One of the most common complaints I hear in my practise is people experiencing persistent neck and shoulder pain. Many of us carry unwanted stress and tension in our neck and shoulders and over time it can cause muscle tension, pain and discomfort. Sometimes the pain can be so great that it significantly limits range of motion and becomes a problem in your day to day functioning. Because you don't have any recollection of injuring yourself, you may not understand where the pain is coming from.
One of the most obvious reasons for neck and shoulder pain, as we all know and are guilty of is bad posture which can be the cause of many life factors and habitual habits .But sometimes neck and shoulder pain stems froma new or old injury in a totally different part of the body that you may not think is related. When this does not heal properly the body tends to adjust its posture to compensate for the injury. In this case the initial injury needs to be treated for structural balance to be restored and for your neck and shoulders to also be properly addressed. Everything is connected and the body has an interesting way of showing us signs with pain and discomfort to try and bring us back to optimal alignment and functioning.
Unlike the more obvious reason for pain, Whiplash that has not been diagnosed or treated due to a minor car accidents can often be the culprit, which if not treated properly can cause neck pain for years after the accident. The pain may even go away but reoccur on and off throughout the years, leaving you puzzled as to the cause.
There are literally dozens of other reasons that you could be experiencing pain in your neck and/or shoulders, so the best way to find relief from the pain is to find the source or root cause of the issue. Taking pain medication can give you temporary relief, but as soon as the drug wears off, the pain comes back.
Osteopathic manual practitioners use there knowledge and placatory skills in finding the cause of your pain and are therefore able to devise a treatment plan to help your body heal.
Manual Osteopathic Practitioners use a hands-on approach when working with your muscles, soft tissues, joints, fascia and other parts of your body. Because they work on the root of the problem, they address the issue and the pain directly, relieving both the symptoms and the cause. They can also recommend stretches and exercises that can help prevent the problem from coming back.