Head & Neck
Does this describe your pain?
- Headaches (tension headache, cluster headache, stress headache, migraines)
- TMJ or similar symptoms
- Head, neck and jaw pain when you try to read, work, or sit too long in one place
- Pain and stiffness, knots or “cricks” in neck and shoulder muscles
- Burning sensation, numbness or tingling in arms, hands or fingers
- Clicking or grinding noise when you move
- Dizziness when you stand up
- Sleep disturbance
Is your pain…
- Localized to one part of the head or neck, such as your jaw or temple
- Ongoing, only when you move, or seemingly at random
- Acute and debilitating, “gets in the way”, or “I can live with it, but…”
- Associated with a particular activity or location, such as working in the office, smoking, mowing the grass, drinking coffee, or lifting weights
What causes most head and neck pain?
Various underlying factors can sensitize you to pain, precede pain, or trigger pain:
- Anxiety and stress
- Environmental or dietary triggers like perfumes, caffeine, and smoking
- Traumatic injury, like a car accident
- Biomechanical stress from postural or skeletal misalignments or poor ergonomics in your working environment
- Overuse, misuse or aging-related musculoskeletal changes
- Chronic health conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis and circulatory problems
Which head and neck pain diagnoses are most common?
- Migraines, tension headaches and cluster headaches
- TMJ (temporomandibular) jaw pain
- Concussion and whiplash
- Repetitive stress injuries like “computer neck” and “text neck”
- Arthritic discs, degenerative discs, herniated discs, and bulging discs
- Pinched nerves
- Scoliosis
- Military neck
- Strained or sprained muscles and joints
Head & Neck Pain Treatment
If you’re experiencing persistent neck strain, headaches, or upper–back discomfort around the cervical spine, or sharp pain in the back of your head and behind your shoulder or neck, tailored physical therapy at Maximum Health Physical Therapy can help restore mobility, reduce pain, and improve your day-to-day quality of life. Many patients also experience aching pain in the back of the head and neck, one-sided neck and head pain, or a stiff neck with head pain, which can result from muscle tension, nerve irritation, posture imbalance, or previous injury.
Our licensed therapists specialize in identifying the root causes of head and neck pain and developing a personalized treatment plan that may include manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, posture correction, and ergonomic guidance. Through these evidence-based techniques, we aim to relieve pain, restore movement, and strengthen the supporting muscles of the neck and shoulders—helping you achieve lasting comfort and improved function.
Through hands-on mobilization techniques, strengthening and stretching exercises, and patient education, we aim to not just relieve symptoms temporarily, but to address underlying dysfunction for long-term relief. Whether your pain is due to poor ergonomics, whiplash, overuse, or chronic conditions like cervical disc issues, our team in Budd Lake & Long Valley is committed to helping you regain your full range of motion, reduce headache frequency, and prevent recurrences.
