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Neck Pain · Gig Harbor
A neck that turns again.
Chronic neck pain and headaches are what brought Dr. Ahn to chiropractic as a teenager. Today most neck pain we see comes from screens, driving and car accidents.
Sound familiar?
Tick the ones that fit.
Not a diagnosis. Just a quick way to see whether your pain has the pattern we treat every day.
The neck carries a ten-pound head all day and has to turn, tilt and hold still on command. When its small joints stop moving well, the muscles clamp down, headaches follow, and sometimes a nerve gets pinched on its way to the arm. Most of this is very treatable.
What it can feel like
- A stiff neck that won’t turn all the way
- Ache or pressure at the base of the skull
- Pain between the shoulder blades
- Tension headaches by the end of the day
- Pins and needles, numbness or weakness into the arm or hand
Common causes
- Hours at a computer or phone with the head forward
- Whiplash from a rear-end or side collision
- Sleeping position or an unsupportive pillow
- A pinched nerve from a disc or joint
- Joint restriction in the upper back that the neck compensates for
- Stress and jaw clenching
How we treat it
Neck care at Unison is gentle and specific. After the exam, treatment typically includes adjustments to the neck and upper back, soft-tissue work for the tight muscles, physiotherapy for the deep neck and shoulder-blade muscles, and practical coaching for your desk, phone and car setup.
Whiplash follows a staged plan: settle the inflammation first, restore motion, then rebuild strength and endurance. See our auto injury page if your neck pain started with a crash.
When to seek urgent care. Seek urgent care for neck pain with a sudden severe headache, fever and a stiff neck, dizziness, trouble speaking or swallowing, or arm weakness after an injury.
How getting better usually goes
Four stops.
Answers.
You leave knowing what it is, what the plan is, how long it should take, and what it costs with your insurance.
Relief.
Pain down, motion up. Visits are closer together while the joints learn to move again and the muscles stop guarding.
Rebuild.
Physiotherapy makes it hold: the muscles that let you down get strong enough to carry you. The part most people skip, and the part that keeps it from coming back.
Your life back.
A short home routine, a check-in now and then, and the door open if it ever flares.