CORE CLINICS
Proven approach to the treatment and prevention of neck and shoulder problems
People who have stressful lives or suffer with anxiety can often carry tension in their neck and shoulders, which can be made worse by sedentary desk-based jobs. As well as aches and pains, you may experience restricted movement where you find it difficult to fully turn your head or raise your arm.
Neck pain is a very common problem which is experienced by two-thirds of the population at some point in their lives.
Physical inactivity and busy, stressful lives tend to place more stress and strain on the upper back and neck. Anxiety and stressful periods can lead to people holding tension in their neck and shoulders. Sedentary desk-based jobs and the extended use of tech gadgets such as smartphones can make matters worse. Shoulder pain is also very common because the shoulder is a complex joint.
Neck and shoulder pain can also result from acute trauma (like sports injuries or road traffic accidents) or repetitive strain type injuries from sedentary work or consistent strain.
Neck and shoulder problems can occur in isolation or in combination with other types of pain such as headaches or upper back pain. Neck and shoulder tension can also lead to pain between the shoulder blades, headaches, pain in the arms and even pins and needles in the fingers.
Sub-conditions and symptoms we can help with
- Aching
- Stabbing or shooting pain
- Stiffness
- Restricted movement (e.g. difficulty turning head or raising arm)
- Pins and needles
- Arthritic pain
- Trapped nerve pain
- Referred pain to or from neck and shoulder
- Whiplash
- Rotator cuff issues
- Labrum issues
- Bursitis
- Bulging disc in the neck
- Trapped nerve
- Overuse or repetitive strain injuries
- Traumatic injuries including whiplash
- Shoulder dislocation
Whiplash
If you are involved in an accident that caused your neck to move forward or backward quickly and beyond the reach of its normal limits, this can cause damage to the tendons and ligaments resulting in an injury known as whiplash. You may not immediately feel neck or shoulder pain following such an accident – symptoms can come on a day or so after the incident and may continue to worsen over several days. In some cases patients also experience pain in the lower back, muscle spasms, dizziness, tiredness, irritability, blurred vision and vertigo.
The neck pain you feel if you are affected by whiplash following an accident is caused by inflammation and bruises in the muscles of your neck. In many cases the pain will subside as the bruising reduces within a week or two. If you experience severe neck or shoulder pain after an accident or the pain does not subside within a couple of weeks you should schedule an appointment with us.
Treatment options
The treatment we offer for neck and shoulder issues may include chiropractic, osteopathy, physical therapies, medical acupuncture and more.
Depending on your symptoms, the duration of your complaint, and any current diagnosis, we can identify who is the best person for you to see in our team for your new patient appointment. To help you decide either click our handy guide or contact us to discuss.
How we can help you
Comprehensive consultation
Comprehensive consultation, examination and health history
Treatment plans and therapies
A clear diagnosis with recommendations for self-management and treatment protocols
Tailored to your needs
We work in partnership with our patients to deliver consistent results, with regular reviews and follow ups
ABOUT US
How we work
Multi-disciplinary patient-centred healthcare
Lots of clinics have different healthcare professionals under the same roof but they don’t tend to collaborate fully or share care with patients. They also don’t have clear and proven care protocols which have been tested and refined to provide the best possible results, and value for time and money for patients. At Core Clinics all our clinicians and therapists work in an integrated way, adapted to the needs of each patient. So, when you make a first appointment with anyone in our team, you’ll have access to everyone in our team – and we’ll clearly signpost to you who you should see and what you can do to help yourself too. We’ve developed and refined this approach for over 15 years and helped over 13,000 patients.
Don't just take our word for it
We have helped thousands of people to achieve a better state of health, or to reach their sports performance goals.
Jennifer KatherineShoulder pain Lina BonsorShoulder and arm pain Mr Duncan SandsNeck / Shoulder Virginia HyamElbow and arm painNeck, Shoulder and Whiplash
Frequently asked questions
The best treatment all depends on the cause of your issue. These issues can range from being muscular, to joint related, to organ referral or even stress related. Therefore, it is hard to say what is the best treatment for you. The most common cause would be due to muscle tension from both postural dysfunction and stress. Therefore, the best way to treat that would be massage to relieve tension and help de-stress yourself, postural exercises to strengthen the weak muscles causing dysfunction and mobilisations or manipulations to bring back mobility to joints that need it. Sometimes more stress related help is needed depending on how much of the tension is due to your mental health.
Anxiety causes tension due to a few natural instincts in your body. Your fight or flight reflex causes your muscles to tense up in preparation for defending yourself or running away from a predator. You also hunch forward when you feel vulnerable to subconsciously protect your organs from harm. Therefore, to relieve these tensions, you must find a way to decrease your stress or anxiety levels. Much easier said than done of course.
Start with a massage to calm down your body and stop your muscles from being so defensive. Try introducing exercise to your routine or finding time to do things you love to do. If you are finding it hard to reduce your stress levels yourself, trying an alternative therapy like reflexology or reiki can be a nice way to reduce your stress levels. Some people need to go to a counselor or therapist to get to the bottom of their problems as sometimes it can be difficult to know why you are feeling this way in the first place.
Ear infections can actually refer pain to the jaw, teeth and sometimes even the neck. This is because the nerve patterns that supply the ear also supply some structures in these areas too. Also, the glands in your neck may in fact swell up and will be tender when your ear is infected, causing further discomfort.
One way to do this at home is to lie down on your back with a rolled-up towel under your neck to allow your joints to feel supported while your muscles relax. Make sure your shoulders are relaxed with your shoulder blades down. Use this time to be mindful and help de-stress because you would be surprised how much tension we build up from the minor stresses (and big ones) of the day.
Interestingly, there is something called cervicogenic dizziness which means dizziness coming from the neck structures. There are receptors in your neck which tell your brain where your head is in space. If there is an issue with your neck it can cause miscommunication between your neck and your inner ear. This causes the sensation of feeling dizzy. To sort this out you can get good results by massaging the muscles around the neck and mobilizing or manipulating the cervical vertebrae to restore function.
Get in touch
Core Clinics offer a unique, integrative approach to health and wellbeing and sports performance.
Comprehensive consultations
We leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of your health issues and answer all your questions.
Treatment plans and therapies
We’ll give you a very clear diagnosis and prognosis so that you know exactly where you stand and what you can expect from working with us.
Tailored to your needs
We’ll explain in detail our recommended treatment approach and give you lots of advice for self-care. If we feel you’d be better served with another clinical professional, we’ll let you know and arrange a referral.
Let us know how we can help
Our clinicians will be in touch soon with a personalised approach to your problem