Introduction

Your doctor may have you see a physical therapist who will design a neck-care program just for you. Your physical therapist will evaluate your condition to determine the best way to help ease your pain and help your neck move better. You will also be given ways to take care of your neck so you can avoid pain and prevent further injury to your neck.

Your First visit to Physical Therapy

On your first visit, your physical therapist will want to gather some more information about the history of your neck problem. You may be given a questionnaire that helps you tell about the day to day problems you are having with your neck. The information you give will help measure the success of your treatment. You may also be asked to rate your pain on a scale of one to ten. This will help your physical therapist gauge how much pain you have now and how your pain changes once you've had treatment. Your physical therapist will probably ask some more questions about your neck problem to begin zeroing in on the source of your pain and to know what will be needed to help relieve it. Here are some questions your therapist may ask you:

How long have you had neck pain?
Where do you feel the pain?
What makes the pain better or worse?
How does your pain affect your daily activities?
Do you have headaches?
Do you have pain in your shoulder, arm, or hand?
Do you have any numbness or tingling?

Physical Therapy Evaluation

Once all this information has been gathered, your neck condition will be evaluated.

Posture/observation: Your physical therapist will begin by checking your posture to see if your soreness is coming from changes in posture. Imbalances in the position of your spine can put pressure on sore joints, nerves, and muscles. Postures used for a long time at school, with hobbies, or when working can change the balance of muscle strength and flexibility. Muscles that have been stretched over time tend to be weaker, while muscles that are put in shortened positions can begin to overpower the weaker ones. This can put added strain on areas around the neck that can cause a problem or make a sore area worse. Helping you improve your posture can oftentimes make a big difference in easing pain.

Range of motion (ROM): Next, your physical therapist will check the ROM in your neck. This is a measurement of how far you can move your neck in different directions. Neck movements include bending the neck forward and backward (flexion and extension), bending to either side (side bending), and turning the neck to one side and the other (rotation). Measurements may also be taken of upper back and/or shoulder movements. Your ROM is written down to compare how much improvement you are making with the treatments.

Neurological screen: Your physical therapist may need to do some tests to check the nerves of your neck. This part of the evaluation looks at your reflexes, sensation, and strength in your neck, shoulders, and arms. The result