Treating neck pain in Oxford

When you visit the practice with neck pain, we will first ask you a full medical health questionnaire regarding your back, your health and your previous medical history.  If you have any previous or current MRI’s or X-ray results we will assess those too.

We will then progress on to examination, which will involve loooking at the whole of the body, not just the neck and spine, so please wear appropriate underwear so we can see how your body moves as a whole.  The aim of the examination is to evaluate what works and what doesn’t.  This is done by asking you to move and by us moving you.  When a diagnosis is gathered we will advise you of how we think we can help you and if appropriate commence with treatment there and then.  Osteopathy uses gentle techniques such as neck and thoracic mobilisation, deep tissue massage, stretching and manipulation.  It is likely that you will be sent home with some exercises too to continue the good work at home.

Neck pain is the second most treated condition at the practice (after lower back pain).  It is very common across the population with most people having experienced some sort of neck pain.e’. Symptoms may present similar to below:

Dull ache local to the neck or stiffness
Sharp pain upon certain movements
Numbness, pins and needles or weakness into your arm or hand
Headaches or shoulder pain

It is common for people to feel some relief after their first treatment at the practice, however for people with acute/ short term pain it is common to have a few visits with us, where as long term issues such as chronic pain or degeneration is is usual that a longer treatment plan will be needed to address the problem efficiently.