Everyone had severe pain in their necks. It is not necessary for this to have an accident or to have abnormalities in the structure of the vertebrae. Poor organization of the workplace, a sedentary lifestyle, heavy physical activity - all this can lead to severe pain. With age, manifestations of osteochondrosis can be complicated, and diseases of internal organs only add problems.
Sharp neck pain can occur suddenly, for example, with a sharp turn or tilt of the head. It can radiate to the head (mainly the back of the head), chest, or even shoulders. Such phenomena are often the result of cervical lumbago (cervicago) or acute muscle spasms. We stood in a draft, lifted a heavy one - severe neck pain can last 5-10 days, but then it goes away. If the duration of pain is more than 10 days, they have a sharp, aching or pulling character, significantly reduce the quality of life - you should seek treatment.
Since many lymphatic vessels, large veins, and arteries pass through the cervical region, any problem should be treated with care. The musculoskeletal cavity of the neck contains the thyroid gland, pharynx, the beginning of the esophagus, the larynx and the upper part of the trachea. The neck muscles are involved in the movement of the head, shoulders and even the jaws. Therefore, if you experience neck pain, you should immediately consult a doctor to find out the causes and prevent a number of serious problems.
Doctors will examine the condition of your spine and brain, do x-rays, CT or MRI scans, and check the amount of tension in the muscles of the neck, shoulders, and upper back. Establishing the cause of the pain may result in the need for treatment not at all in the cervical spine. You should also be prepared to make exercise a part of your daily life.
Severe pain in the cervical spine is a very important and practically significant problem in neurology. Its importance is determined by the following factors:
- neck pain with osteochondrosis are the most common pathologies caused by non-infection.
- painful sensations in the neck are prone to a chronic course with exacerbations. Frequent severe pain can lead to temporary or even permanent disability.
These factors determine the importance of seeking timely medical attention. If you experience discomfort or pain, you should immediately consult a specialist. Self-treatment in such cases is unacceptable, as it can lead to serious complications.
In addition, self-medication often leads to the need for surgery and leads to disability in adults.
Only a doctor can competently establish a treatment regimen, including pain relief.
Types of neck pain
Distinguish between neck pain (neck pain) and neck back pain (cervicago). Neck pain are:
- superficial somatic - associated with skin lesions;
- deep somatic - due to damage to the cervical muscles and vertebrae;
- visceral - dispersed, resulting from infections or diseases of internal organs.
Neck pain affecting nearby areas can be divided into two types:
- cervicobrachialgia - cervicobrachial syndrome with pain radiating from the neck to the shoulders;
- cervicocranialgia - pain sensations start directly in the cervical or occipital region and spread to the head.
Neck pain of all types can be acute or chronic. The acute phase lasts about 10 days, but without proper treatment it can become chronic. Chronic pain is considered to last more than three months.
The cervicago is always a sensation of acute pain localized in the cervical spine and not allowing to turn the head.
If the discomfort is due to neuropathic reasons, it can be central (with damage to the spine) or peripheral (damage to the peripheral nerves).
Causes of neck pain
Conventionally, the causes of neck pain can be divided into two groups - resulting from diseases of the spine or due to other factors. The first are formed against the background of intervertebral hernias, osteoarthritis, dysfunction of the joints, as well as subluxation of the vertebrae (whiplash). The consequences of these injuries can be felt throughout life. The second group includes neck pain caused by infectious and endocrine disorders, tumor processes, rheumatism.
Some of the most common causes of neck pain include:
- Myofascial syndrome.It occurs against the background of prolonged excessive tension of the muscles of the neck, sprains, hypothermia. They usually cause short-term painful sensations of moderate intensity, in which the mobility of the head is often limited and the muscles contract. When squeezed, pain and induration are felt. Often the pain caused by myofascial syndrome goes away on its own within 4 to 5 days.
- Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.The disease is a degenerative-dystrophic lesion of the spine, which occurs as a result of the deformation and destruction of the intervertebral discs. Due to the loss of elasticity, compression and destruction of the discs, the facet joints are overloaded, osteoarthritis occurs, and the nerve roots are pinched. This leads to the fact that the whole neck hurts a lot. With age, a decrease in the hydrophilicity of the cartilage leads to a decrease in the distance between the vertebrae and damage to the intervertebral joints.
- Facet joint dysfunction.Damage to the structure of the intervertebral joints is one of the most common reasons why the whole neck hurts. Cartilage thins on joint surfaces. This causes the appearance of bone growths - osteophytes. They narrow the lumen of the holes between the vertebrae, causing compression of the nerve endings. As a rule, this is accompanied by a dull ache (gradually increasing, of low intensity) in the neck area, which intensifies in the morning after sleeping in an uncomfortable position - on a high pillow, lying on your stomach. During movement, the pain may increase, but at rest it weakens. In this case, pain radiating to the back of the head, ears, temples, shoulders is possible.
- Herniated and protruding discs.As a result of compression of the intervertebral discs, which have lost their elasticity, protrusions occur - protrusions in the spinal canal with the subsequent formation of a hernia. This leads to compression of the spinal cord, which disturbs the sensitivity of the hands - numbness, burning, weakness, accompanied by pain. The shot (one-sided irregular) intensifies when bending, rotating the head or throwing back. Therefore, a person should instinctively tilt their head forward and to the opposite sides at the location of pain.
