Once feeling pain in the neck when turning the head, a person is in no hurry to see a doctor, preferring to consider this a manifestation of osteochondrosis, which occurs very often even in young people.
In fact, many diseases can be caused by neck pain. How to get rid of this disease? A qualified specialist will help to establish the causes of the disease, eliminate discomfort, and choose the best method of treatment.
Reasons
Neck pain when turning your head can be triggered by a variety of he alth problems, and not always they concern this particular part of the body.
Injuries
Injured intervertebral discs and joints, vertebrae, ligaments and muscles - all this can cause pain. For effective treatment, you need to contact a traumatologist who will determine the nature of the injury and prescribe the appropriate treatment.
Immune system disorders
Diseases such as spondylitis, arthritis, rheumatic diseases can alsocause pain in the neck when turning the head. Self-medication in such cases is unacceptable, so a specialist consultation is necessary.
Disorders of the spine
Persistent pain in the neck can be felt in diseases such as osteochondrosis, osteoarthritis. The main cause of osteochondrosis is a sedentary lifestyle. In addition, there is an opinion that such a disease occurs due to the natural aging of the body, since the spine begins to lose its mobility and ossifies over time.
But there are several factors that can speed up this process. These are smoking, obesity, excessive physical activity and a sedentary lifestyle, and poor posture. Specific exercises will help relieve symptoms, but only a doctor should determine what kind of physical activity will be useful. Sometimes it is necessary to undergo a course of treatment before starting classes.
Infectious diseases
Neck pain is the result of osteomyelitis, tuberculosis, polio, tetanus, meningitis, and other infectious diseases. In this case, a visit to the doctor is simply necessary, and sometimes hospitalization may be necessary.
Tumors
Severe pain in the right side of the neck, which radiate to the right shoulder, may be the cause of tumors of the cervical spine. In addition, oncological diseases of the mammary glands, lungs, kidneys and thyroid gland metastasize to the spine, and this provokes the occurrence of pain in the neck. Timely diagnosis in such cases is essential.
Other causes of neck pain
And finally,neck pain on the left side, as well as on the right and behind, can be felt after a long stay in an uncomfortable position, sleeping in the wrong position, from hypothermia, muscle strain. These pains usually go away on their own. To speed up this process, you need to perform simple physical exercises while working at the computer, take breaks. If possible, try not to be in drafts and not sit under the air conditioner.
Types of neck pain
Pain in this part of the body varies:
- Sharp pain in neck and shoulders, inability to turn head. Unpleasant sensations persist in any position of the body.
- Pain between neck and head. Most often, pain is felt only on one side, and becomes more intense when turning or raising the head up.
- Pain in the neck that radiates to the back.
Often a person feels numbness and pulling pains in the neck.
Pain in front
Such a symptom may indicate diseases of the upper respiratory tract and throat, thyroid gland. In diseases of the throat, in addition to pain when swallowing, there is an increase in temperature. An enlarged thyroid gland or other signs of its disease is a reason to visit an endocrinologist.
If pain intensifies when turning the neck, radiates to the collarbone, muscle pain is felt when probing, you need to contact a vertebrologist.
Pain in the back
In this case, most likely, there is a problem with the back or the nervous system. It is important to pinpoint the sourcepain, because on the back of the neck there are a large number of nerve fibers, muscles and ligaments.
Pain on the sides of the neck may radiate to the arms, shoulders, collarbones, or shoulder blades. In addition to pain, a person may feel numbness and tension, stiffness in the neck, pain when trying to turn or tilt their head. When discomfort is given to the ear, dizziness and hearing problems arise, an ENT consultation is necessary.
Muscular pain occurs after physical overload, hypothermia. Pain that is too severe for a long time requires a visit to a doctor.
Crunching and pain in the neck are symptoms that should alert you. This may indicate problems with the spine. This symptom may be accompanied by neck stiffness, headaches, etc.
Pain in a child is a reason for immediate medical attention. If treatment is not started in a timely manner, this can result in head and torso deformity, muscle shortening and other serious problems.
What is cervicalgia and cervicalgia?
Fuzzy and mild pain is called cervicalgia. Basically, it is chronic. It is difficult for a person to move, he quickly gets tired and cannot sleep normally. Cervicago is a sharp pain in the neck, which is characterized by intensity and appears suddenly. It is also called "lumbago".
Diagnosis
Accurate description of the symptoms and the nature of the pain will help the doctor in choosing research methods and in making an accurate diagnosis. The age of the patient does not matter, since osteochondrosis, autoimmuneand infectious diseases can occur in a person of any age.
Starting the examination, the doctor must first find out what symptoms are observed in a person and how long ago they appeared, under what circumstances they intensify, then gently feel the affected area.
If a person has constant pain in the neck, first of all, it is necessary to exclude thyroid pathologies, various tumors. To do this, in addition to clinical and biochemical tests, it is necessary to conduct tests to determine the level of hormones and major tumor markers.
