within a few days or possibly longer, but for some, it spirals into a long-term and bothersome problem. Between 50-85% of patients who develop neck pain will not experience a complete improvement in their symptoms, and almost half of these individuals will go on to have chronic neck pain. The term chronic neck pain is used to describe pain that lasts for more than three months, and it can lead to additional issues like stress, anxiety, reduced quality of life and a tendency to avoid certain behaviors that might aggravate the pain.

This shows why it’s important to develop strategies for treating patients with neck pain early in order to help them avoid any long-term complications from their problem. There are many treatments available to address neck pain, but one of the most reliable approaches is physical therapy.

The primary benefit of physical therapy is that it takes into account each patient’s symptoms, goals and abilities, and each treatment program is tailored around these individual factors to produce the best possible outcomes. Programs vary from patient to patient, but usually include a variety of treatments, such as massage, patient education, exercise therapy, stretches and/or manual therapy, which consists of mobilizations and manipulations applied to the neck region by the hands of a physical therapist.

A recent study evaluated the effectiveness of cervical mobilization—a type of manual therapy—as a component of a physical therapy program for patients with neck pain, and the conclusion shows why this intervention is used so frequently:

The results suggest that a combination of cervical mobilization with routine physical therapy is more effective for reducing pain and disability and improving neck muscle endurance and neck range of motion in patients with chronic mechanical neck pain compared to routine physical therapy alone.

Just because neck pain is common doesn’t mean it’s something that should hold you back in your daily endeavors. Address your neck pain early by seeing a physical therapist if you notice lingering symptoms, and you’ll be reducing your chances of experiencing bothersome long-term problems associated with chronic neck pain.

Neck Pain Treatment in Hanford

Neck pain can ruin your concentration, your work, and negatively impact personal relationships. If you live in nearby and are looking for neck pain treatment in Hanford, here’s some information about how a physical therapist can effectively address your neck pain.

Painful symptoms can strike any region of the spine, and although the most common area affected is the lower back, pain in the upper spine within the neck is also quite common. This type of pain may not get as much attention as lower back pain, but it can be equally disabling and frustrating. Fortunately, neck pain can also be successfully treated with a course of physical therapy.

Neck pain is the third most common cause of chronic pain—after back pain and headaches—and its overall prevalence in today’s working population is approximately 45%. This is about half the prevalence of back pain, which means that for every two people that have back pain, about one will have neck pain.

Most cases of neck pain cases are due to a muscle strain or sprain of tendons or ligaments in the neck or areas that support it. Some of the more typical causes of neck pain include sleeping on your neck wrong, sitting or standing for prolonged periods with bad posture and carrying a heavy backpack, purse or briefcase. Neck pain can also develop from conditions like osteoarthritis, a herniated disc or spinal stenosis, or from sudden injuries that may cause whiplash or other neck problems.

Its main symptoms include pain that is often worsened by holding or lifting your head in place for long periods, muscle tightness and spasms, decreased ability to move your head and headaches. For some people, neck pain is also accompanied by upper back or shoulder pain, and pain in the shoulder may actually be referred from the neck.

Physical Therapy is Well Established as a Great First-Line Therapy Option

For individuals with neck pain, regardless of its cause, physical therapy is one of the most proven effective methods to address it. A typical treatment program for a patient with neck pain will consist of the following components:

Stretching and strengthening exercises
Posture training
Pain-relieving modalities like ice and heat
Functional training
Manual (hands-on) therapy

To illustrate how these types of interventions can benefit patients with neck pain, take a look at the findings of a recent study, which compared physical therapy in general to manual therapy, one type of physical therapy treatment commonly used for neck pain:

Patients with neck pain improved in both groups without statistical significantly or clinically relevant differences between the manual therapy and physical therapy groups during one-year follow-up.
Reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28465824

These results show that regardless of whether patients received general physical therapy or manual therapy, they experienced similar improvements in their symptoms. This is just one of countless studies that points out how physical therapy can help neck pain patients, and should serve as encouragement for you to see your local physical therapist if you are currently dealing with any type of neck pain. Doing so is likely to be your best option for a overcoming your pain and getting back to a pain-free lifestyle.

Call Us Today & Start Feeling Better Tomorrow – Contact Our Hanford Office For More Information

Visalia Headache Specialist Near Me

Overcome your frustrating headaches with the help of a Visalia headache specialists … one of our expert trained physical therapists here at Bacci & Glinn Physical Therapy.

Frequent headaches can sure throw a wrench in your spokes, and most of us know how they can interfere with our ability to function normally. But for the 45 million Americans with chronic headaches, this inconvenience doesn’t just come and go every so often. Instead, headaches are a regular occurrence that can strike them any time.

Over 100 different types of headaches have been classified, but they are all generally categorized as either primary or secondary. A primary headache simply means the headache itself is the disorder, while secondary headaches result from other conditions like a neck strain, TMJ muscle disorder, stroke, infection or head injury.

