With pain in the neck, each person has encountered more than once in her life. If the nape of the neck hurts, then the cause, in most cases, lies in the cervical spine. Let's take a closer look at each disease.
myositis
With hypothermia and cold, myositis of the neck develops - acute inflammation of the muscles. A person begins to have severe pain in the neck and shoulder, the temperature slightly increases. On palpation of the painful area, the skin over the muscle is edematous, swollen, hot to the touch. When you try to turn your head to the affected side, there is a sharp pain and tension in the neck muscles.
Myositis can manifest in the context of a respiratory or viral disease. Then there is a pain in the throat, neck, swollen lymph nodes.
Treatment
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs will help stop inflammation quickly and effectively. Various ointments and gels can be used locally. Here it is necessary to add an important fact about the finalgone: you need to smear it with a thin layer, and it cannot be washed off with water under any circumstances.
You can use warming and semi-alcoholic compresses - with vodka, diluted alcohol or dimexide. Folk remedies also help well: boiled potatoes, rubbing with honey, applying crushed cabbage leaves.
In addition to the treatment of myositis, colds are treated: antiviral or antibacterial drugs, vitamins, sprays in the nose and throat. For quick relief of sore throat, a spray is of great help - a powerful antibacterial and antifungal drug, the effect of which can be felt 20-30 minutes after the start of treatment.
cervical osteochondrosis
Everyone has heard of the disease, but the reasons for its development remain a mystery.
Predisposing factors are injuries, prolonged forced position, microtrauma of muscles and tendons during intense physical work, dystrophic processes in the spine, old age, menopause.
With protrusion, instability, hernia in the cervical spine, compression of the nerve roots occurs, blood flow in the vertebral artery is disturbed, which leads to cerebral ischemia.
All symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis are divided into:
- reflection;
- root and vascular compression;
- spinal.
Plus:
- Reflex symptoms occur with prolonged irritation of the tissue receptors of the pathological spine. Nerve impulses from the affected vertebra enter the spinal cord and cause changes in the surrounding muscles and tissues. The muscles of the healthy side assume all the functions, forming a pathological stereotype of movement. And the muscles of the affected side fix the displaced vertebra in a certain position, preventing its further curvature. But they also do not give the opportunity to take a physiological position. If at this time a person does not go to a doctor and a chiropractor, muscle atrophy occurs, degenerative changes in the tissues of the vertebrae, cervical osteochondrosis is formed. In the future, the progression of the disease causes inflammation and fibrosis of the muscles of the shoulder girdle, inflammation of the periarticular bag is formed. Reflex symptoms:
- pain along the spinous processes - palpation of the neck will cause discomfort, pain, shooting in the vertebrae;
- tension and pain in the muscles of the neck, aggravated by trying to turn the head or when probing;
- cervicalgia - pain or sharp pain in the neck, can periodically subside, giving the person a break. But with loads, a long stay in a sitting position (for example, during flights, long trips in a bus or car), the pain will not be long in coming. With cervicalgia, a person can periodically hear a crunch in the neck, feel discomfort and numbness of the skin;
- cervicocranialgia - heaviness and throbbing pain in the neck that spreads to the head. In most cases, the back of the head suffers: there is heaviness, a feeling of "pulsing", numbness, a person wants to support his head with his hand or lean against a hard surface. Periodically there are "hot flashes" - it seems that the back of the head and neck burn or freeze. Sleep also suffers: it is intermittent, superficial, the patient wakes up in the morning slow, apathetic, tired. The pain can spread throughout the head: photophobia appears, constricting pains in the temples, neck, eyes, blood pressure rises, nausea and vomiting often occur;
- Cervicobrachialgia: pain in the cervical region spreads to the shoulder and arm. There is pain and spasm of the shoulder muscles, stiffness, pain in the shoulder joint, crackling, difficulty when trying to raise or withdraw the arm.
- Compression of the roots and vessels of the spinal cord is manifested by the vertebral artery syndrome. This is a large complex of various manifestations of compression of the vertebral vessels. There are 3 groups of symptoms that directly indicate the disease:
- throbbing and aching headache of a persistent or paroxysmal nature, burning, unbearable. Increases with prolonged awkward position, extends from the occiput to the forehead;
- Cochleovestibular changes: dizziness, instability when walking, various noises in the ears (clicking, ringing, buzzing). Dizziness in a patient is constant or paroxysmal, worsening a person's quality of life;
- pathology of vision - darkening and "flies" before the eyes, discomfort and a feeling of "sand", burning, decreased vision.
There are several types of manifestations of vertebral artery syndrome:
Barre-Lieu syndrome - there is pain in the posterior cervical and occipital region, passing to the anterior sections of the head - "taking off the helmet. "It intensifies at night and after sleeping, especially if the person slept on an uncomfortable pillow. When turning the head, dizziness and tinnitus appear, darkening the eyes.
Basilar migraine - before a migraine attack, darkness appears in the eyes, intermittent black dots, photophobia. The attack begins with severe dizziness, tinnitus, impaired articulation of the tongue (a person has difficulty pronouncing words). A violent pain in the nape, at the back of the head, causes the person to adopt immobility to reduce the attack. At the height of the headache, vomiting appears, in severe cases - fainting.
Cochleovestibular symptom: aching pain in the back of the neck, crackling when tilting and turning the head, dizziness, hearing loss, and speech intelligibility problems. Patients often cannot distinguish between whispered speech.
Ophthalmic syndrome - against the background of cervical osteochondrosis, vision is impaired. A person develops rapid eye fatigue when reading, incoming loss of visual fields, redness of the conjunctiva, and tearing.
spondyloarthrosis
The disease is characterized by "wear and tear" of cartilage with bony growths along the edge of the joint surface. The disease occurs at any age, but most often debuts in the elderly. Trauma, inflammation, congenital changes in the joints can cause the development of spondyloarthrosis.
