How to Find Relief from Radiating Neck Pain
Neck pain alone is bad enough. It can prevent you from turning your head and keep you up at night. But sometimes, neck pain doesn’t stay in your neck. Instead, it radiates down into your shoulder, arm, and even your hand, amplifying your discomfort.
Don’t worry. The team at the Physical Therapy Center can help resolve or manage radiating neck pain (officially known as cervical radiculopathy). Our physical therapists can help pinpoint why you’re experiencing symptoms and provide strategies to overcome them.
In fact, we did exactly this for a recent patient, Melissa. Keep reading to learn what we did for Melissa — or call our clinic to learn what we can do for you.
“Everyone here has been warm, knowledgeable, and they get results! The combination of PT, bracing, and injections has brought me incredible relief.”
– Google 5-Star Review
Interpreting Melissa’s Symptoms to Find the Cause
Melissa was in her early 60s when she began to experience a sharp pain in her neck. At first, she thought she could just ignore it until it went away. But then she began experiencing these additional symptoms:
- Pain that spread down into her shoulder and arm
- Numbness and tingling along the back of her arm and into her middle finger
- A sense of weakness in her tricep muscle
The only thing that seemed to help her symptoms was lifting her hand over her head, but obviously, this wasn’t a permanent solution.
Our team conducted a thorough evaluation to get to the root of Melissa’s pain — literally. We traced her symptoms to her C7 nerve root, located at the base of her neck. The nerve there was irritated by a herniated disc in Melissa’s cervical spine. Because the affected nerve spread down to her finger, she felt her symptoms throughout her arm.
Addressing the Cause to Help Melissa Find Relief
Most people experience herniated discs in their lower back. However, cervical herniated discs can happen — and just like their more common counterparts, physical therapy is a great choice for resolving the condition. Here’s what we did for Melissa:
Step 1: Manage Acute Pain
We helped Melissa identify that her symptoms were worse when she turned her head to the left and when she tried to sleep on her side. To help her get a good night’s sleep, we provided her with a cervical pillow and suggested she sleep on her back for the time being.
During our sessions, we used soft tissue manipulation to help the muscles in Melissa’s neck and shoulder relax and to promote blood circulation to the area, which would help her herniated disc heal. We also gently guided her neck through its current range of motion to start working on her neck’s mobility.
Step 2: Stretch and Strengthen
Melissa’s herniated disc had likely developed due to age-related degeneration in Melissa’s cervical discs. This was compounded by the fact that Melissa was a writer who spent a great deal of time sitting at her desk, which negatively affected her posture.
To counteract these issues, we guided Melissa through several exercises designed to improve her range of motion and strengthen the muscles of her neck and upper back. The strengthening exercises were particularly important, as they helped support Melissa’s cervical spine.
Step 3: Prevent Future Occurrences
After six weeks of physical therapy, Melissa’s symptoms had largely resolved. However, we wanted to ensure she didn’t suffer another cervical herniated disc. We did a couple of things to help her accomplish this:
- Corrected Her Posture: We helped Melissa recognize when she was holding her spine in alignment, regardless of what she was doing.
- Created an Ergonomic Workstation: We worked with Melissa to redesign her computer workstation so that her monitor was at eye level — meaning she wouldn’t have to strain her neck to look at her screen.
- Suggest Simple Lifestyle Modifications: The fact that Melissa spent so much time sitting increased the likelihood of her developing a herniated disc. We helped her devise a plan to take frequent breaks throughout the day using a kitchen timer: 30 minutes of work, then 5 minutes of standing up and stretching.
Sources:
https://www.choosept.com/guide/physical-therapy-guide-cervical-radiculopathy
https://www.physio-pedia.com/Cervical_Radiculopathy
Exercise of the Month
Neck Stretching
Start by sitting up straight in a chair. Gently pull your arm across your body and slightly forward toward your opposite knee. Then, slowly tilt your head away from the direction you are pulling your arm in and feel the stretch in the side of your neck. Repeat 2 sets, 1 rep each.
We Helped Melissa, and We Can Help You!
If you, like Melissa, are struggling with radiating neck pain, schedule an appointment at the Physical Therapy Center. Our team of physical therapists will assess your symptoms and create a customized treatment plan just for you!
Meet the Staff!
Dr. Casey Tarwater
PT, DPT, Cert. DN – Clinical Director
Dr. Austin Sherman
PT, DPT, Cert. DN – Clinical Director
Feel Better by Eating Better!
Easy Salmon Burgers
Ingredients:
- 1 cup finely chopped red onion
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound salmon fillet
- 1 tbsp hot pepper sauce
- 1 large egg white
- 8 slices focaccia, toasted
Directions:
Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine hot pepper sauce and egg white in a small bowl; add egg white mixture to salmon mixture, stirring well to combine. Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add salmon patties, and cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Serve patties on toasted focaccia.
