You Need To Consider Doing This If Your Neck and Shoulder Pain Is Not Improving With Pilates
Neck and shoulder pain can feel like a constant, unrelenting weight that you carry around, making even the simplest movements difficult. Whether caused by poor posture, muscle tension, stress, or an underlying condition, neck and shoulder pain can significantly affect your daily life, leaving you frustrated and drained.
The emotional impact of neck and shoulder pain is just as intense. The ongoing discomfort, paired with the inability to fully relax or move freely, can leave you feeling anxious, discouraged, and hopeless. If Pilates hasn’t provided lasting relief from your neck and shoulder pain, it might be time to explore other treatment options that focus on addressing the root cause and providing true, long-lasting relief.
Pilates: A Common Approach to Treating Neck and Shoulder Pain
Pilates is a popular exercise method that emphasizes core strength, flexibility, and posture improvement. By focusing on strengthening the muscles that support the spine and improving alignment, Pilates can help alleviate neck and shoulder pain for many individuals. The low-impact nature of Pilates exercises helps to improve muscle balance, reduce tension, and increase flexibility in the neck and shoulder region.
However, while Pilates can be helpful for relieving tension and improving strength, it may not always provide complete relief from neck and shoulder pain. If the pain is caused by more severe issues such as disc problems, pinched nerves, or inflammation, Pilates alone may not fully address the root cause of your pain. For some individuals, the pain may persist, leaving them feeling frustrated and uncertain of the path forward.
Why Getting a Clear Diagnosis Is Crucial
Neck and shoulder pain can be caused by various factors. Here are five common causes of neck and shoulder pain:
- Muscle Strain – Overuse, poor posture, or sudden movements can strain the muscles in the neck and shoulders, causing pain, stiffness, and discomfort.
- Cervical Disc Issues – Herniated or degenerative discs in the cervical spine can cause radiating pain, numbness, and weakness in the neck and shoulders.
- Shoulder Impingement – When the rotator cuff tendons are pinched between the bones in the shoulder, it can lead to pain, particularly when raising the arm.
- Arthritis – Degeneration of the joints in the neck or shoulder can cause inflammation, stiffness, and pain.
- Stress and Tension – Chronic stress can cause muscle tightness and tension in the neck and shoulders, leading to discomfort and restricted movement.
In addition to these common causes, there are two less common but potentially serious causes of neck and shoulder pain:
- Fractures – A broken bone in the neck or shoulder can lead to severe pain and limit mobility.
- Nerve Compression – Pressure on nerves in the neck or upper back can cause pain, numbness, or tingling sensations in the neck, shoulders, or arms.
The Need for Imaging to Get a Precise Diagnosis
It’s important to understand that neck and shoulder pain cannot always be fully diagnosed through physical symptoms or a basic examination alone. Imaging techniques such as X-rays, MRIs, or CT scans are essential for assessing the health of the cervical spine, shoulder joints, and surrounding tissues. These diagnostic tools provide healthcare providers with a detailed view of the cause of your pain and allow them to create a more accurate and effective treatment plan.
The Pain Relief Clinic: Your Partner in Finding a Clear Diagnosis
At The Pain Relief Clinic, we understand how neck and shoulder pain can limit your mobility and affect your ability to enjoy your life. With over a decade of experience, we specialize in offering non-invasive diagnostic services to uncover the root cause of your pain. If you’ve been struggling with neck and shoulder pain and haven’t found lasting relief, we can arrange for affordable scans, typically within one working day.
Medisave can often be used to help cover the cost of these scans, making them more accessible for you.
We also assist with insurance claims, including accident insurance, travel insurance, and company insurance, ensuring that you can access the care you need without added financial strain.
Once we have a clear diagnosis, we can provide targeted treatments, solutions, and non-invasive technology to help alleviate your neck and shoulder pain and restore your mobility.
Ready to take control of your neck and shoulder pain? Send us a message today to arrange an appointment and begin your journey toward lasting relief from neck and shoulder pain.
What To Expect When I Visit The Pain Relief Clinic
A typical visit will involve our doctor first understanding your medical history, concerns and previous experience with other pain treatments.
For patients who have consulted many people but have yet to receive a clear diagnosis, selecting an affordable imaging scan might be recommended to confirm the cause of your pain..
Some patients have already done scans with other doctors for their pain condition but are still not clearly told what they suffer from.
Dr Terence Tan is happy to offer you a second opinion and recommend how best to manage your condition.
We also see patients who already have a confirmed diagnosis from specialist pain doctors, but are "stuck” because treatment options offered are not practical or acceptable.
We can help by discussing options that you might have potentially never been told of.
A common experience is when a patient has already consulted a specialist doctor for pain management and is told to consider orthopaedic surgery which they find too aggressive.
Or they may have seen doctors for their pain and were prescribed painkillers with potential side effects which made them feel uncomfortable.
Many of our patients have also first tried complementary treatments or acupuncture with traditional Chinese pain doctors.
They look for a second opinion after finding any relief experienced from other treatments to be temporary or requiring repetitive treatments, which add up to time and cost.
Especially in such situations, we emphasize using non-invasive medical technology you likely have not been told about .
This can make a big difference to your results.