X-ray examination will help detect osteochondrosis and osteoarthritis, spondylopathy, displacement of the vertebrae. If, in addition to pain in the neck, a person has dizziness, tinnitus, problems with vision and hearing, then a study is necessary using computed and magnetic resonance imaging, as well as ultrasound of blood flow in the main vessels of the neck, angiography.
Treatment
The first question of a person who is faced with such an unpleasant symptom as neck pain: how to treat and how to get rid of the problem? In most cases, with pain in the neck, medical treatment is sufficient, which is based on painkillers. To relieve inflammation and swelling, additional drugs of other groups are prescribed. You will also need courses of physiotherapy, reflexology, exercise therapy, massage. Surgical intervention is performed only in especially severe cases.
To quickly get rid of pain, local anesthetics, analgesics, hormonal preparations in the form oftablets, injections, patches and ointments. In some cases, it is necessary to take antidepressants and anticonvulsants. After injuries and operations on the neck, a special collar is prescribed.
A good effect is the effect of electric current on the cervical region, especially with the simultaneous administration of painkillers. Acupuncture is also great for restoring mobility and muscle tone.
Phonophoresis - the introduction of painkillers into the painful area using ultrasonic waves - is a good way to alleviate a person's condition.
Good results in the treatment of neck pain are obtained by manual therapy, which helps to relax the muscles, relieve swelling and tension in them.
Intermittent aching pain in the neck can be a sign of weak muscles. If they are not strengthened, then the problem will not disappear. In this case, physiotherapy exercises will be useful. First of all, you need to accustom yourself to do exercises in the morning. Before getting out of bed, stretch well, stretching each muscle. Standing up, make rotational movements of the head, several tilts in different directions. Exercises should be done every day, some of them can be repeated during the working day.
It is important not to stop taking care of your neck after the end of the treatment and the disappearance of pain. If your posture during work is wrong, and you do not take breaks from work and forget about physical exercises, aching pain in the neck will not take long.
Surgical treatment
When a herniated discdisc, myelopathy, radiculopathy requires surgical intervention. At the same time, sections of the vertebrae that are the cause of spinal cord injury are removed. Surgical intervention is rarely resorted to, since the likelihood of complications and accidents is high, although the cause of pain with this method of treatment is really eliminated.
Folk methods
If pain is not a symptom of dangerous diseases, you can use traditional medicine recipes to relieve neck pain. What to treat in this case?
Compresses from plants such as burdock, cabbage, alder, coltsfoot help relieve pain. The procedure is performed daily at night.
Decoction of willow bark helps to relax the muscles, relieve inflammation and pain. Valerian has a similar effect.
Inside it is useful to use an infusion of burdock root. To prepare it, you need to cut a young burdock root (1 tablespoon), pour 200 ml of boiling water. Infuse for several hours. Drink the infusion for two weeks, half a cup three times a day.
Sometimes, pulling pains in the neck are associated with a cold, in which case a cabbage leaf compress will help. You need to take two leaves of cabbage, rub one with laundry soap, sprinkle with baking soda and cover with a second one. Then the compress is applied to the neck at night, wrapped with a scarf on top.
You can make a healing ointment. To prepare it, take the yolk of one egg, a teaspoon of turpentine, a tablespoon of vinegar. The ointment is rubbed on the neck and wrapped in a warm scarf.
Potatoperfectly relieves pain. You need to take a few potatoes and boil them in their skins, knead a little, attach to a sore spot and wrap a scarf on top. In order not to get burned, the potatoes are applied through a cloth folded several times. It is better to do such a compress at night. After the procedure is completed, the neck is rubbed with cologne, wrapped warmly. In the morning you will feel much better. Paraffin is often used in the treatment of pain, which must be applied to the affected area hot in two layers, covered with oilcloth and wrapped. The compress is kept for no more than half an hour.
Prevention
In order to prevent neck pain, try to change your body position more often during work, get rid of bad habits and excess weight, do not forget about exercises in the morning, go to the pool, gym.
Practicing physical exercises, do not overdo it, in this case, instead of a positive effect, you can get the opposite. Physical activity should be dosed, and they should be increased gradually. When working at a computer, you need to take care of the proper organization of the workplace. The back, neck and arms should be in a comfortable position. Make sure the monitor is parallel to your eyes. Remember to take a break every hour that you can use for a little exercise.
Pay attention to the position in which you fall asleep and wake up. If you like to sleep on your stomach, then you should not be surprised that in the morning you are tormented by pain in the cervical region. Learn to wake upand fall asleep on your back. The mattress must be firm. Also, try not to be in drafts and not get cold. Neck pain when turning your head does not just happen. Often it is caused by serious causes, and the sooner treatment is started, the better. But the uncontrolled use of drugs that relieve pain can only do harm. Therefore, first of all, you need to see a doctor to determine the cause of the pain and methods of treatment.
