Why Does My Neck, Back, and Shoulder Hurt ans How Do I Fix It?
First of all, there are a lot of different reasons why you may e having neck, back, or shoulder pain. The biggest concern lies in the complication of having all 3 at the same time. Is it the chicken or the egg? Or the whole chicken coop? Determining the rot cause of the pain is probably the hardest part of solving these problems but it is the first step to knowing what to do to relive your pain.
So what are the possible cause of this cluster of pain? Well, the first thing to think about and to try and rule in or out is cervical pain. Pain that comes from the neck and causes thoracic and shoulder pain, weakness, or neurologic symptoms such as numbness and tingling, are all things that can derive from the cervical spine.
Cervical radiculopathy is a term used that really just describes the irritation of cervical nerve roots at individual levels that come out of the neck. These nerve roots have very specific muscle groups that that they supply. That basically means that if we have one nerve root that is very inflamed then the muscles that it supplies power to are affected. This can affect the neck, thoracic region, scapular region, shoulder region, and even into the hands. Cervical radiculopathy can be caused by a few different things however. Disc herniation or protrusion will have this presentation and will likely need further imaging and clinical testing to rule out if severe pain is present.
The facet joints in the neck can also cause inflammation and irritation to these nerve roots. This is your typical joint pain. A lot of times this is due to some form of arthritis or even just a “crick in the neck” type of pain. We call this facet capsular entrapment. Often times, joint capsule tissue can get stuck between the joint spaces when you move neck to one side and there is a pinch that happens causing inflammation at that joint. Almost everyone has experienced this at least once but sometimes it can last a really long time or even cause more problems to start. If that’s you, you know that it is quite difficult to get to go away on its own.
The single biggest indicator of neck related pain however is what us clinicians call neck pain in a capsular pattern. If rotating your head to the side of pain, side bending to the side of pain, and looking up increase your symptoms, then you may want to have a more formal evaluation of your neck.
Another frequent cause we see is generally termed thoracic outlet syndrome. This is usually a muscular based problem that involved over-tightened muscles impinging on the nerves from the cervical spine causing a lot of the similar symptoms. There will often be a lot of muscular tightness and trigger points along the path of the nerves coming from the neck that may cause numbness, tingling, or burning down the arm or in the shoulder blade.
Next, we have thoracic pain. This pain is usually more of a postural pain problem. You will notice it is worse with sitting, especially slumped, or while looking down at a computer or phone. This pain usually starts in between the shoulder blades and spreads through the shoulder blade and up the neck as it gets more irritated. A lot of this pain is associated with rounded shoulders, forward head posture, and increased stiffness in the thoracic spine. This posture can cause a lot of other symptoms and increase the chance of having some of the above problems if left untreated.
The last thing to think about is true shoulder pain. A lot of times, shoulder pain can be something that people work through. You may have a sharp pain here or there and think “oh, its nothing” or have some achy pains after a workout but it goes away in a couple of days. This is the beginning of a shoulder problem. When the pain starts to spread to the back of the shoulder blade or into the biceps and deltoid areas there is likely a problem going on that needs dedicated treatment. These problems can be very localized to the shoulder but they can also look a lot like the neck, shoulder, and back pain cluster if it is very inflamed.
So now that you know the types of problems that are most common, what can you do about it?
Like I said before, it is most important to find and treat the root cause. A lot of providers will treat this type of pain the exact same way without diving into the problems and find a root cause. Yes, you likely need some stretches and some postural strengthening, but there is no excuse for that being the standalone answer.
Next, we have to fix the pain. There are a lot of different ways to alleviate pain. Our method for getting longstanding pain relief are to do as follows:
Find the cause of the pain
Fix the pain
Maintain peak performance for long term success
We treat patients with a comprehensive approach that will focus on improving joint mobility and soft tissue mobility for improved range of motion. We will also treat the muscles and tendons for increased tone, tightness, and trigger points. We used a variety of methods of manual work and dry needling to achieve these results. We will then follow with muscle re-education and improving muscular control through active movements. Following up with individualized strength programming and comprehensive patient education on how to treat themselves is the true anchor to longstanding results.
If this sounds like something you’ve experienced yourself or are dealing with right now, reach out to us at Return 2 Sport PT & Performance. We would be glad to help you in resolving your pain and getting you back to doing what you love.
Contact us at 256-513-9525 or email Dylan@Return2SportPT.com to schedule a call to talk about a plan that fits best for you.