Physiotherapy : Your Road to Recovery

ealth and Environment Times takes questions from readers on various important issues related to health and environment from experts in the respective fields.

We are again back with our ‘Q/A Session’ related to physiotherapy with Dr Patli Pathak, a renowned physiotherapist. We hope this article will help our readers with their queries and, are looking forward more questions.

I often feel pain and tightness around my neck and upper back. Sometime when I move the neck, it feels stuck.

When we sit in a position for e.g. In front of laptop, T.V. or with smart phone for a long time period muscles around the neck and upper back is in a contracted state which leads to tightness and eventually pain.

What is the reason for this tightness and development of knots and pain?

Trigger points are formed only in muscles. There is local contraction of small muscle fibers, elevation of acetylcholine, noradrenaline and serotonin and a lower pH. The sustained contractions,compress local blood supply. This energy crises in muscles produces sensitizing substances which interact with nociceptive nerves which produces localized pain within the muscles.

Once the treatment is done can it re-occur?

The umbrella term used for there kind of pain in our body is repetitive strain injury. So once the treatment of pain is done, one need to follow the instructions given by physiotherapist. Generally, the muscles in these areas become week and need time for strengthening. So don’t miss follow up sessions with your physiotherapist, because   the exercise are constantly change for deep and superficial muscles.

Though I do exercise daily morning but still I find tightness and pain after few weeks of treatment.

When exercising we are working only for few minutes on a particular muscle is getting movement only for few minutes in 24 hours while it is contracted state for rest of the time. For e.g., when a person is working in front of laptop after few minutes neck comes forward and in shoulder is in slightly shrugged and forward flexed position. That’s why the physiotherapist advices to do stretching of neck and shoulder muscles after every hour. When a person does stretching often strengthening daily that chances of repetitive strain injury is very less.

Sometimes I observe that my pain keeps shifting in the body.

If your pain point in body is changing frequently than it comes under musculoskeletal disorder or fibromyalgia. Depending on the stiffness pain keeps shifting.