The neck of a person, like any animal, is an incredible part of the body, quite fragile, but powerful.
The cervical spine, along with all the muscles and ligaments, supports and moves the skull, absorbs shock when walking, protects the brain from concussion, protects the blood vessels that feed it, and also provides protection to the spinal cord.
When your neck hurts, the reasons can be very varied.Some of them may disappear on their own within a few days, while others can cause chronic illness and pain.
Why does the pain occur?
The most common reason for neck pain is poor posture.With the back curved, the head stops occupying a position exactly above the body and moves forward.In this position, the neck muscles and ligaments experience greater tension.The development of curvature and pain in the neck is facilitated by prolonged work without changing position, sleeping on a soft bed or high pillow, and prolonged static load.
Other causes of neck pain include injuries from falling head over heels, in a traffic accident or while playing sports.During sudden acceleration and then braking, the cervical spine makes a whiplash-like motion.As a result, ligaments and muscles may become overloaded, displacement or compression fractures of the cervical vertebrae may occur, and intervertebral hernias may form.
Neck pain can occur as a secondary manifestation of other diseases.For example, during a heart attack, when a heart attack causes severe pain, radiating along the nerve plexuses to the upper limbs, chest and neck.Neck pain during a heart attack is just part of a large complex of symptoms - shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, vomiting.If your neck or jaw hurts or other signs of a heart attack are seen, call an ambulance immediately.
Neck pain is also used as a diagnostic sign of meningitis.With this disease, the neck muscles become hypertonic, that is, they become rigid.When I try to lean my head towards my chest, the back of my neck hurts a lot.
The spine in the neck area hurts with rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, spondylosis and osteoarthritis, hernia or protrusion, with compression of the nerve roots or spinal cord by infectious edema, abscesses, tumors or benign neoplasms.
Special cases
Degenerative diseases
Osteochondrosis, or, in other words, degenerative disorders in the intervertebral discs, causes a person to feel constant pain in the neck.It is usually a mild pain, which is usually accompanied by a feeling of numbness and pain in the shoulder girdle and head.
The collar zone affected by osteochondrosis can cause the development of cerebral artery syndrome.With a decrease in intervertebral distances in this area, compressive damage occurs in the vertebral arteries that pass through the openings of the transverse processes of the cervical vertebrae.Pressure in the vessel causes decreased blood flow to the brain, causing dizziness, decreased vision and hearing.On the other hand, mechanical irritation of the artery with pressure from the vertebrae causes a reflex spasm, which manifests as a throbbing, burning pain in the head.
Treatment
If your neck constantly hurts due to osteochondrosis, therapy begins with eliminating the pain syndrome.The second mandatory direction of treatment is stopping degenerative processes in the cervical vertebrae.
Pain relief can be achieved with the following groups of medications:
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - directly block the cascade of mediators that signal pain;
- muscle relaxants – eliminate muscle spasms that arise reflexively from intense pain;
- sedatives – calm and inhibit the nervous system and the transmission of painful impulses, including (valerian, antidepressants, sleeping pills);
- vasodilators - help eliminate vertebral artery syndrome and the pain associated with it.
To eliminate the cause of neck pain due to osteochondrosis, chondroprotective drugs are prescribed that prevent the destruction of cartilage and vertebrae, as well as multivitamin mineral complexes.
Pain management also consists of exercise therapy, physical therapy, massage, traction, reflexology, and tape therapy.During an exacerbation, to relieve pain, the patient is recommended to wear a special collar that protects the neck from excessive mobility.
Muscle pain
Neck pain can occur due to inflammation of the neck muscles, called myositis.This pain must be differentiated from neuritis (inflammation of the nerve trunks with sensitivity disturbance) and from pain caused by osteochondrosis.Myositis occurs suddenly, after exposure to predisposing factors - hypothermia, vibration, prolonged excessive exertion, especially with prolonged repetitive movements of the same type.
Cervical myositis is characterized by sharp pain that occurs when the inflamed muscle contracts.The acute intensity of the pain leads to difficulty in performing certain types of movements.Typically, the long muscles of the neck on the anterolateral surface or the sternocleidomastoid muscles hurt, which, when contracted bilaterally, pull the head back, and when contracted unilaterally, they rotate it.Also frequently inflamed are the deep muscles that surround the spine and move the entire neck and back.
When palpating the muscle, its increased tone and dense nodular areas are noted.Disruption of microcirculation and local trophism lead to the gradual replacement of myocytes by connective tissue.As a result, the neck muscles weaken, their symmetry on the sides of the spine is disturbed, “torticollis” may appear and it is difficult for the patient to keep the head straight.
