Neck pain is most often felt in the back of the neck, but also can extend to the shoulders and spine and even cause headaches. This type of pain can be a chronic issue for more than a quarter of the United States population. Neck pain can be caused by many things from physiological conditions to injuries and accidents.
You may be at a higher risk for developing neck pain if:
- You have poor posture
- You are obesity
- You smoke
- You participate in repetitive lifting (weights or work related)
- You routinely perform office and computer work
- You are involved in athletic activity
Neck pain can interfere with many of your daily activities from driving to working or playing sports. Sometimes, neck pain can become so intrusive that it is painful to simply turn one’s head, or you may have headaches so severe they limit you from doing pretty much anything!
Most neck pain does not require surgery and can be resolved with the help of physical therapy. If you need a physical therapist for neck pain in Philadelphia visit Petroski Physio and schedule an appointment today!
Neck pain can present in different ways, depending on the exact damage or problem that a particular individual is facing. Some of the symptoms of neck pain can include:
- Can’t bend or turn the neck
- Hard to look up
- Hard to look over the shoulder
- Weakness in the arms or shoulder
- Muscle spasms
- Direct pain in neck, back, shoulders, or arms
- Numbness or tingling
- Pain when coughing, sneezing or moving
- Can’t stand straight
- Stiffness
- Tight muscles
- Headaches
- Cannot remain in one position for extended time
- Pain that is worse at certain times of day
- Difficulty sleeping
Do I Need Physical Therapy for Neck Pain?
Visiting a physical therapist for neck pain is the best thing you can do to resolve the issue. Most neck pain issues can be resolved by a physical therapist, and that is a far better alternative than having to go under the knife and face a long recovery period or being forced to rely on narcotic or opioid painkillers that will put you at risk for addiction and additional health problems. These types of alternatives are also not viable for athletes who face multiple types of drug testing, and for which would be considered performance enhancing drugs and in most cases are a violation of the governing bodies of sports. Physical therapy is the only completely safe treatment that has absolutely no side effects.
A physical therapist can check you for neck and shoulder pain and will be able to ask questions and use diagnostic techniques to determine the best course of treatment to get you back to your normal activities as quickly as possible.
Physical therapy can help you avoid the need to have surgery or be on any type of pain medication by helping you to strengthen your body and learn specific exercises to relieve the stiffness and soreness that are the source of so much pain.
Petroski Physio provides the best physical therapy for shoulder pain. They do this by talking with you and understanding what type of issues that you are facing. You will be able to help a physical therapist design the best program for you to get you back to your normal level of activity in no time at all.
If you are looking for the best physical therapy for shoulder pain, schedule an appointment with Petroski Physio and get on the road to recovery today!
Why Physical Therapy?
Your doctor has likely told you that physical therapy is the best answer for neck and shoulder pain, but you may not understand why. The easy answer is that physical therapy works and it works without the dangers of other types of treatments and therapies.
Sometimes, people will undergo exploratory surgeries in hopes of relieving back, shoulder or neck pain. The problem with this is that these surgeries are not always successful and can actually leave a patient in more pain than they were in before the surgery.
Not only are painkillers not only effective and present the possibility of addiction, painkillers also lose their effectiveness over time because your body builds up a tolerance to them. This means they are not a viable long term option.
The best option for treating back shoulder and neck pain is physical therapy. If you find yourself in need of best physical therapy for shoulder pain or a physical therapist for neck pain, schedule a consultation with Petroski Physio, and let us show you what we can do to help you!