Neck Pain & Headaches: 3 Steps to Lasting Pain Relief

Feb. 14, 2020

When it comes to successfully eliminating neck pain and headaches, there are 3 key steps that need to be considered in order to improve the chances of success…

Like most of our physical ailments (back pain, sciatica, knee pain, etc.), there are a variety of factors that can cause pain and discomfort.

The neck is no different…when it comes to neck pain and headaches, you have to consider the surrounding muscles, the joints, and the discs, just to name the major players. 

However, that’s just a start! To really get down to successful treatment, you’ll need to do better than that!

Let me explain…

3 Steps to Relieve Neck Pain & Headaches

• Step 1: Figure out the true ROOT CAUSE. As I mentioned above, there are a variety of structures that can be involved and can be causing the neck pain and headaches. However, to really get down to lasting pain relief, you’ll want to dig a bit deeper and ask yourself this key question: why are these structures irritated and painful? If you can figure that out, you’re one step closer to lasting pain relief (I’ll explain more in the video below).

• Step 2: Focus on “hands-on therapy” for pain relief. If you follow many of my blogs or videos, you’ve probably heard me talk about the “3 Phases of Recovery”. Phase 1 is where we focus on reducing pain and inflammation, and I’m a strong believer that the best way to do this is with “hands-on” therapy (we call it “manual therapy” in the PT world). If you’ve tried physical therapy before for your neck pain and headaches, and your therapist didn’t focus heavily on hands-on therapy to help you reduce your pain, you’ve been let down. When it comes to neck pain and headaches, the most important thing a PT can do for you is help you relieve the pain in your muscles and joints by putting their hands on you. This should be the primary focus on the PT before moving on to the next step. Again, I’ll explain more in the video below…

• Step 3: Now that you’re starting to feel better, having uncovered the true root cause of your pain and having worked with a PT who did the hands-on work to help you reduce your neck pain and headaches, you’ll want to pay some attention to learning corrective stretches and improving your posture. This may include some ergonomic adjustments, especially if you spend a lot of time in front of the computer. However, don’t skip Step #2 and dive right into the exercises and stretches, as they can make your pain worse if you’re not careful!

So there you have it: a 3-step approach to reducing neck pain and headaches and experiencing lasting pain relief!

I hope today’s post helps you understand how to treat neck pain and headaches. For more info and tips, head over to the Gordon PT website page dedicated to neck pain and headaches by clicking this link: https://physicaltherapyspokane.com/neck-and-shoulder-pain/

And if you’d like a bit more info, or you prefer to watch/listen to this blog post, the video is below.

Have a great day! – Luke Gordon