Pain in the neck area is a common thing for many of us today. The reasons for this are varied: lack of movement, sedentary work, neglect of exercise, and much more. Unpleasant painful sensations, localized in the neck, are called "cervicalgia". What is it, what are the causes and treatments for this condition? We will consider these issues in the article.
Reasons
Why do neck pains appear? The causes of cervicalgia are varied. These can be various rheumatological, traumatological, neurological and other ailments.
Most often, cervicalgia, the treatment of which will be described below, develops as a result of the following degenerative diseases:
- spondylosis;
- osteochondrosis;
- hernia, protrusion of the intervertebral disc;
- arthritis of the facet joints;
- dysfunction of facet joints;
- myofascial syndrome and others.
The cervical region is often affected by rheumatological diseases, such as ankylosing spondylitis(Bechterew's disease). Injuries to the cervical spine (fractures, dislocations, sprains) can also cause neck pain. Less common causes are osteomyelitis and cancer.
Provoking factors for the occurrence of pain may be:
- sedentary, "couch" lifestyle;
- wrong body position during sleep;
- excessive exercise;
- weight lifting;
- hypothermia;
- violation of posture;
- malnutrition;
- obesity, metabolic disorder;
- bad habits;
- mental disorders;
- frequent stress.
Often this phenomenon develops against the background of a disease such as osteochondrosis. Cervicalgia in this case provokes excessive tension in the muscles of the neck. As a result, the mobility of this part of the body is greatly reduced. Also, cervicalgia syndrome is accompanied by autonomic dysfunction, dizziness, blurred vision.
Views
This ailment is of two types:
- Vertebrogenic (or vertebral) cervicalgia. It occurs as a result of diseases of the cervical spine, such as intervertebral hernia, spondylosis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis and others.
- Nonvertebrogenic cervicalgia. What it is? This form of pain syndrome develops due tosprains of muscles and ligaments, myositis, fibromyalgia, neuralgia. In addition, such a condition may occur as a result of an epidural abscess, meningitis, thrombosis, subarachnoid hemorrhage, pharyngeal abscess, and the like.
Vertebral cervicalgia is divided into spondylogenic and discogenic. Symptoms depend on the underlying disease. We will talk about them further.
Osteochondrosis
Cervical osteochondrosis is characterized by dull, often constant pain in the neck, radiating to the arm, shoulder, neck. Due to the degenerative process, the vertebral artery can be compressed, which leads to the development of vertebral artery syndrome. In this case, noise in the head, dizziness, flickering of “flies” will be felt, sometimes severe headaches may appear.
When the neck is awkwardly moved, pain occurs, which is exacerbated by head movements. The muscles become "wooden", with palpation there is a sharp pain. Sometimes the process can go to the hand, then the shoulder-scapular periarthritis develops.
Hernia and protrusion
As a result of the degenerative process in the cartilaginous tissue, partial or complete destruction of the elastic membrane of the fibrous ring occurs. Partial destruction, characterized by the displacement of the nucleus pulposus from the central position outwards, is called protrusion, and complete destruction, in which the nucleus comes out, is called disc herniation. Both cases require immediate treatment.
Spondylosis
It's stillone ailment, the result of which is cervicalgia. Symptoms occur due to the fact that osteogenesis (the formation of bone cells) is disturbed, and therefore osteophytes (growths) grow along the edge of the vertebrae. When moving, a crunch is heard in the cervical region. When the vertebral arteries are squeezed by osteophytes, dizziness and intractable headache appear.
Spondylolisthesis
Displacement of the superior vertebra relative to the inferior one develops as a result of pronounced destruction of cartilaginous tissue. Due to the displacement, some instability of the spine appears. With an awkward movement, cervical (spasm of the neck muscles) occurs. Also quite often in the upper limbs there is a violation of sensitivity (paresthesia).
Osteomyelitis
This pathology is not often found in the cervical region. Basically, the infection penetrates the bone tissue by the hematogenous route (with blood flow). In addition to painful sensations, body temperature rises above 38ºС. The pain in this case has a pulsating character, there is swelling and soreness of the surrounding tissues. In some cases, osteomyelitis develops imperceptibly, and cervicalgia will be the only constant sign. There may be no symptoms of intoxication.
Ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis is the most common rheumatological pathology affecting the spine. This is a type of arthritis, which is characterized by damage to the small intervertebral joints. The disease manifests itself with pain and stiffness during movement. Atfurther destruction of tissues forms a stable block, in the affected joints the movement is completely absent.
Chronic pain
After injuries with chronic inflammation of the connective tissue, chronic pain develops, which is more like discomfort in the neck that occurs at rest and movement. In this case, tension and soreness of the muscles are noted. After sharp tilts of the head, the manifestations intensify.
Cancer
There are cartilaginous and bone-forming tumors of the spine. They can be either malignant or benign. Tumor growth is affected by its type. In the initial stage, the tumor is manifested by intermittent localized or widespread pain. Cervicalgia syndrome develops over several years.
Cervicalgia with musculo-tonic syndrome
Muscular-tonic syndrome is characterized by the occurrence of pain in the cervical spine. There is also a limitation of neck mobility, soreness and spasm of the neck muscles. In some cases, visual disturbances and dizziness may occur. The disease usually develops suddenly. Adults are more susceptible to this pathology; in childhood, the syndrome is rare. A characteristic symptom of this condition is aching pain, which can spread to large areas of the patient's body. Vertebrogenic cervicalgia with muscular-tonic syndrome can cause the formation of humeroscapular periarthrosis. In such a statethere is damage to the tissues surrounding the shoulder joint.
Therapeutic interventions
Above it was told why cervicalgia occurs, what it is and what symptoms it manifests. Now let's look at the principles of treating the disease.
First of all, it is necessary to establish the true causes of this condition. For diagnosis, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are used. In addition, today in all medical centers there are conditions for conducting a traditional X-ray examination.
Treatment of cervicalgia in osteochondrosis consists of two stages. The first is pain relief, the second is self-medication.
The acute period of cervicalgia requires drug therapy, which includes the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Medications are prescribed in the form of tablets (for example, Aertal), local remedies (for example, Nise Gel), injections (for example, Instenon). In addition, the specialist prescribes corticosteroids, which should be taken in combination with an anesthetic.
Reflexotherapy is used to eliminate myofification of the spine. These treatments are complemented by wellness massages and physiotherapy. Such treatment is carried out after the disease subsides. At the stage of remission, manual therapy, spinal traction, physiotherapy and other non-drug methods will help to eliminate the painful syndrome.
Cervicalgia most often develops against the background of osteochondrosis, so the cureThe latter will help get rid of pain in the neck. Naturally, if the treatment is constantly postponed, the pain will only become stronger, and the spine will gradually begin to collapse. With a progressive disease, the vertebrae can grow together, losing their mobility and elasticity. In this case, the treatment will be much more difficult. Therefore, the appearance of the first symptoms is a reason to contact a specialist. After the examination and consultation, it will be possible to perform the exercises of therapeutic exercises recommended by him.
Preventive measures
Prevention of cervicalgia involves regular physical education, massage, swimming. That is, it is necessary to ensure good mobility of the spine and a feasible load on the muscles. Avoid injury and any hypothermia. When working in a sitting position, it is recommended to take a comfortable posture and take regular breaks. For sleep, use a low soft pillow - a roller under the neck. Follow the above recommendations and you will not experience pain in the neck.
From this article, you learned more about such a pathological condition as cervicalgia: what it is, what are the symptoms and treatment methods. We hope you find the information useful. Stay he althy!
