Three Ways Physical Therapy Can Help Chronic Neck Pain

While back pain gets most of the headlines, neck pain is a common problem that most people don’t even think about until it impacts their life. At any given time, up to 20% of the population will be experiencing neck pain at that very moment. In fact, neck pain is so bad—and can be so debilitating—that it ranks second in the U.S. in annual workers’ compensation costs.  

Some neck pain, like what you may feel after a night’s sleep in an awkward position or the result of turning your head too fast, can clear up with little intervention in just a matter of hours or days. But the type of pain that lasts for at least three months—or what we call “chronic” pain—often needs a more dedicated and therapeutic approach like physical therapy.

At Agile Virtual Care, we’re able to relay our knowledge about the human body and physical therapy to patients in their own homes through the help of technology like video communication. If you’re someone who has experienced long-lasting neck pain and you’re considering physical therapy with Agile Virtual Care, here are three reasons why you won’t regret it.

1. Physical therapy can decrease neck pain –No one likes to live uncomfortably or with pain, which is why our primary goal for someone who has experienced neck pain for months would be to alleviate that discomfort. Research has shown that patients who completed physical therapy saw a reduction in pain of at least 50%.

• Physical therapy can increase neck function – When we talk about neck function, we’re referring to your ability to perform tasks that rely on your neck—like moving your head up and down or side to side. It’s common (and frustrating) for someone experiencing neck pain to struggle with what may seem like basic or insignificant movements. However, one research study found that physical therapy could improve patients’ function scores by about eight points.

• Physical therapy can improve cervical range of motion – Range of motion (ROM) is a term used to describe how far you can move a body part in each direction, which means cervical ROM relates to movement of the neck. Working with a physical therapist can help to correct deficiencies in cervical ROM caused by neck pain. According to one study, eight weeks of physical therapy improved neck flexion, neck extension, right rotation and left rotation significantly.

Just because neck pain is a common condition that strikes as many as 1 in 5 of us doesn’t mean you have to live with it. You have options, and one that you should seriously consider is undergoing physical therapy with the skilled and qualified providers at Agile Virtual Care.

If you’re interested in learning how our virtual physical therapy can help relieve your chronic neck pain from the comforts of your home, schedule your appointment with an Agile Virtual Care provider today.