The term “rigidity” is found in many areas of scientific knowledge. However, it is most often used in medicine, or rather, in physiology, where rigidity is the hardness, contraction, reduction or ossification of something. So, consider what kind of disease.
What it is?
Muscular rigidity is a sharp strong contraction of muscles under the influence of a suddenly arising tone of nerve endings, causing the work of a particular muscle. According to medical statistics, such an ailment most often affects the neck. Rigidity of the neck is a state of numbness, leading to a decrease in the functionality of the entire cervical region. This is due to irritation of the membranes of the spinal cord or brain. The disease can be determined if the patient tries to tilt his head forward. If he does not reach his chest with his chin and when he bends forward, he will experience pain and tension in the muscles, we can safely diagnose stiff neck.
Causes
The causes of rigidity are many.
1. Disorders in the central nervous system:
a) encephalitis, which can irritate the lining of the brain. At the same time, there are symptoms of stiffness such as headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting. In almost 80% of cases, patients experience a decrease in consciousness, inhibition of the reaction, often after an exacerbation of the disease, a coma is noted;
b) meningitis. Rigidity is the first and most obvious sign of meningitis. In turn, rigidity in meningitis is expressed through hyperreflexia and even opistotonus;
c) subarachnoid hemorrhage. The disease can occur after hemorrhage in the brain or spinal cord.
2. Musculoskeletal disorders:
a) cervical arthritis. With this disease, rigidity develops very slowly and gradually. Over time, numbness becomes permanent, and the neck begins to hurt all the time.
Decerebral rigidity is a sharp increase in the tone of all muscles at the same time (as a rule, this applies to the flexor-extensor systems). This disease is accompanied by rotation of the arms and legs inward, opisthotonus. The causes of its occurrence are damage to the midbrain, neoplasia in the temporal lobe of the brain, hemorrhage in the brain or ventricles of the heart, anoxia, poisoning, etc.
This pathology initially manifests itself in the form of cerebral seizures, however, over time, the impulses in the spinal cord subside and spasticity of the extensor flexes sets in. In addition, patients can be identified by external signs: small stature, gait, resembling the movement of a puppet, tetanus. Decerebral rigidity can occur in the cold by stopping the full functioning of the muscles of the arms and legs. Thus, if you or your loved ones find it difficult to move or complain of
neck pain, you should immediately consult a doctor, since rigidity is a very insidious disease, and if left untreated, it can lead to complete paralysis of the muscles of the whole body.