East Toronto Orthopaedic & Sports Injury Clinic and Trilogy Physiotherapy have partnered in order to provide you with the experienced and skilled care you deserve.
Neck pain is a common issue, affecting many people over their lifetime. Pain can occur anywhere from the bottom of your head to the top of your shoulders and can spread to the upper back.
Neck pain can also be associated with headaches, facial pain, shoulder pain, and arm numbness or tingling. These associated symptoms can be a result of pinched nerves in the neck.
You may also feel a knot, stiffness, or pain in your neck muscles that can lead to difficulty in turning your head.
Neck pain can be caused by activities that strain the neck. This can lead to neck strain, a sprain, or a spasm in the neck muscles. In addition, underlying joint changes in the neck can make you vulnerable to pain.
Some common causes of acute neck pain include:
Carrying a heavy backpack or purse on one shoulder
Emotional stress can cause the neck muscles to tighten up and ache in response to stress, anxiety, or depression
Sports injury due to strain from a sudden or unusual neck movement or caused by a collision
Poor posture due sitting for long periods at a computer, watching TV, reading, or texting on your phone
Sleeping on your abdomen or in an awkward position
Trauma from a car accident or a fall
Holding the head in an unusual position due to painting a ceiling or cradling your home phone between your shoulder and neck
Most episodes of neck pain will go away within a few days or weeks, but pain that persists for months could indicate an underlying medical issue that must be addressed. Early treatment intervention is recommended for optimal recovery.
Common causes of chronic neck pain include:
Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease
The cervical spine experiences wear and tear over time. If a disc degenerates enough, it can lead to painful irritation of the cervical nerve or pain from increased joint and ligament stress.
Herniated Disc
A cervical disc is herniated when its jelly-like inner layer leaks out through a tear in the disc’s protective outer layer.
The soft tissue along and near the cervical spine can be torn or ruptured as a result. This neck injury commonly occurs in an car accident that involves a rear-end collision.
Cervical Osteoarthritis
When the cartilage in a cervical facet joint wears down enough, it can lead to osteoarthritis, also known as cervical spondylosis.
The joint becomes enlarged from inflammation and bone spur growth, and may cause nearby nerves to become pinched and lead to considerable pain.
Cervical Spinal Stenosis with Myelopathy
Spinal stenosis occurs when spinal degeneration leads to a narrowing of the spinal canal, such as from a herniated disc that pushes into the spinal canal or bone spurs that grow into the canal.
When the spinal canal narrows enough to compress the spinal cord, it can result in myelopathy. Myelopathy is when compression of the spinal cord starts causing symptoms such as weakness, loss of balance or problems with coordination in the arms, hands, legs, or feet.
Cervical Foraminal Stenosis and Cervical Radiculopathy
This condition occurs when the holes (foramen) in the vertebrae, through which nerve roots exit the spinal canal, become narrow.
This narrowing of the hole can irritate the nerve root that runs through it causing pain that radiates down the arm. Treatment with cervical traction can be particularly helpful for this condition.
Myofascial Pain
Achy muscles and surrounding connective tissue can cause irritable trigger points in muscle, typically in the upper back or neck.
This can result in a tension headache due to neck muscles tightening, or occipital neuralgia where a pinched occipital nerve in the neck causes pain to radiate up to the head.
Physiotherapy Treatment
Management of the above conditions has been proven to be helpful in relieving pain, speed up recovery and manage chronic issues.
Treatment involves education, self-care management, exercise therapy, and manual therapy are commonly used by a registered physiotherapist to treat neck pain. Other treatments such as acupuncture, soft tissue release and massage therapy can also help. A registered physiotherapist can conduct a skilled assessment and examination of the spine and recommend the appropriate treatment. For most neck pain issues, x-ray and other imaging is not required for management in the initial stages.
To book an appointment, Call Us today at 416-691-3943 or contact us here.
Frequently Asked Questions About Neck Pain
Can neck pain be a sign of something serious?
Neck pain alone is rarely a symptom of a more serious problem. Seek medical care if your neck pain is present with numbness, loss of strength in your arms or hands or if you have shooting pain into your shoulder or down your arm.
How does a pinched nerve in the neck feel?
A pinched nerve will usually present with pain referred into the arm, and/or upper back, and be associated with numbness, pins & needles or tingling. Pain quality may vary from unpleasant sharp pain, to a dull ache. Referred pain in the arm may be triggered by head movements such as twisting and looking upward
When should I be worried of neck pain?
If your neck pain is intense, and associated with headache, and it's the worst pain you've ever had, and different than your usual pain, seek urgent medical care
How should I sleep with neck pain?
Try and choose a pillow that keeps you neck supported both on your side and lying on your back. Avoid stomach sleeping.
How do you loosen tight neck muscles?
Gentle stretching and exercise strategies such as chin retractions, postural exercise or other self care tools can help. Consult with a physiotherapist today to get personalized care.
Should I sleep without a pillow after neck therapy?
Generally the neck will be better supported with a pillow when sleeping.
Does stress cause neck pain?
Stress can be a significant contributor to neck pain. Stressors, both mechanical and mental in nature, can cause increased tone (tightness) of the neck muscles and contribute to painful muscular trigger points.
Y Leung
2024-12-23
This is a great place to take your classes or exercise therapy. I was there for the GLA:D exercise programme led by Sarah Phillips. She was clear, concise and encouraging when needed. The reception staff are friendly and professional. All in all, a very good experience and convenient location too.
Tahira Gonsalves
2024-12-09
Trevor was great! He provided detailed information (which I asked for 😀) to understand my injury (damaged ligaments on my foot), and provided a very reasonable and doable exercise/physio regimen, which he adjusted as my recovery progressed. Staff at the clinic are also lovely! Thank you!
Cindy Tavener
2024-12-09
Great place -Everyone from front desk to my physio Nikhil very focused on my needs.
Nikhil was also a great listener we made a care plan and both reviewed my progress as i healed he was also open to my suggestions.I will be happy to return if /when injured again.
Baran Akpınar
2024-11-29
I had the pleasure of working with Sarah Phillips through my recovery from a torn Achilles. She kept me informed at every stage, explained what to expect, and adjusted my therapy to overcome any challenges. Thanks to her expertise, I made consistent progress and had an excellent overall recovery at the end.
Beyond her skill, Sarah’s warm and friendly personality made every session enjoyable and motivating. I highly recommend her to anyone in need of expert, compassionate physiotherapy care.
Michelle Hachey
2024-11-06
My good friend recommended me to the Dr. was very honest and very helpful in telling me what to go going forward. Gave me exercises to do at home. How to handle stairs with less pain.
Would highly recommend him if you are in pain of any kind. Very helpful and near public transit.
Naeem Toronto
2024-11-02
I am going to participate in program from Monday,Nov 03,2024
Elaine Gergolas
2024-10-26
I booked a series of appointments to try and establish a good therapeutic schedule and after the first one the therapist insisted I come back to see her earlier than planned - which I did... booking a 45 minute follow-up that turned into a distracted 20 minutes of her note taking... they did adjust the billing to reflect a 30 minute session but it was not an auspicious start.
Then I received a garbled voicemail that seemed to cancel my third appointment - which I had booked a month in advance. It blamed the error on someone at the clinic who forgot to update the schedule... but both my follow-ups to confirm / reschedule were completely ignored.
Consider another company or at least another location...
VR S
2024-10-18
the staff is just awesome, I was having pain in my shoulder which few other places were not able to figure out, Danny spotted the cause and fixed the problem. I am thankful to him and East Toronto Orthopaedic staff from the bottom of my heart
