Neck pain is extremely common. The pain can sometimes be a dull ache or it can become more sharp when you move your head in a certain direction.

Headaches often come with neck pain, although sometimes are felt on their own. Often they are felt as tension at the base of the skull, although can wrap around to the front of the head down to the level of the eyes.

Although the pain is felt in the neck the reason the pain is there is because of another body part entirely, often the thorax and ribs.

Causes

• Poor postures

• Sedentary lifestyle

• Tight thorax or dysfunctional ribs

• Poor breathing pattern

• Stress

• Jaw clenching

• Disc inflammation

• Facet joint irritation

• Hypermobility

Asessment

• Subjective assessment: We will ask you lots of questions about your neck and/or headaches, about the rest of your body, any past injuries or surgeries, about what you do each day, your exercise routine and your health in general.

• Objective assessment of the neck and skull: Assess its motion, palpate the areas and any special tests we may need to do.

• Full body assessment: We will always look at the rest of your body to see if there are any areas that could be contributing to your problem. A common area that is dysfunctional with neck pain are the ribs. We will also always check the way that you breathe.

Treatment may include

• Connect therapy approach

• Muscle releases and soft tissue massage to the neck

• Muscle releases and soft tissue massage to any other part of the body that is contributing to the problem

• Joint mobilisations

• Optimise breathing pattern and diaphragm releases if required.

• Individualised exercise program including stretching exercises and strength training.