Neck pain is the second most common complaint (after low back pain) of people presenting for physiotherapy in private practice. The World Health Organisation’s Taskforce on Neck Pain concluded that neck pain is so common that we should expect it to occur at some point in our adult lives). About 15-30% of people will have recurrent or ongoing neck pain that proves more troublesome in the longer term.
Neck pain can be caused by many factors e.g. poor posture at work, study or during hobbies like reading or guitar playing; degeneration (joint wear and tear) or trauma e.g. a road traffic accident.
Neck pain that results from trauma is known as Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD) and can include other symptoms such as stiffness, dizziness, arm pain and tingling, heavy headedness etc. There has been a huge amount of research in the last few decades regarding WAD and this has led us to be able to predict in the early days following injury, who will have a speedy recovery and who is more likely to have long term problems. Primarily, we know that you must take an active approach to your own recovery.
More details about assessment and treatment of neck pain can be found in this section, as well as links to useful research-based consumer websites.
