Physical Therapy and Neck Pain
Neck pain affects 15.1% of the United States’ general population every 3 months and ranks fourth in global disability. Because of the tendency for neck pain to become a chronic issue, it is important to identify risk factors that could encourage prevention and early diagnosis.
15.1% of the United States general population is affected by neck pain every 3 months. This puts neck pain at 4th in global disabilities. Due to the constant stressors and high use of our cervical region, it is important to find the root cause of an individual’s neck pain prior for it to become a chronic issue. Neck pain can come from a variety of different source tissues including muscles, joints, and ligaments. Everyday wear and tear on your body can also affect your neck with the biggest component being your daily posture.
With the increased use of cell phones and computers, individuals’ posture is becoming more forward-headed and rounded shoulders, reversing your natural lordotic cervical curve. This posture then is causing increased stress and pressure on your cervical spine and muscles to keep your head up. Physical therapy interventions of manual and therapeutic exercises will help reduce the impairments involved in an individual’s neck pain symptoms.
Source:
Kim R, Wiest C, Clark K, Cook C, Horn M. Identifying risk factors for first-episode neck pain: A systematic review. Musculoskelet Sci Pract. 2018;33:77?83. doi:10.1016/j.msksp.2017.11.007