Persistent neck pain: my experience as a physio and a patient

When you’re living with persistent pain, you want to feel that your physiotherapist understands. You want someone who listens, takes your symptoms seriously and appreciates how much pain can affect your life.

Being a physio doesn’t make me immune to pain. I lived with a troublesome neck for around 25 years. Although everyone’s experience is different, being a patient myself has shaped the way I support others.

Where it began

In my twenties, I was in a car accident. We were hit by a lorry and spun across the road.

Afterwards came whiplash, nerve pain, back pain, tingling and spasms in my hand. It was awful.

I was fortunate to be working at the National Spinal Injuries Centre at the time. Some of the clinicians supporting me were also colleagues and friends. With rehabilitation and pain management, including acupuncture, I felt much better after about 12 weeks.

I thought that was the end of it.

Gradually, though, the symptoms crept back. My neck would wake me at night, and pain would radiate down my arms when I did too much.

Getting on with life

At the time, I was working long hours, commuting into London and spending my spare time paddling, mountain biking and climbing.

I stopped weight training and adjusted my activities. I used the rehabilitation and symptom management approaches I knew as a physio. Occasionally, colleagues helped with taping or manual therapy.

For a long time, my symptoms were manageable and life was good.

Continuing to race whilst managing persistent neck symptoms

As the years passed, I made more adjustments. I stopped climbing and cycling but continued paddling, running and rowing. I became a parent and carried my little girl in a backpack because she hated being in a pram.

My neck needed attention, but it didn’t stop me having a full and happy life. Much of the time, I coped well.

When things changed

Then COVID arrived, and everyday life changed dramatically.

My usual exercise routines disappeared. My fitness dropped, I stopped racing and I gained weight. Meanwhile, work became more physically demanding: visiting people at home, carrying a heavy treatment plinth and doing extra cleaning between appointments.

I was trying hard to support other people, but finding less time and energy to look after myself.

Eventually, my symptoms became overwhelming. At my worst, I couldn’t even sit up comfortably to eat. I developed numbness in my hands and problems with my grip. I was also experiencing breathing difficulties and palpitations.

This was a significant change from the symptoms I had managed for years. Further investigation was needed. An MRI showed disc herniations affecting my spinal cord, and following specialist assessment, surgery was recommended.

Surgery and recovery

I underwent cervical disc replacement surgery.

My turn to be the patient

Even as a physio, the prospect of neck surgery was frightening. Understanding anatomy doesn’t take away the uncertainty of becoming a patient.

Recovery took time. It was around seven months before I felt good again, and roughly a year to 18 months before I returned to the sports I loved.

I was left with some mild residual nerve symptoms in my left arm. Over time, rehabilitation and pain management strategies helped those symptoms become much less noticeable. They no longer dominate my attention or limit my life in the way they once did.

These days, I get a little stiff occasionally, but I’m generally pain free. The breathing difficulties and palpitations I experienced have resolved, too.

I’m back to cycling, swimming, paddling and rowing—including activities I had given up years earlier.

I’m very grateful for that.

Back to exploring our coastline after recovery

What being a patient taught me

I already understood persistent pain professionally. Living with it gave me another perspective.

I learnt what it feels like to keep adapting your life around symptoms. To give up something you enjoy. To worry about what a change in symptoms might mean. And to find it difficult to make space for your own health when other people need you.

I also experienced how much it helps to have someone listen, explain what is happening and support you through the next step.

My story is one person’s experience. Persistent neck pain does not automatically mean you need surgery, and your recovery may look very different from mine. For me, physiotherapy helped me stay active for many years. When my symptoms changed significantly, specialist assessment and surgery became part of my care.

The aim was always to find the right support for what I needed at that point.

You don’t have to work it all out alone

If you’re struggling with persistent neck pain, we’re here to listen and help.

Our role is to assess your symptoms, understand how they affect your life and work with you on a plan. That may include rehabilitation, support with managing pain and rebuilding confidence in movement, or referral for further investigation when appropriate.

Having lived through persistent pain myself, I know how much it can take out of you. I also know how valuable it is to have support as you find your way forward.

You deserve to be heard, taken seriously and helped towards the life you want to lead.