Neck Pain: 5 Common Causes and What an Osteopath Can Do to Help

Neck pain is one of the most common problems we treat at Advanced Health. It can appear after sleeping awkwardly, spending too long at a computer, lifting something heavy, playing sport or sometimes seemingly for no reason at all.

The interesting thing about neck pain is that not all neck pain is the same.

The location of the pain, how it started, what movements aggravate it and whether you have symptoms travelling into your shoulder or arm can all give us clues about what may be happening.

Here are five common causes of neck pain we see in the clinic.

1. Cervical Facet Joint Sprain or Irritation

The small joints inbetween your vertbrae in your neck are called facet joints. They help guide movement between the vertebrae and can become irritated or sprained.

How does it happen?

Common triggers include:

• Sleeping in an awkward position

• A sudden or unexpected neck movement

• Turning quickly during sport

• Prolonged or repetitive positions

• Whiplash or other trauma

What does it feel like?

Facet-related pain is often quite localised and one-sided. Turning or extending your neck may feel restricted or produce a sharp pain.

You may wake up feeling like your neck has suddenly "locked up" and find yourself turning your whole body instead of your head.

2. Cervical Disc Injury

Between each of the vertebrae in your neck are intervertebral discs. These act as load-distributing structures and allow the spine to move.

A disc can become irritated or injured, and in some cases a disc bulge or herniation may irritate a nearby nerve.

How does it happen?

Disc-related neck pain may develop following:

• Heavy or awkward lifting

• Repetitive loading

• Sudden neck trauma

• Prolonged positions

• Age-related changes within the discs

Sometimes there is no obvious triggering event.

What does it feel like?

Symptoms vary. There may be:

• Central or one-sided neck pain

• Reduced neck movement

• Pain around the shoulder blade

• Pain travelling into the arm

• Pins and needles or numbness

Symptoms travelling down the arm don't automatically mean you have a disc injury, which is one reason a proper neurological and musculoskeletal assessment is important.

3. Neck Muscle Strain

There are numerous muscles controlling the head, neck, shoulders and upper back.

Like any other muscle in the body, these tissues can become overloaded or strained.

How does it happen?

Common causes include:

• Sudden movements

• Gym or sporting injuries

• Lifting

• Repetitive work

• Holding the neck in one position for extended periods

What does it feel like?

Muscular neck pain often feels:

• Tight or aching

• Tender to touch

• Worse when stretching or contracting the affected muscle

• Stiff after prolonged sitting or inactivity

4. Whiplash-Associated Neck Injury

Whiplash commonly occurs when the head and neck are suddenly accelerated and decelerated, most famously during a motor vehicle accident.

But whiplash isn't necessarily one specific injured structure. The sudden force can affect joints, muscles, ligaments and other tissues around the cervical spine.

What does it feel like?

Symptoms may include:

• Neck pain and stiffness

• Reduced movement

• Headaches

• Shoulder or upper-back discomfort

• Muscle soreness

Interestingly, symptoms don't always appear immediately and may become more noticeable over the hours following an accident.

5. Neck Pain Associated With Posture and Repetitive Load

We don't like blaming everything on "bad posture".

There isn't one perfect posture that everyone needs to maintain all day.

What often causes problems is staying in the same position for too long.

Computers, laptops, phones, driving and repetitive work can expose the neck and upper back to sustained loads for hours at a time.

What does it feel like?

People commonly describe:

• A dull ache through the neck

• Tight shoulders

• Upper-back stiffness

• Headaches

• Symptoms that become worse as the day progresses

In these cases, the solution isn't necessarily to "sit up straight" all day. Regular movement, changing positions, improving strength and adjusting your working environment may be much more useful.

So What Does an Osteopath Do When You Present With Neck Pain?

At Advanced Health Pain, Injury & Spinal Clinic, our first priority isn't simply getting you onto the treatment table.

It's understanding why your neck hurts.

1. We Listen to the Story

Your osteopath will ask about:

• Where your pain is

• How and when it started

• What makes it better or worse

• Previous injuries

• Work and sporting demands

• Headaches, dizziness or neurological symptoms

• Your general health and medical history

How your neck pain behaves can provide important information about its likely cause.

2. We Assess Your Neck — And More Than Your Neck

We'll assess your cervical spine and may also examine your:

• Upper and mid-back

• Shoulders

• Ribs

• Jaw where relevant

• Movement patterns and posture

• Strength and neurological function when indicated

The painful area isn't always the only area contributing to the problem.

Our aim is to develop a better understanding of what's happening before deciding how to treat it.

3. Hands-On Osteopathic Treatment

Once we've assessed your neck, treatment is individualised to your presentation.

This may include:

• Joint articulation and mobilisation

• Soft-tissue treatment

• Muscle-energy techniques

• Gentle manipulation where appropriate

• Dry needling where indicated

The goal isn't simply to make something "click".

We want to restore comfortable movement, reduce pain and help your neck tolerate normal everyday loads again.

4. Exercise and Rehabilitation

This is an important part of treatment at Advanced Health.

Hands-on treatment can help improve pain and movement, but long-term improvement often requires restoring strength, capacity and confidence in movement.

Depending on your problem, your rehabilitation may include:

• Neck strengthening

• Deep cervical muscle exercises

• Shoulder and upper-back strengthening

• Thoracic mobility

• Postural endurance

• Gradual return to work, gym or sport

The aim is not to make you dependent on treatment. We want to give you the tools to manage your neck yourself and reduce the likelihood of the problem returning.

5. Prevention and Getting Back to Your Best

Once your symptoms settle, we look at why the problem occurred in the first place.

That might mean addressing:

• Workstation setup

• Training load

• Strength deficits

• Repetitive movements

• Sleep or pillow positioning

• Movement habits

• Recovery

Sometimes the best treatment isn't another treatment — it's changing the thing that keeps aggravating your neck.

When Does Neck Pain Need Further Investigation?

Most neck pain is musculoskeletal, but not every painful neck should simply be treated.

If your history or examination suggests something requires further investigation, we'll explain this and refer you appropriately.

Particular attention is required with symptoms such as progressive weakness or neurological changes, significant trauma, unexplained severe or worsening pain, systemic illness, or a new or substantially different severe headache.

Where appropriate, further medical assessment or imaging may be recommended.

The Takeaway

Neck pain isn't one condition.

A facet joint irritation, muscle strain, disc-related problem and whiplash injury can all produce neck pain — but they don't necessarily require exactly the same approach.

That's why at Advanced Health, we believe treatment starts with understanding the problem.

We assess what's hurting, look at what may have contributed to it, treat the mechanical restrictions where appropriate and then help you rebuild the movement and strength needed to reduce the chance of it happening again.

A better understanding. A better outcome.

And ultimately, our goal is simple:

Getting you back to your best.