- Cervical myelopathy. . . Prolonged compression of the hernia disrupts blood flow to the spinal cord. Because of this, not only the whole neck hurts a lot. But the violation is accompanied by pain radiating to the area between the shoulder blades and to the shoulder. They get worse during movement and do not go away even after taking pain relievers. Characteristic signs of neck pain with cervical myelopathy are goosebumps, numbness in the arms and legs, and fine motor impairment. Sometimes dizziness is possible, memory deteriorates, gait changes.
- Whiplash.They occur as a result of a sharp bending of the neck backward or forward, followed by recoil in the opposite direction. Such injuries often occur in an accident, but even a simple fall on the back can cause them. Trauma occurs as a result of stretching and damage to the muscles, ligaments of the intervertebral discs and cervical vertebrae. The most severe cases are accompanied by dislocations and fractures. The consequence of an injury can be that the whole neck and shoulders are very painful, migraines occur, muscle spasms. Concomitant symptoms include blurred vision, increased fatigue, and frequent attacks of headaches.
Additionally, neck pain can be caused by musculo-tonic syndrome. It is a condition that causes prolonged spasms of several muscle groups in the head, chest, and neck. Compression of neuromuscular triggers causes tightness, sometimes very intense pain. In particular, scalene muscle syndrome is a symptomatic complex, accompanied by a violation of the innervation and blood circulation of the scalene muscles of the neck, which go from the cervical vertebrae to the 1st and 2nd ribs. This syndrome is characterized by neck pain and stiffness, which most often appears in the morning. The head in such cases is usually tilted forward and slightly towards the tense muscle. Painful sensations may be mild, painful, but sometimes sharp, intensifying at night, with deep breaths, while tilting the head to the healthy side. Sometimes it is possible to radiate pain in the shoulders, in the axillary and interscapular regions, as well as in the anterior part of the thorax.
However, the causes of pain are not just diseases of the spine. First of all, it is necessary to exclude infectious pathologies, in particular, nonspecific or tuberculous spondylitis, epidural abscesses. Metastatic damage to the vertebrae may also be accompanied by persistent pain, which does not subside but becomes worse with rest. They are characterized by an increase in body temperature, general weakness and sweating. Even slight pressure on the spinous processes causes attacks of local pain.
Risk factors that cause pain include flat feet, curvature of posture, and strenuous exercise. Neck pain can occur against the background of constant overwork, vibration, prolonged immobile position of the body (for example, with fractures).
In addition, pain can occur due to wearing tight and uncomfortable clothes, malnutrition and diseases of internal organs. Taking these factors into account, we get a wide variety of clinical cases in which neck pain is formed.
Neck pain: who to contact and what to do
If the neck hurts, traditional medicine offers drug treatment with drugs of a different spectrum of action. They are designed to combat pain, relieve infectious or inflammatory processes and eliminate unpleasant symptoms. Surgery is only performed in very serious cases.
Drug treatment is based on the administration of local anesthetics, analgesics (NSAIDs), hormonal drugs (glucocorticoids), muscle relaxants (drugs to relieve muscle tension), antioxidants and, if necessary, antidepressants andanticonvulsants. Treatment is based on analgesics - drugs from other groups are prescribed as concomitant drugs that enhance the effect of pain relief, relieve inflammation and swelling.
The downside of drug therapy is a large number of side effects and temporary pain relief. In addition, such treatment is aimed only at eliminating the symptoms, but not at the root cause of the pain.
Who should be entrusted with such an important department for the body - the neck? In severe pain, not a specialist is needed, but a whole team who carefully examine, make the correct diagnosis and prescribe treatment.
An integrated approach is applied, based on a combination of the following non-drug methods:
- Physiotherapy.The neck muscles are very difficult to train. Therefore, when choosing exercises, experts focus on the mobility of the chest region, shoulder girdle, as well as the even distribution of loads on the spine. Doctors in exercise therapy select the optimal set of exercises to shape posture and eliminate neck pain.
- Physiotherapy.The clinics use physiotherapy systems. The installation allows to work in depth the muscles of the cervical spine. With the help of closed chain exercises, the neuromuscular problems of the skeleton can be managed effectively and the functionality of the service can be increased.
- Osteopathy.Osteopathic neck correction is safe and painless, suitable for adults and children, pregnant women and professional athletes. Unlike other therapeutic methods, osteopathic medicine not only eliminates the pain syndrome, but relieves the patient from the source of the pain, treats the underlying disease. For this, techniques of palpation and manual manipulation are used on the muscles, joints, nerves, connective tissue, vessels and capillaries of the neck. Osteopathic medicine methods accelerate recovery, increase the effectiveness of therapeutic, prophylactic or rehabilitation measures.
- Manual therapy.It effectively relieves neck tension. Specialists gently affect biologically active points, eliminate subluxations, movements, perform manipulations aimed at relaxing the muscles of the neck, stretching the spine.
Competent selection and the right combination of therapeutic methods helps to eliminate neck pain and get rid of discomfort. An integrated approach includes the well-coordinated joint work of different specialists - rehabilitologists, neurologists, traumatologists, orthopedists, psychologists. They all pursue the common goal of relieving the patient's pain. An individual approach to everyone is important, a combination of osteopathic and physiotherapeutic procedures and even work on the deep mental reasons for the fact that the whole neck hurts so much.