Head, Neck, & Back
Head, Neck, & Back
Is chronic neck or back pain keeping you from work or enjoying your favorite activities? Have tension headaches, TMJ pain, or vertigo limited your lifestyle? While these conditions are not uncommon, our physical therapists take treatment relief to a whole new level with 1:1 hands on manual therapy. Our therapists possess the highest clinical skills to provide a variety of effective physical therapy treatments to ease your pain so that you can return to the activities that you enjoy the most.
Conditions Treated include:
- TMJ
- Cervicogenic Headache (Muscle Tension Headache)
- Whiplash
- Herniated Discs
- Low Back Pain
- Sciatica
- Pre & Post Spine Surgery
- Vertigo
Physical Therapy Services include:
Soft Tissue and Joint Mobilization
It is common for neck or back muscles and soft-tissues (fascia) to tighten after injury. The tightening can restrict circulation, contribute to pain, and decrease joint movement. Our physical therapists provide hands-on mobilization techniques to manipulate soft tissues to improve freedom of movement and ease discomfort.
Pre and Post Surgical Rehabilitation
Your doctor may order pre-surgical rehabilitation before your spine surgery to help get you in the best shape possible to ensure optimal results following your procedure. Our therapists will teach you strengthening and flexibility exercises that are specifically for your neck or spine condition. Following surgery, a combination of treatments, such as therapeutic modalities and exercises will help you increase strength, endurance, motion, balance, and coordination. We will work on the skills that are necessary to help you perform your activities of daily living independently.
Core Stability Training
Core stability training is essential to recovering functional ability after spine surgery or experiencing a head, neck, or back injury. Our physical therapists will work with you on mat exercises and progress to standing exercises to target the muscles of the pelvis, spine, and shoulders to help provide a solid infrastructure for body movements and balance.
Sports Injury Rehabilitation
Sports medicine can aid the recovery process after a head, neck, or back injury by using soothing therapeutic modalities and gentle movement to ease discomfort. As you heal, exercise can help build the strength and endurance needed to get you back in play for your particular sport. For the non-injured athlete, sports medicine can help optimize strength, agility, and performance. We will teach you ways to warm-up and warm-down to help prevent injury.
Therapeutic Exercise
After targeting the source of your back or neck problem with hands-on treatment, the next step in the therapeutic process is exercise. Exercise therapy can help improve flexibility, strength, endurance, coordination, balance, and posture. Exercise therapy helps the body function at a higher level of efficiency and can help reduce pain.
Vestibular Retraining
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a common cause of vertigo following head injury or whiplash. BPPV occurs when the delicate balance-related structures in the inner ear are injured and send mixed nerve signals. A variety of neurological disorders can disrupt the complex balance system as well. Our therapists have advanced expertise to provide vestibular retraining that consists of a combination of body positioning, specific exercises, and eye gaze patterns to help improve balance and reduce vertigo.
Traction
Degenerative spine conditions, disc herniation's and injury are a common cause of “mechanical” back pain. Pain occurs when the spinal structures put pressure on the spinal nerves. Traction uses hands-on therapy or mechanical devices to stretch tight muscles and widen the space between the bones in the spine to relieve nerve pressure and reduce pain.
Modalities
Injuries, neurological conditions, and spinal conditions can cause the muscles neck and back to develop painful spasms. As an adjunct to hands-on treatment or exercise, our physical therapists use modalities to enhance the therapeutic treatment effect. Electrical stimulation, Infrared, ultrasound, heat therapy, cold therapy, and vibration are examples modalities that our physical therapists may incorporate into an individualized treatment plan. A modality or combination of modalities can help muscles relax, reduce inflammation, ease pain, and facilitate movement or range of motion.
Therapeutic Massage
Therapeutic massage is especially soothing to stiff painful neck and back muscles, especially following overuse or sprain. Our physical therapists use therapeutic massage to stimulate and improve circulation, relieve pain and stiffness, and improve flexibility and range of motion.
Braces & Back Supports
Following injury or surgical procedure, neck and back braces are used to position the spine while it heals, prevent further injury, and help decrease pain. Neck braces are commonly used after whiplash injuries. Customized back braces are used to provide support and prevent injury following back surgery. Your therapist may recommend back supports to wear on the job or even during pregnancy.