Are you living with constant neck pain or recurring headaches that interfere with your day? Whether it’s sharp pain, stiffness, or pressure that radiates from your neck to your shoulders and head, these symptoms can make it difficult to work, exercise, or even relax at home. Without treatment, neck pain can worsen, and chronic headaches can become debilitating.
At PREP Performance Center in Chicago and Niles, we specialize in physical therapy treatments that address the root causes of neck pain and headaches—not just the symptoms. Our personalized, evidence-based care helps restore mobility, reduce pain, and prevent future discomfort, so you can get back to living life comfortably.
According to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), around one-third of the population experiences neck pain each year. Without proper care, the condition may worsen and, in some cases, lead to the need for surgery.
Injuries: Auto collisions that result in rapidly whipping the head back and forth can lead to whiplash. This is a strain injury to the soft tissues in the neck. Injuries sustained during high-impact sports can also result in neck pain.
Muscle Strains: Neck muscles can be strained by overuse. Something as simple as sitting in front of a computer for too many hours with your head bent forward can cause neck strain.
Joint Degeneration: The neck joints can erode with age, just like any other joint in the body. Arthritis can also reduce the cartilage between the vertebrae in the neck, causing pain.
Nerve Compression: A herniated disc in the neck can compress the nerves that branch out from the spinal cord. In certain cases, the nerve pain can extend from the neck all the way down into the hands and fingers – a condition known as “radiculopathy.”
Illnesses: Certain diseases, such as cancer, meningitis, or rheumatoid arthritis, can lead to neck pain.
At PREP Performance Center, our skilled physical therapists specialize in treating neck pain and headaches caused by posture issues, muscle tension, injuries, and chronic conditions. Whether you’re dealing with tension headaches, cervicogenic headaches, or persistent neck stiffness, we create personalized, evidence-based treatment plans to relieve pain, improve mobility, and restore strength. Our team is dedicated to helping you move better, feel better, and live headache-free with lasting results.
Physical therapy can be one of the best methods for the treatment of neck pain, according to WebMD.
At PREP Performance Center, our licensed physical therapists begin with a comprehensive evaluation to understand the cause of your neck pain and headaches. We’ll assess your range of motion, posture, and any muscular imbalances to create a tailored treatment plan.
Our Treatment Approach May Include:
Manual Therapy: Hands-on techniques to improve mobility, reduce stiffness, and ease tension in the neck and shoulders.
Stretching & Strengthening Exercises: To restore flexibility and reinforce muscles that support the neck and head.
Postural Training: Helping you improve posture to prevent pain triggered by slouching or forward head position.
Heat & Ice Therapy: To reduce inflammation and promote healing.
Ultrasound & Electrical Stimulation: To accelerate tissue repair and reduce pain.
Ergonomic Recommendations: For desk setup and daily activities to support neck health and prevent strain.
Headaches
The minute you feel that familiar pain and pressure coming on, you know you’re in for a bad time. Headaches are regrettable commonplace in today’s world, with 80 to 90 percent of Americans enduring a tension headache at some point or other. But while some headaches are caused by biochemical imbalances, hypertension, tumors or other causes, many of them are the direct result of musculoskeletal problems. Fortunately, physical therapy is tailor-made to address and correct musculoskeletal problems, including the issues behind chronic headache pain. Let’s examine how our physical therapist can help you get rid of those nagging headaches the natural way.
The Musculoskeletal Causes of Headaches
You’ve probably heard of tension headaches, but you may not realize that the tension refers, not to emotional tension, but to muscular tension in the neck. Although emotional tension can certainly promote this muscular tension, so can underlying physical imbalances, weaknesses, or damage. A traumatic injury to the neck such as whiplash is a prime example, with torn neck muscles and strained connective tissues referring to agonizing pain to the head, face, and shoulders as well as the neck.
Tension Headaches and the Dura Mater
But the classic tension headache is caused by a more subtle form of strain. Repetitive motions or poor neck/head posture that place the neck muscles under constant strain may also pull upon a sensitive membrane known as the dura mater. The dura mater envelops the brain, and at the base of the skull, it lies in close proximity to small muscles such as the RCPM muscle. When these muscles go into spasm, the dura mater gets tugged – and it reacts by sending pain messages into the head.
Cervicogenic Headaches
Cervicogenic headaches are another kind of neck-related head pain. These headaches involve the topmost three vertebrae of the neck. Some cervicogenic headaches are caused by concussions or arthritis, but work-related strain is another potential trigger. People who typically droop their heads downward for many hours a day (hairdressers, long-haul drivers, smartphone addicts, etc.) are prone to these headaches
Drugs can’t do much more than offer pain relief for an isolated headache, which isn’t good enough if you suffer from chronic headache and neck pain. Our physical therapist will start by evaluating your posture, asking you about your symptoms and medical history, and study X-rays or other diagnostic data from your primary care physician to figure out the biomechanical origins of your chronic headache and neck pain problem. A detailed physical therapy program can then be formulated to address your specific musculoskeletal issues.
Physical therapy can relieve chronic headaches in a number of ways. Exercises to loosen, lengthen and relax the muscles of the neck can be highly effective at easing the spasms that set off tension headaches. You may also benefit from exercises such as the supra-clavicle release, which strengthens neck muscles weakened by postural imbalances. If the tension in the fascia of the jaw or face is contributing to your neck tension and headaches, a lying-down posture with the relevant trigger points resting on a tennis ball can release that tension.
Exercises are only one aspect of physical therapy to relieve headaches. Our physical therapist may also prescribe massage therapy, ultrasound, and lifestyle recommendations to help you stop sabotaging your neck and head in your everyday activities. This holistic approach can free you from your headache problem – as well as freeing you from a reliance on pain-relieving drugs.
If neck pain and headaches are holding you back, let the experts at PREP Performance Center help.
Contact us today to schedule your evaluation and discover how personalized physical therapy can help you feel better, move better, and live pain-free.
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