One-sided neck pain sufferers often expierenced higher levels of pain that specific when comapred to general neck pain, with greater limitations in movement, especially when turning the head to one side. It can feel like the neck is “catching” when trying to look over the shoulder. The pain usually starts in the upper back or shoulder and may feel like a knot “that’s always there”, which extends into the upper neck on that side. Some people may also feel or hear crunching sand when rolling their shoulder blade on the painful side or crunching in the neck when rotating the neck in circles. Neck pain sufferers may find themselves trying to stretch and “crack” their neck for relief, often finding the relief temporary. When the pain is quite bad it may also affect sleep, with the interrupted sleep making the pain worse over time. This type of neck pain may cause one sided headaches and refer a dull ache down the back of the arm.
As a general rule, the more specific the pain is, the more target the treatment needs to be, as the tension in the muscles and dysfunctional spinal joints tend to be more concentrated. The critical muscles are the levator scapulae, sub occipitals, splenius capitis/cervicis as well as the upper cervical vertebra (C1-C2) and lower (C5), which may all need to be addressed to get effective results. This is why so many struggle to find effective relief, all the chiropractic adjustments will have little effect on the muscles and all the massage has little affect on the spinal joints.
If You’re looking for an expert to help you with your neck pain, book in to see Kieran today.
