Neck Pain and Upper Trap Spasms

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NECK PAIN AND UPPER TRAP SPASMS
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Neck pain and upper trap spasms are common
conditions affecting almost everyone at least
once in their life. It also afflicts others on a
regular basis. Virtual physical therapy can
provide relief. Most people experience waking up
with a painful, stiff neck. The pain and spasms
are usually accompanied by a loss of normal neck
range of motion, making daily activities
difficult such as turning your head or the
inability to look behind when driving. The pain
can range from a dull ache to sharp, stabbing
pain. We often blame these knots on stress and
shoulder problems. The internet is full of
treatments and stretching exercises that may give
transient relief, but the twinges and cricks
often return and even worsen. Online physical
therapy for neck pain and spasms is a great
option for convenient relief.
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What Causes Muscle Spasms in your Upper Trap and
Scapular Regions? There are many reasons for
muscle spasms including fatigue, dehydration,
blood restriction, nerve injury, electrolyte
imbalance. Muscles also go into spasm as a way
for the body to protect an area from further
injury. An example would be a dislocated shoulder
the muscles around the shoulder go into spasms
to prevent further movement.
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When the brain senses instability or tissue
damage around the spine, it sends out a signal
that causes muscle guarding. A protective spasm
is the brains reflexogenic attempt to prevent
further insult to injured tissues. By splinting
the area with spasms, muscle locking
effectively reduces painful joint movements and
gives you a warning that something is
wrong. Injury/stress to the neck triggers
produces these muscle spasms in the trapezius and
scapular regions. These knots are usually the
size of a quarter to half-dollar and they are
dense and tender to touch. Our first thought is
to stretch and massage these muscles, but this
does NOT address the cause of the spasms.
Massage, ultrasound, stretching, trigger point
injections can all provide relief of tight muscle
or muscle spasms but the relief is usually only
temporary.
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A mechanical assessment will uncover the root
cause of your neck pain and upper trap spasm. If
movement and/or positions affect your neck
symptoms, then your symptoms are the result of a
mechanical problem. (If your symptoms are not
affected by movement then further testing is
needed to determine if your symptoms are the
result of a non-mechanical disorder.) A trained
clinician can assess your movement patterns to
determine the underlying root cause of your pain
and spasms and this can be performed by a virtual
physical therapist. When the root cause is
determined then the mechanical disorder can
easily be corrected.
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Misconceptions 1. Muscle relaxers are the
proper treatment for my neck spasms. FALSE.
Muscle relaxers are not treating the problem,
only masking the symptoms. 2. Trigger points
are the cause of the knots in my neck and need to
be targeted with massage and injections. FALSE.
The muscle spasms are referred from an underlying
cervical disorder.
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3. Massage, Active release, foam rolling are
the best treatments for tight neck
muscles. FALSE. The muscles are tight because of
an underlying mechanical disorder of the spine.
Only when this disorder is corrected will the
tightness and spasms go away. 4. I have an
inflamed trapezius muscle. FALSE. The trapezius
muscle is not inflamed. It is in a protective
spasm because of an underlying mechanical
disorder stemming from the cervical or upper
thoracic spine.
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How Do You Treat Neck and Shoulder Pain? Since
most neck pain is mechanical or cause by stress
or damage to joints and soft tissue, the
treatment must also be mechanical or movement
exercise. An assessment of the quality/quantity
of movement as well as the effect on symptoms
determines which underlying structures are
problematic. Often there is a directional
preference or movement in one direction that
reduces symptoms. Posture correction often
coincides with reducing neck and or shoulder
symptoms. Schedule a Mechanical Assessment now
with one of our virtual physical therapists so
they can determine the underlying cause of your
neck pain and upper trap spasms and help you with
a self-treatment program https//www.virtualphysi
caltherapists.com
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Virtual physical therapists

• info.virtualphysicaltherapists_at_gmail.com

• http//www.virtualphysicaltherapists.com/