Neck arthritis, or cervical spondylosis, is a condition that can dramatically affect your daily life. Fortunately, physical therapy can be very helpful for managing neck arthritis. 

The knowledge that physical therapy is useful for cervical spondylosis could be useful to many Americans. After all, one medical study reports that 90% of men over 50 and women over 60 have begun to develop neck arthritis. Physical therapists have many techniques that they can use to help your cervical spondylosis symptoms. These techniques can lead to significant benefits for your neck arthritis. 

Three ways physical therapy can be helpful for neck arthritis

Physical therapists have an intimate understanding of the structures of your neck since they have spent years learning about this and other parts of the human musculoskeletal system. This knowledge allows them to offer physical therapy that’s helpful for neck arthritis. A few of the benefits that physical therapy can offer for this condition include: 

1. Increasing your ability to look around — A normal neck allows you to turn your head from side to side with ease. This movement is vital for looking at objects, such as when you’re watching a family member play baseball. However, cervical spondylosis tends to reduce your ability to turn your head. 

Physical therapists can use a technique called therapeutic exercise to help improve your neck range of motion (ROM). A study of this technique found that 10 days of it helped cervical spondylosis patients improve their: 

• Right rotation by nearly eight degrees.
• Left rotation by more than six degrees. 

2. Reducing pain — Neck arthritis also tends to inflame neck structures, which triggers pain. Decreasing and managing this pain is a key way physical therapists can help you. 

Often, your specialist will use a therapy method called spinal manipulation to help treat neck arthritis pain. One study reveals that this technique helped reduce patients’ numeric pain rating scale (NPRS) scores by nearly three points on average after just two sessions. 

3. Managing symptoms in the long term — Physical therapists want to help you manage your symptoms more effectively over the long term. Research shows that a technique called the McKenzie Method^® can help meet this goal. 

The McKenzie Method is used to diagnose, treat and provide education about many spinal issues, including neck arthritis. A study found that using this therapy method can have long-term benefits for this condition. This study reports that a neck pain sufferer reported their pain hadn’t returned one month after completing their treatment. 

Continuum Wellness offers effective physical therapy for neck arthritis

Are you suffering from neck arthritis? Our physical therapy team at Continuum Wellness is prepared to help you manage and treat the symptoms of this issue. We’ll start by doing a free screening on your neck. This helps us determine which symptoms you have and how severe they are.

Additionally, our physical therapists excel at building customized therapy plans designed to offer all the benefits above and more. Even better, you can start treating your symptoms without leaving home if you sign up for an at-home care or virtual therapy session with us.

Contact our team today for more information about our neck arthritis treatment options or to schedule your initial appointment.