Neck injuries and exercises for Rehab

One of the most dangerous areas of the body to injure is your neck. Because your spinal chord runs through the neck, any injury to this area must be treated with the utmost care to avoid paralysis or other complications. But once the acute injury has been treated, how do you manage the rehab for this sensitive area?

Initial treatment for neck injuries will often be conservative, avoiding further injury and treating with anti-inflammatories to reduce swelling to the muscles or discs. Where there is disc impingement, treatment may also include:

• Physical therapy to relieve the pressure on the nerve.
• Chiropractic treatments to relieve the pressure.
• Manual traction to help open up the cervical foramen where the nerve root exits the spinal canal.
• If these treatments are not successful, epidural injections may be an option. Research shows that epidural injections effectively relieve pain in approximately 50% of cases.
• The final option is surgery, though this will only be considered if all other treatments fail to provide relief.

Once treatment is completed to relieve the initial symptoms, then a course of physical therapy should be prescribed. The aim of physical therapy is to strengthen and improve flexibility in order to prevent a recurrence of the injury. Given the sensitive nature of this area it is crucial that this be prescribed and supervised by a certified physical therapist.