Symptoms
The patient is disturbed by aching pain in the cervical spine, which is aggravated by turning and tilting the head. Often a person is unable to fully turn their head to one side, an attempt to increase the range of motion causes back pain. In the supine position, the pain recedes. In addition to the neck, the spinal region, the knee and hip joints are involved in the process.
As the disease progresses, narrowing of the intervertebral canal occurs in the cervical and lumbar regions. Spondylogenic myelopathy develops - a chronic disease of the spine with weakening of muscle tone and dysfunction of internal organs. Myelopathy provokes an increase in pain in a person, reduces the speed of blood flow in the vessels of the neck and head.
spondyloarthritis
Prolonged pain in the back of the neck, the inability to fully bring the head to the chest - symptoms can also speak of rheumatoid arthritis of the spine. The disease develops against the background of polyarthritis - multiple injuries of the joints.
Symptoms
The pain occurs in the back of the neck, spreads to the back of the head, intensifies when the head is tilted back and forth, turning to the left and right. A person cannot fully move his head, the neck muscles are tense and painful. In severe cases, a life-threatening complication develops - bulbar syndrome. Its manifestations are diverse and depend on the degree of impingement of the medulla oblongata during subluxation of the atlas. The patient's speech is disturbed: slurred, slow, and the person quickly gets tired of talking. Swallowing is also impaired, especially liquid foods. A person chokes, fluid comes out of the nose or the corners of the mouth. Cardiac activity is disturbed: arrhythmias, tachycardia occur.
In children, cervical spondyloarthritis develops as a complication of acute sinusitis - an inflammation of the paranasal sinuses. The disease is called Grisel's torticollis after a French doctor. The disease is formed with a defect in the joint of the atlas and the tooth of the axial vertebra.
The symptom of the disease is specific and allows you to quickly make a diagnosis: the child's head is tilted towards the source of inflammation and slightly turned to the healthy side.
Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis and spondyloarthritis is the same. The patient needs consultation and treatment with a manual therapist. The specialist will put the vertebrae in place quickly and painlessly, eliminating the need for expensive treatment in the clinic. If necessary, every six months or a year, a neurologist in the clinic prescribes a course of drugs: these are injections that are administered intramuscularly or intravenously, and tablets.
Well helps in the treatment of cervical osteochondrosis massage of the neck area, acupuncture. You can use self-massage: rub the neck muscles from the back of the head to the shoulders in gentle circular motions. You can not massage the neck muscles strongly; can cause an increase in arterial and intracranial pressure.
Patients often use the applicator: the point effect of the needles reduces muscle tension and stimulates blood circulation. It is necessary to use applicators only after consulting a doctor and making an accurate diagnosis; needles are contraindicated in the oncological process, since they stimulate tumor growth.
In case of vertebral artery syndrome and cerebral ischemia, nootropic therapy is mandatory: intravenous injections of drugs that stimulate vascular circulation, increase oxygenation of the brain, reduce attacks of dizziness and tinnitus.
tuberculosis of the spine
With the spread of tuberculosis in the bones and joints, it is the spine that is most often affected. The danger of the disease is in a long period of silence. Tuberculosis does not manifest itself in any way for 2-4 years. As the disease progresses and the vertebral bodies are destroyed, heaviness appears in the neck and shoulders, vague pains in the spine without a clear localization.
A person cannot hold his head on his own for a long time, he constantly tries to support it with his hand. Due to severe pain in the neck, the patient avoids turning and tilting his head. As the vertebra is destroyed, the process spreads to the surrounding tissues, an abscess forms - an abscess in the capsule. A swelling appears on the nape of the neck, with a densely elastic consistency, which slowly increases in size. An abscess can spread to the pharynx, cough, difficulty swallowing and sore throat.
Treatment of the tuberculosis process is carried out in a specialized tuberculosis dispensary. Treatment is difficult and prolonged, with many side effects. Powerful bactericidal preparations of synthetic production are used. Course doses with 2-3 drugs are prescribed. In the process of treatment, monthly blood and urine tests are carried out, examination for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Once every two months, the patient undergoes an X-ray examination.
cervical spine cancer
The tumor can occur at any age. A neoplasm can grow from cartilage, bone and nerve tissue. The tumor may be an independent disease or a metastatic focus from another organ. Most often, metastases in the cervical region give cancer of the breast, prostate, lungs and stomach.
Symptoms will increase as the tumor spreads: a person has constant neck pain, difficulties appear when tilting and turning the head. There is weakness, sweating, fatigue. Tumor growth and compression of the roots and blood vessels will cause tremors and weakness of the arms and shoulder girdle, constant headaches and dizziness.
Treatment
Apply:
- surgical intervention - complete radical excision of the tumor within healthy tissues;
- chemotherapy - cytotoxic drugs that slow down the division of tumor cells and prevent their further development;
- radiotherapy - the effect on tumor cells with ionizing radiation;
- symptomatic treatment - analgesics in the later stages of cancer, narcotic analgesics are most often used.
Spinal cancer is an extremely dangerous disease, the manifestations of which are often attributed to osteochondrosis, and treatment is late. Therefore, when pain occurs in the cervical spine, an X-ray or MRI is necessary. This will allow you to quickly diagnose and start the appropriate treatment.
In the polyclinic, MRI is very rarely prescribed for financial reasons, but this examination is performed for a fee in many private centers. It is better to pay several thousand rubles and protect yourself than to treat the disease for a long time, not knowing what the origin of the problem is.