Neck &
Upper Back Pain
Physiotherapy
Central London
What Are Common Symptoms Of Neck & Upper Back Pain?
Neck pain can present in a variety of ways, including: ​ Stiffness: Difficulty moving your neck, especially after sitting or sleeping. Sharp Pain: Sudden, intense pain when turning your head or looking up and down. Radiating Pain: Pain that spreads to your shoulders, upper back, or arms, sometimes accompanied by tingling or numbness. Muscle Tightness or Spasms: A feeling of tightness in your neck muscles or uncontrollable muscle spasms. Reduced Range of Motion: Difficulty fully moving your neck without discomfort. Headaches: Often starting from the neck and radiating to the back of the head or behind the eyes.
What Causes Persistent Neck Pain?
You may be experiencing one of the following common conditions that is triggering your neck pain: Pinched Nerve (Cervical Radiculopathy): Compression or irritation of nerves in the neck, leading to radiating pain down the arm. Herniated Disc: When one of the cushioning discs in the spine bulges or becomes inflammed, causing neck pain or stiffness or nerve-related symptoms. Prolonged Posture Related Pain: Prolonged ‘poor posture’, especially from desk work or tech usage, can lead to muscle strain and tension headaches. Rather than the specific position, it is generally down to lack of movement and stimulation to the supporting muscle tissues. Cervical Osteoarthritis (Neck Arthritis): Wear-and-tear on the joints in your neck, causing stiffness, pain, and sometimes nerve compression. Muscle Strains: Overuse or acute injury to neck muscles, often from poor posture or sudden movements. Tension Headaches: Neck pain that radiates to the head, typically caused by muscle tightness and sensitivity. Whiplash: Often due to car accidents or sudden jolts, causing strain in the muscles and ligaments.
Treatment Options & How Physiotherapy Can Help:
​I offer various treatment methods tailored to your condition and severity of pain. These may include: Manual Therapy: Hands-on techniques to mobilise stiff joints and relieve muscle tension. Rehabilitative Exercise Therapy: Guided exercises to strengthen your the muscles that need addressing to build your support system, improve your tissue capacity, and reduce pain long term. Postural Exercises: Helping you support your posture. Often it is not your posture that you need to ‘correct’ but your muscle tissue’s ability to cope with the body positions you are in for prolonged periods. This is a major cause of chronic neck pain, especially for those in desk jobs. Pain Management Techniques: Guidance on when to apply heat or cold therapy for stiff or sore neck muscles, advice on using neck supports or ergonomic aids, and tips on discussing with your GP the most suitable pain relief options, including medications. to reduce pain and inflammation. Acupuncture/dry needling: I also offer dry needling (also known as acupuncture in some contexts), which involves using needles to target trigger points in tight muscles. This treatment helps to relieve muscle tension, reduce pain, and improve overall mobility. Lifestyle Modification Techniques: Modifying certain aspects of your lifestyle either temporarily can significantly reduce neck pain and prevent it from returning.
My 5-Stage Approach ensures that your treatment is tailored to your recovery stage—from pain relief and mobility restoration to strength-building and long-term prevention.