Most headaches are caused by a combination of factors, and different triggers can set off headaches in different people. Some of the more common causes of primary headaches include stress, anxiety, lack of physical activity, bad sleeping habits, certain medications, poor diet and bad posture. In every case, it’s important to determine the type of headache first before attempting to treat it.

Headaches Often Respond Favorably to Physical Therapist Directed Treatment

No single treatment exists that’s capable of eliminating all headaches, but all types are treatable. While many people reach for pain-relieving medications like ibuprofen or acetaminophen when a headache hits, these drugs don’t offer a long-term solution to the problem and may not even work for some individuals. Physical therapy, on the other hand, is designed to identify the problem that’s causing the headache and then address it with a variety of interventions.

A physical therapy treatment program for chronic headaches will usually include some of the following components:

Soft tissue mobilization: rhythmic soft-tissue stretching of the neck and upper back muscles
LightForce™ laser therapy: the 15 Watt therapeutic laser facilitates pain relief
Neck mobilization: manual technique to gently move joints of the neck
Strengthening exercises: to increase strength of the muscles that stabilize the upper back and neck
Stretching exercises: to increase range of motion to tight muscles in the neck, chest, and upper back
Posture education: making slight modifications to the home or office to improve overall spinal posture, reduce stress and increase body awareness

Clinically Proven Headache Treatment for Visalia Residents

Research has shown that physical therapy can be effective for helping patients with headaches to improve, like this recent study, which concludes:

Compared with usual care, participants receiving physiotherapy reported significant reductions in headache frequency immediately after treatment (mean difference -1.6 days, 95% confidence interval [CI] -2.5 to -0.6), at 6-month follow-up (-1.7 days, 95% CI -2.6 to -0.8), and at 9-month follow-up (-2.4 days, 95% CI -3.2 to -1.5), and significant improvements in all secondary outcomes immediately posttreatment and at 6- and 9-month follow-ups, (p<.05 for all). No adverse events were reported.

CONCLUSIONS:Physiotherapy treatment provided benefits over usual care for seniors with recurrent headache associated with neck pain and dysfunction. Reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27497890

Headaches may be nuisance to your daily life, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Contact our physical therapy team for a complete evaluation of your condition and a personalized treatment program that will address your issues and reduce the occurrence of these bothersome episodes. Click here to for contact information that’s right on our home page.

Best Neck Pain Specialist in Visalia?

If you’re dealing with neck pain, we’d like so share with you why we are a top candidate for best neck pain specialist in Visalia.

Whether it’s from sleeping with your head in an awkward position or spending too much time hunched over the computer, most of you have dealt with neck pain at one time or another. While not as prevalent as low back pain, neck pain is still one of the most common of all painful conditions, and it can significantly get in the way of our daily activities. Fortunately, a course of physical therapy is one of the best possible ways to address it.

Every year, about 15% of Americans experience neck pain for at least one full day. Most cases of neck pain are due to a muscle strain or sprain of tendons or ligaments in the neck, which can occur from sleeping incorrectly, bad posture, performing repetitive movements or carrying a heavy bag. For the majority of people, this type of neck pain will improve on its own over a few days or weeks. But sometimes, the pain continues for much longer, which is then called chronic neck pain.

Other causes of neck pain that may develop gradually over time include conditions like osteoarthritis, a herniated disc, disc degeneration and spinal stenosis. Whatever its case, the most common symptoms include pain that is usually gets worse from holding or lifting your head in place for long periods, muscle tightness and spasms, a decreased ability to move your head and headaches. For some people, neck pain is also accompanied by upper back or shoulder pain, and pain in the shoulder may actually be referred from the neck.

If neck pain does occur, there are a number of treatment options available.

Seeing one of our physical therapists is the best first choice for the following reasons:

Little to no side effects
All natural treatment – no additive drugs, harmful radiation, or needles
Clinically proven treatment

With the use of therapeutic exercises, neuromuscular re-education, and other interventions a physical therapist can help reduce your pain and improve your function. Each treatment program will be different and depends on the type and seriousness of the injury, but most treatment will include the following components:

Ice and/or heat
Stretching exercises
Strengthening exercises
Posture training
Functional mobility
Soft tissue mobilization & other manual therapies

To illustrate just how effective physical therapy can be for neck pain, a recent study compared one group of patients who received education only to another that followed specific exercises as well, and the results were as follows:

The exercise group showed statistically significant improvements in physical health-related quality of life, mental health-related quality of life, depression, pain threshold and muscle function compared to the education-only group.

For the Best Neck Pain Specialist in Visalia, the Logical Choice is Bacci & Glinn Physical Therapy

So if you’ve been dealing with neck pain that is getting in the way of your daily activities and the things you love to do, see one of our physical therapist first and fast. Doing so is your best bet for a successful recovery and a quick return to a pain-free lifestyle. Click here to visit our contact page.