Wry Neck

What is the condition?

Wry neck is a condition where you develop neck pain and stiffness. It is characterised by an accompanying neck muscle spasm. This is a protective response that causes you to have an inability to turn your neck towards one direction due to the pain.Wry neck can be quite a disabling condition. Fortunately, it can be treated quite successfully within a short period of time.

How do you get it?

There are 2 main mechanisms to wry neck:

  • Disc injury causing a discogenic wry neck
  • Locked facet joint – this is the more common cause of wry neck. People with this condition often report waking up in the morning with stiff neck. The actual cause of this is unknown but sleeping in an awkward position is thought to be the cause.

What problems does it cause?

There are 3 things that happen when you have wry neck:

  • Pain – you should get pain in the affected side of the neck. The pain should be one sided and does not extend to the shoulder
  • Loss of movement – your neck will be locked in an abnormal position (rotated and flexed away from painful side) and it will be painful to move it towards the painful side. This makes some activities like driving to be dangerous.
  • Muscle spasm – this is a protective mechanism that your body uses to limit further movement.

What is the treatment?

A locked facet joint wry neck can be unlocked almost immediately with manual therapy. However, the residual muscle spasm may linger for a while. For this, our radiofrequency treatment is one of the most effective in treating the condition. As the treatment for facet wry neck and discogenic wry neck is quite different, our therapists will assess you and ascertain which type of wry neck you have before proceeding the treatment. Also, we use the most modern modality like the radiofrequency treatment to get the best outcome possible.

What results to expect?

While some patients report improvements immediately after 1 session, up to 6 weekly sessions are required for the full benefits and healing effects of the treatment.
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