414-246-9184

Woke up with neck pain and can’t turn your head? Physical therapy can help

Woke Up With Neck Pain and Can’t Turn Your Head?

Everyone wakes up with a crick in their neck after sleeping in a strange position from time to time. Usually it wears off in a short period of time and doesn’t have a negative impact on your day. However, it’s a far more serious concern to wake up with neck pain and stiffness that is severe enough to affect your ability to turn your head. This can make it difficult or even impossible to accomplish everyday tasks such as driving a car or working at your desk or a physically demanding job. 

In almost any case of neck pain and stiffness, a physical therapist can help you identify the sources of this issue and provide effective treatment. 

How physical therapists identify and treat neck pain and associated mobility issues

If you wake up with neck pain and an inability to turn your head, there can be a wide range of causes, including muscle strains, spinal nerve compression and joint inflammation, etc. When you first meet with a physical therapist, the first step will be a thorough assessment that helps pinpoint the underlying causes of the pain or injury.  Many times, where you feel the pain is not actually the cause of the pain. The area where you feel the pain is taking the stress/hit from another area that is not functioning properly. The neck, for example, will be overstressed if you are using an upper chest breathing pattern rather than diaphragmatic breathing pattern or if you are using a poor reaching pattern.

With this information, your physical therapist can then work to develop a treatment plan that includes therapeutic exercises, stretches, manual therapies and other methods designed to improve function and mobility in the neck while relieving pain. 

Get the personalized neck pain treatment you need

At Franklin Rehabilitation, our clinical team has a deep understanding of neck pain and stiffness and the underlying factors that can lead to flare-ups. We’ll design a customized treatment plan that will help you address these causes and make lifestyle adjustments to decrease stress on the neck and lower the likelihood of painful episodes. 

If you’re ready to learn more and start to get your life back from neck pain, contact us today to schedule your initial appointment.