What is the best treatment for neck and shoulder pain?

Shoulder and neck pain can be caused by many different conditions. Your neck and shoulders contain bones, nerves, muscles, ligaments, arteries, veins and more. So, one of the difficulties when it comes to finding the best treatment for neck and shoulder pain is finding out what’s causing the pain.

The causes of shoulder and neck pain

One of the most common causes of neck and shoulder pain is injuries to the soft tissue, muscle, ligaments and tendons. This type of injury can occur from whiplash, for example. Another common cause of neck and shoulder pain is degenerative arthritis which can pinch the nerves in the spine and cause a shooting pain through the neck and shoulder. There is also degenerative disc disease which can cause a localised pain in the neck. Or herniated discs which can cause a pain in the neck that radiates out into the shoulder.

Other conditions involving the heart, lungs, abdominal organs and the spinal cord can also cause neck and shoulder pain. Here are some examples:

  • Broken collarbone – falling with an outstretched arm can cause a break in the collarbone. However, a direct impact can also cause the collarbone to break. This injury is quite common with cyclists.
  • Broken shoulder blade – breaking a shoulder blade takes a lot of force, so this injury is something that could happen in a car accident, for example.
  • Heart attacks – the pain on the left side of your neck and  left shoulder from a heart attack is known as referred pain. This is because the condition isn’t in your neck or shoulder, but symptoms are still present.
  • Bursitis – this occurs in the bursa, a sac that provides cushioning for the shoulder joint and muscles. The bursa can become inflamed and cause pain. Typically this occurs after an injury.
  • Shoulder separation – The collarbone and shoulder blade are connected by ligaments. When a trauma occurs, these can be torn or stretched. This will result in shoulder and neck pain due to the location of the injury.
  • Rotator cuff injuries – the rotator cuff is a group of tendons that provide support for the shoulder. These tendons can be injured in many ways, but lifting, throwing or any type of repetitive use are the most common ways of injuring the rotator cuff. This can lead to pain when moving your shoulder and frozen shoulder.
  • Tendonitis – tendons connect muscles to bone. If they come under strain, tendons can swell and cause pain, in this case, in the neck or shoulder.
  • Gallbladder disease – this can cause a referred pain in the right shoulder due to the location of the gallbladder.

Any cause of inflammation under the diaphragm may also cause a pain in the shoulder and possibly the neck. This is also known as referred pain.

With so many causes of neck and shoulder pain, diagnosis is vital. Diagnosing what’s causing neck and shoulder pain is always first on our list of things to do here at The Mayfair Clinic. We can narrow down our search for the cause of your neck and shoulder pain and find the underlying injury that needs treating. Finding the underlying cause of neck and shoulder pain is vital for treatment, especially in cases of radiating pain. If we simply treat the pain in these cases, the underlying condition will still be present and cause issues later on. So, by pinpointing the location of the condition causing the pain and treat the condition to stop the pain once and for all.
The best treatments for neck and shoulder pain
Once you have had your initial consultation here at The Mayfair Clinic and we have found the root cause of your shoulder and neck pain, we can begin treatment. Now, as you would expect, the treatments for the above conditions vary greatly, just like the conditions that cause neck and shoulder pain. Because of this, we can’t say for certain what your treatment plan will be, we always tailor our treatment plans to suit the condition and individual here at The Mayfair Clinic. However, what we can do is tell you about the treatments that we may use to treat your condition.

All of the treatments below make use of the latest and greatest technology to provide our patients with a pain-free and speedy recovery. We will typically use a combination of these treatments as that allows for a far more comprehensive treatment plan. Let’s take a look at the groundbreaking treatments available at The Mayfair Clinic that are great for neck and shoulder pain.

Laser Therapy

Laser therapy is great for all the conditions above that produce swelling as well as pain. However, it also work’s great when it comes to pain too. We use a laser to direct blood flow, nutrients and oxygen to the site of pain. This speeds up the body’s natural healing process and helps to reduce inflammation and pain even after just one session. It is a great tool that we use on most of our patients to ensure quick pain relief from their neck, shoulder and back pain. Laser also helps injuries heal with much less scar tissue than if left to heal on their own. This results in a more healthy neck or shoulder after the treatment – and reduces the chance of re-injury.

Spinal Decompression

Spinal decompression is great for conditions like disc degeneration, trapped nerves and herniated discs. We use a machine to gently pull your spine and take pressure off of the discs. We know this sounds scary and like a medieval torture device, but most of our patients find it relaxing. Plus, it can provide relief from pressure and the nutrients that your spinal discs desperately need! Quite often patients will notice radiating symptoms disappear two or three minutes into the treatment.

Spinal Impulse Adjusting

Once again, this treatment is great for spinal disc conditions and also arthritis and stiffness in the neck. Spinal impulse adjustments work a lot like the traditional clicks and pops used in chiropractic or osteopathic treatments, but it is far more controllable and repeatable. We can slightly adjust your spine with this treatment to allow it to heal and take away any neck and shoulder pain that you may have.

We hope this look at shoulder and neck pain has given you an insight into what causes the pain and the treatments that are available for it here at The Mayfair Clinic. If you’d like our help with your neck and shoulder pain, use the contact form below to book in for your first consultation. To find out more about other causes of neck, shoulder and back pain, please explore our website further.

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info@themayfairclinic.com

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0203 947 32 22

Clinic Address

4 Cavendish Square, London, W1g 0PG.