Have you ever gone to sleep feeling fine, but woken up to neck pain and barely able to turn your head in all directions? You could be experiencing a “wry” neck, where the facet joints of the neck stiffen, discs become aggravated and/or the neck muscles spasm. This stiffness and spasm result in pain, and not being able to turn your head through its full range of movement. This pain also might cause a headache and pain down into the shoulders and arms.
Around two thirds of people experience a neck pain episode in their lifetime, making it one of the most common injuries. It’s unclear what causes an acute ‘wry neck’ episode, but poor posture, sport or occupational aggravations, anxiety and stress can increase the risk of neck pain.
In most cases physiotherapy treatment for acute “wry neck” is very successful, with good pain relief and range of movement improvement from the first session!
What we do:
Soft tissue release/trigger point release- Dry needling
- Joint mobilisations
- Manual traction
- Recommend mobilising and stretching exercises to continue your progress at home
- Prescribe cues and aids for maintaining good posture when standing and sitting
Acute wry neck can be very painful, and affect many areas of your life. We are able to reduce symptoms right from the first instance of pain, so don’t hesitate, get on top of it today!