Treatment
Treatment begins with reducing the burden on the neck.This is followed by a course of physiotherapeutic procedures - UHF heating, electrophoresis with medicines, paraffin heating, ozokerite wrapping, diathermy, massage, acupuncture.Such procedures restore blood circulation in the neck muscles.Medications include injections of B vitamins, anti-inflammatories and pain relievers, ointments and rubs.
Traditional treatment recommends using cabbage or burdock leaves as analgesic compresses, preparing an ointment with willow buds crushed in butter and rubbing with a mixture of turpentine with apple cider vinegar and egg yolk.The neck is also rubbed with lava oil and then wrapped.The main key to the success of any treatment is to provide rest to the painful neck until its muscles are completely restored.Then you should start returning them “to work” through gymnastics and special massages.
radicular syndrome
Severe pain in the neck, which spreads to the muscles of the head, shoulder girdle and upper limbs, can occur when the roots of the spinal nerves are pinched due to a prolapse, protrusion or herniated intervertebral disc.
With this disease, the protrusion of the inner core of the disc occurs towards the spinal canal or its lateral horns.The hernia and its symptoms usually appear on one side.When pressure is created on the roots of the spinal nerves, a sharp, burning pain appears in the innervated muscles (cervical low back pain).The patient feels numbness in the jaw, the area around the ears, the back of the head, the shoulder blades and arms.Dizziness and sharp pain in the neck appear when changing from a horizontal to a vertical position.The gradual protrusion of the disc nucleus leads to trauma to the surrounding tissues, inflammation and swelling.This creates the prerequisites for inflammation of the nerve endings with the development of radiculitis, and the mobility of the neck and upper limbs is gradually limited.Prolonged compression of spinal nerves leads to paresis or paralysis of the limbs.
Therapy
What to do if your neck hurts due to hernias?At home, for pain, analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, hormonal drugs and muscle relaxants are taken to relieve spasms.
In the hospital, severe neck pain is eliminated with the help of “blocks” - the injection of painkillers into the sides of the spine.
Swelling and inflammation are eliminated with steroid medications, which can be injected directly into the hernia area.Muscle pain is eliminated with the use of muscle relaxants.
Also, to prevent the development of a hernia, I use medications that strengthen cartilaginous tissue - chondroprotectors.
In many cases, therapeutic exercises and traction of the cervical spine help with protrusion or slight protrusion.Increasing the intervertebral space helps to “retract” the intervertebral disc and relieve pressure on the nerves.
In the case of a true hernia with rupture of the fibrous ring and prolapse of the nucleus into the spinal canal, surgery is necessary.There are several ways to get rid of neck pain through surgery:
- anterior cervical discectomy – removal of an excessive piece of disc that is pressing on the spinal nerves;
- replacement of a damaged disc with an artificial joint, which protects the cervical spine from future destruction;
- microendoscopic disectomy via a posterior route and removal of small areas of the hernia using an endoscope;
- Posterior cervical discectomy through an incision in the back of the neck.The operating channel is specially widened so that pinching does not occur in the future.
Neoplasms
If there is constant pain in the neck, you can suspect the appearance of a strange formation in this department.
Benign tumors (lipoma, fibroma, neuroma, osteoma, hemangioma) usually have a regular shape and are clearly defined;they rarely cause pain.The discomfort is mainly associated with compression of the surrounding tissues by the tumor.Malignant tumors (osteogenic sarcoma, myeloma, cancer of the lymph nodes or thyroid gland) have no limits and often metastasize to neighboring tissues.Its destructive effect on organs causes a painful sensation and a general deterioration in the condition.The front of the neck may become painful due to cancer of the larynx, throat, oral cavity, or thyroid gland.The patient has difficulty swallowing, swelling in the neck and face and changes in voice.If the cervical spine hurts due to a bone tumor, this condition also often accompanies damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots on the side of the spine with the development of paralysis.
Treatment
Treatment of pain caused by tumors is primarily aimed at eliminating the cause - reducing or removing the tumor.For this purpose, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, sclerosis of the vessels that feed the tumor and surgical removal of the pathological formation are used.
Pain relief depends on the severity of the pain:
- weak drugs;
- moderate analgesics;
- with increasing pain, they switch to weak opiates;
- in case of severe pain, analgesia is only possible with the help of opiates.To increase analgesia for neck pain caused by neoplasms, antipsychotics, anticonvulsants and corticosteroids are used.
Pay attention!Neck pain can occur for a variety of reasons.In order not to miss serious illnesses, you must first consult a doctor to consult about the occurrence of pain and accurately determine its origin.