Neck pain remains one of the constants in life along with death, taxes, and low back pain. Thankfully, similar to low back pain, the vast majority of neck pain (although painful) is not serious in nature. Prior research has shown a Physical Therapy treatment program consisting of manual therapy and exercise helps accelerate a patient’s...
Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) is a commonly utilized “diagnostic” term given to patients frequently after neck and low back MRIs. It is hard to think of a more uninformed and harmful diagnosis in musculoskeletal medicine than DDD. Initially utilized to describe age related changes in the spinal structures secondary to aging, DDD continues to induce...
The muscles of the neck are responsible for movements of the head and shoulder blade, as well as, stabilization of the head on the neck during daily activities. These muscles must be capable of both low repetition, high force contractions as well as high repetition, low force contractions to accomplish these tasks. Patient’s with neck...
Neck pain will affect up to 70% of the population at some point in their lifetimes. Thankfully the vast majority of these cases are not serious in nature and will improve with conservative treatments including Physical Therapy. Within Physical Therapy, a manual therapy (mobilization and manipulation) and strengthening exercise approach has been shown to be...
Concussions have received significant media and medical research attention over the last decade due to in part to the incidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) among former football athletes. This increase in attention to brain injuries has led to improved medical training and early recognition of concussion symptoms leading to improved care of athletes and...
Thoracic manipulation by Physical Therapists has previously been shown to improve pain and function in patients with elbow, shoulder, and neck pain. Authors continue to research the mechanisms behind its’ effectiveness including a beneficial cascade of events in the peripheral and central nervous system, as well as, a possible biomechanical change in the spinal joints....
Dry needling is a treatment provided by Physical Therapists to relieve a patient’s muscular pain and associated symptoms. This intervention can be performed in both extremity and spinal regions within the body. Current research continues to investigate the mechanisms behind its’ effectiveness, as well as, the most appropriate patient populations and diagnoses for its’ utilization....
With the hypervigilance in abstaining from opioid prescriptions due to the opioid crisis, there has been an effort in determining alternate ways of providing analgesic effects for those in chronic pain. One of the most consistent modalities to help benefit with treatment is exercise. There has been many studies exploring the analgesic effect of exercise...
Neck pain is a common source of musculoskeletal pain with up to 70% of Americans experiencing neck pain at some point in their lives. In the early or acute phases of pain, hands on treatment including spinal manipulation and joint mobilization have been shown to reduce pain and disability due to neck symptoms. If left...