Neck pain is a common thing for many of us today. The reasons for this are diverse: lack of movement, sedentary work, neglect of exercise, and more. Unpleasant pain sensations localized in the neck are called "cervicalgia." What is it, what are the causes and methods of treating this condition? Consider these issues in the article.
Causes
Why do neck pains appear? The causes of cervicalgia are diverse. 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;
arthrosis of the facet joints;
dysfunction of the arched joints;
myofascial syndrome and others.
The cervical region is often affected by rheumatological diseases, for example, ankylosing spondylitis (ankylosing spondylitis). Injuries to the cervical spine (fractures, dislocations, sprains) can also cause neck pain. The causes are less common - it is osteomyelitis and cancer.
Provoking factors for the onset of pain may be:
sedentary, "sofa" lifestyle;
improper body position during sleep;
excessive physical activity;
weight lifting;
hypothermia;
violation of posture;
malnutrition;
obesity, metabolic disorder;
bad habits;
mental disorders;
frequent stresses.
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.
Kinds
This ailment is of two types:
Vertebrogenic (or vertebral) cervicalgia. It occurs due to diseases of the cervical spine, such as intervertebral hernia, spondylosis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis and others.
Nevertebrogenic cervicalgia. What it is? This form of pain develops as a result of muscle and ligament sprains, myositis, fibromyalgia, neuralgia. In addition, this condition may occur as a result of an epidural abscess, meningitis, thrombosis, subarachnoid hemorrhage, a pharyngeal abscess, and the like.
Vertebral cervicalgia is divided into spondylogenic and discogenic. Symptoms depend on the disease, which is the root cause. 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.
With an awkward movement of the neck, pain occurs that is enhanced by head movements. 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 a degenerative process in the cartilage tissue, partial or complete destruction of the elastic membrane of the fibrous ring occurs. Partial destruction, characterized by the displacement of the pulpous nucleus from the central position outside, is called protrusion, and complete destruction, in which the nucleus comes out, is called a herniated disc. In both cases, immediate treatment is required.
Spondylosis
This is another ailment, the result of which is cervicalgia. Symptoms arise 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 an incurable headache appear.
Spondylolisthesis
The displacement of the superior vertebra relative to the inferior develops as a result of pronounced destruction of the cartilage tissue. Due to the displacement, some instability of the spine appears. With an awkward movement, cervicago (spasm of the neck muscles) occurs. Also quite often in the upper extremities there is a violation of sensitivity (paresthesia).
Osteomyelitis
This pathology is rarely found in the cervical spine. Basically, the infection enters the bone tissue by the hematogenous route (with a blood stream). In addition to painful sensations, body temperature rises above 38º. The pain in this case has a pulsating character, swelling and soreness of the surrounding tissues are noted. In some cases, osteomyelitis develops imperceptibly, and cervicalgia will be the only permanent sign. Symptoms of intoxication may be absent.
Ankylosing Spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis is the most common rheumatological pathology affecting the spine. This is a type of arthritis, which is characterized by the defeat of small intervertebral joints. The disease manifests itself with pain and stiffness during movement. With further destruction of tissues, a stable block forms, in the affected joints movement is completely absent.
Chronic pain
After injuries in chronic inflammation of the connective tissue, chronic pain develops, which is more like discomfort in the neck that occurs at rest and in movement. In this case, muscle tension and soreness are noted. After sharp tilts of the head, the manifestations intensify.
Oncological disease
Cartilage-forming and bone-forming spinal tumors are distinguished. They can be both malignant and benign. The growth of a tumor is affected by its appearance. In the initial stage, the tumor is manifested by intermittent localized or widespread pain. Cervicalgia syndrome develops after a few years.
Cervicalgia with muscle-tonic syndrome
Muscle-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 impairment and dizziness may occur. The disease develops most often suddenly. Adults are more susceptible to such a 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 muscle-tonic syndrome can cause the formation of a shoulder-shoulder periarthrosis. In this condition, damage to the tissues surrounding the shoulder joint occurs.
Therapeutic measures
It was described above why cervicalgia occurs, what it is and what symptoms appear. Now we will analyze the principles of treatment of the disease.
First of all, it is necessary to establish the true causes of this condition. For diagnosis, computed and magnetic resonance imaging is used. In addition, today in all medical centers there are conditions for conducting a traditional X-ray examination.
Treatment of cervicalgia with 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 non-steroidal drugs that have anti-inflammatory effects. The medication is prescribed in the form of tablets (for example, Aertal), local drugs (for example, Nize 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 complement wellness massages and physiotherapy. Such treatment is carried out after the disease subsides. At the remission stage, manual therapy, spinal traction, physiotherapeutic and other non-drug methods will help to eliminate the painful syndrome.
Cervicalgia most often develops against the background of osteochondrosis, so curing the 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 begin to gradually 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 an occasion to consult a specialist. After examination and consultation, it will be possible to perform the exercises of therapeutic gymnastics recommended by him.
Preventative measures
Prevention of cervicalgia implies regular exercise, massage, swimming. That is, it is necessary to ensure good mobility of the spine and a feasible load on the muscles. Injuries and any hypothermia should be avoided. When sitting, it is recommended that you 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 encounter 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. Be healthy!