A 30 minute Neck Assessment with an accredited exercise physiologist in Epping.
Prefer to talk? Call 03 7047 6261
Epping clinic · Accredited clinicians · Book online in a minute
If several of these sound familiar, you are not alone, and there is a clear way to start working out what is going on.
Your neck is built to move, but a lot of modern days involve holding it still. Long stretches at a desk, in the car, or looking down at a phone ask your neck muscles to hold your head up in one position for far longer than they are used to.
This is really a story of load versus capacity: the demand you are placing on your neck versus what it can currently handle. When the hours of static posture and repeated small movements add up to more than your neck's current capacity, muscles tighten, joints stiffen, and you feel it as pain, stiffness or a headache.
Headaches from the neck (often called cervicogenic headaches) happen because the top of the neck and the base of the skull share nerve pathways. Tension and stiffness in the upper neck can refer pain up into the head, even though the head itself is not the source.
It tends to linger because the demands rarely let up. If your neck's capacity is not gradually rebuilt, the same desk day, the same drive, or the same night's sleep keeps tipping you back into stiffness, so it can feel like it never fully resolves.
We build plans from the evidence, not guesswork. Here is some of it.
Neck and shoulder strengthening exercises showed moderate evidence of reducing chronic neck pain at short to long-term follow-up.
Gross et al. (2015). Exercises for mechanical neck disorders. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. PubMed 25629215Combined manipulative therapy and motor control exercise effectively reduced cervicogenic headache in a large multicentre trial with sustained long-term outcomes.
Jull (2023). Cervicogenic headache. Musculoskelet Sci Pract. PubMed 37301672The scapula bridges the shoulder complex and cervical spine, and abnormal scapular motion may relate to neck pain in office workers.
Cools et al. (2014). Rehabilitation of scapular dyskinesis: from the office worker to the elite overhead athlete. Br J Sports Med. PubMed 23687006Workplace sit-stand desks reduced neck and shoulder pain in desk workers compared to standard desks over three months.
Ma et al. (2021). Effects of a Workplace Sit-Stand Desk Intervention on Health and Productivity. Int J Environ Res Public Health. PubMed 34770116German clinical guidelines recommend exercise therapy as part of treatment for chronic neck pain lasting over 12 weeks.
El-Allawy et al. (2025). Clinical Practice Guideline: Nonspecific Neck Pain. Dtsch Arztebl Int. PubMed 40665902Research summaries are general information, not advice about your situation. Your assessment is what tells us what applies to you.
Backing off activity can quieten things down for a few days, but the neck still has to hold your head up all day. When you go back to normal desk work or driving without rebuilding capacity, the same load hits the same tissues and the stiffness returns.
Stretches often feel good in the moment because they ease muscle tension temporarily. But if the deeper neck and upper back muscles are not building endurance to support your posture through the day, the tightness comes back by the next afternoon.
The sore spot is often where load is landing, not necessarily where the problem starts. Shoulder position, upper back stiffness and how you move your head through the day all feed into neck symptoms, so treating one point in isolation tends to give short-lived relief.
Pushing through on good days and doing nothing on bad days means the neck never gets a steady, gradual increase in load. Capacity stalls, so the same triggers, a long drive, a big desk day, a bad night's sleep, keep tipping things over.
We start with your history: how long this has been going on, what makes it worse, and what it is getting in the way of, whether that is work, driving or sleep.
We assess how your neck, shoulders and upper back move and load, including postures and positions that come up in your day, like desk work or checking your blind spot.
You will leave with a clear explanation of what is likely driving your symptoms and a practical plan, whether that is a home program, ongoing sessions, or both.
If you are not sure whether this is for you, come in and we will work it out together.
Answer a few quick questions and we will get in touch to book you in.
Accredited clinicians who will explain everything in plain language.
No. You can book the $79 Neck Assessment directly, no GP referral required.
Comfortable clothing you can move in. We may ask you to move your head, neck and shoulders through some positions, so avoid tight collars if you can.
30 minutes. That gives us enough time to understand your history, assess how your neck moves and loads, and talk through next steps.
Exercise physiology is claimable through most private health extras policies under the exercise physiology or EP item. Check your level of cover with your fund. We are also NDIS and DVA registered providers.
Come in anyway. A flare-up can actually give us useful information about what is aggravating things. Let us know when you book if you would like any adjustments made.
For most people, yes, when it is set up appropriately for what your neck can currently manage. Part of the assessment is working out what level to start at and building from there.
Yes, there is parking available on site at Unit 11, 58 Willandra Drive, Epping.
You will leave with a clear idea of what is driving your neck pain and a plan for what to do next, whether that is a program to start on your own or ongoing sessions with us.
Spend 30 minutes with an accredited exercise physiologist working out why your neck is stiff and what to do about it.
Prefer to talk? Call 03 7047 6261.