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Cervical spine syndrome Common causes, symptoms and treatment
The so-called "cervical spine syndrome", or "cervical spine syndrome" for short, is not only found on physiotherapeutic recipes. But what exactly is behind this term?
It is usually a collective name for various cervical and neck complaints, including muscle and neck pain, headache, blurred vision and dizziness. In the following article we inform you about possible symptoms and causes of the cervical spine syndrome as well as treatment options in the field of conventional medicine and naturopathy.
contents
- Cervical spine: definition and structure
- Disorders in the cervical spine area
- Symptoms of cervical syndrome
- Common cause of cervical syndrome: tension
- Degenerative changes
- whiplash
- Other causes of cervical syndrome
- Cervical spine syndrome treatment
- Help by physiotherapy
- Naturopathy at HWS
Cervical spine: definition and structure
The cervical spine (short: cervical spine) is the entirety of the vertebrae between the head and the thoracic spine, with almost all mammals - as well as humans - actually being seven cervical vertebrae and their intervertebral discs. These vertebrae are relatively small and fragile compared to the bones of the remaining spinal cord segments (e.g., the lumbar spine) and are numbered down the skull (C1-C7)..
The cervical spine consists of seven vertebrae, the first (atlas) carrying the entire head. (Image: okrasyuk / fotolia.com) Because of their unusual compared to the other vertebrae construction, the first two cervical vertebrae proper names: Since the first vertebra as the skull next part of the spine carries the entire head, he is referred to in Greek mythology as "Atlas" (Atlas, the Titan who had to carry the sky on his shoulders).
The second cervical vertebra is called "Axis" (Greek for "axis") and forms together with the atlas the head joints, whereby it allows the rotation of the head in the first place. In the other cervical vertebrae, however, shows the typical structure of the vertebral body and vertebral arch - only in the seventh vertebra is the spinous process a little further back than in the other, which is why this is called "Vertebra prominens" (vortex vortex).
As with the rest of the spine, the so-called intervertebral discs are located between the cervical vertebrae, through which the vertebrae are flexibly interconnected and remain mobile. The cervical spine receives support through the cervical and back muscles as well as through several ligaments, which have a supporting function.
In addition to the emergence in the neck from the spinal cord on each side spinal cord nerves ("spinal nerves"). The upper four together form the cervical plexus (cervical plexus), which stimulates the neck muscles, but also the diaphragm. The lower four spinal nerves, together with those of the first thoracic segment, form what is known as the brachial plexus, which provides motor innervation to the shoulder and chest muscles as well as the arm and hand.
The vertebral arteries (vertebral artery) pull in pairs through the associated bony channels of the cervical spine into the skull. Together with the two internal carotid arteries (arteriae carotidiae internae), they are responsible for supplying the brain with blood.
Disorders in the cervical spine area
If there are disorders in the cervical spine, these are commonly referred to as "cervical syndrome" or "cervical syndrome". The diagnosis is in principle rather inaccurate, rather it is a collective term for various complaints in the neck and neck area.
A distinction is made between acute and chronic cervical syndromes: While the former are often due to injuries (for example, cervical spine whiplash), the cause of a chronic cervical spine syndrome is usually degenerative.
Typical symptoms of a cervical spine syndrome are pain in the back of the head and neck. (Picture: Picture-Factory / fotolia.com) Symptoms of cervical syndrome
Most cervical spine syndrome is divided into lower, middle, and upper syndromes. The upper cervical spine is often a drawing pain that radiates into the head. It can come to punctual, very stabbing pain at the back of the head or laterally on the transverse process of the second cervical vertebra. In the middle of the cervical spine, many sufferers have a sense of instability, especially when they take their heads back, as well as pulling pains that go right down between the shoulder blades. Likewise, it is possible for people to indicate only stiffness in this area and no pain.
The lower cervical spine may hurt across the last cervical vertebra or the first thoracic vertebra. Often there is also pain directly on the vertebral body, which is described as a stinging in the neck. Furthermore, cervical discomfort is expected, which go laterally to the shoulder and usually occur when turning the head or restrict the rotation. These are often referred to as neck tension.
Due to the irritated nerves sufferers often experience sensory disturbances such as numbness or "tingling" in the neck, arm or shoulder, in more severe cases even paralysis may occur. In addition to the headache dizziness, visual and hearing disorders (tinnitus, tinnitus) are possible - and this is especially the case of a cervical syndrome due to mental stress the case.
If there is a so-called whiplash, which often occurs as a result of a car accident, often show no symptoms at first - only later, discomfort in the neck and back pain and a limited mobility of the cervical spine on.
Common cause of cervical syndrome: tension
The cause of the discomfort is often a tension of the muscles in the neck area, which arises primarily due to bad posture. The main reason here is that many people spend most of the day in a sedentary posture, e.g. Work on the PC does not change their position, sometimes for hours. The head is often stretched over a longer period forward and it can be assumed that the head joints are always in extension and the soft tissue structures are compressed or shortened at the back of the head.
Triggers for a cervical spine syndrome are often bad posture through constant and incorrect sitting at the desk. (Picture: Picture-Factory / fotolia.com) As a result, it comes to tension, neck pain and headache on the back of the head. Accordingly, especially in a sedentary job, care should be taken to ensure that the workplace is ergonomically designed (correct desk height, distance to the screen, etc.) and that the physical stress is compensated by the permanent sitting with regular exercise.
It is also possible a maladjustment during sleep, also include negative stress and generally mental stress to the main cause of tension. The shoulder and neck muscles react particularly quickly and strongly to stress and tension, which can cause neck and headaches, facial pain, dizziness and tinnitus.
Degenerative changes
The cervical syndrome can be caused by degenerative changes or "signs of wear and tear". Among other things, this includes the wear of the vertebral body joints (spondylosis), which is mainly due to age and on the X-ray image by irregularities such as spikes or elevations is recognizable. The symptoms of spondylosis may vary. In some cases, those affected remain completely symptom-free, in other cases, the changes can lead to massive back pain or shoulder-neck pain with or without radiation. In addition, the mobility of the spinal column section can be significantly restricted.
In more rare cases, cervical disc prolapse in the area of the cervical spine ("cervical disc prolapse") may be the cause of a cervical spine syndrome. This occurs in a general wear with tears in the fibrous ring of the disc (annulus fibrosus), with a distinction between a "prolapse" (prolapse or displacement of disc tissue with breakthrough of the annulus fibrosus) and a "protrusion" (disc protrusion with preservation of the annulus fibrosus) becomes.
In this rare form of herniated disc - which most commonly affects the lower cervical spine - the displaced disc tissue presses on one or more nerve roots, causing headache, dizziness and, in some cases, tingling in the limbs or numbness. Ear noises such as tinnitus or ear noise are also possible.
Reason for the complaints may be the so-called osteochondrosis (also called "osteochondrosis (inter) vertebralis"). This is a degenerative change of the bones ("osteo"), the vertebral bodies and the cartilage ("chondro") of the intervertebral discs, which can occur in any section of the spine (cervical, thoracic or lumbar spine).
The wear of the spine shows in humans regularly in older age. In addition, however, there are risk factors such as permanent inappropriate stress (for example, long standing or sitting in the working day), lack of exercise or overweight, which favor the occurrence of osteochondrosis.
Degenerative changes can lead to massive head and neck pain. (Image: artstudio_pro / fotolia.com) If the cervical spine is affected by this degenerative change, in many cases initially no symptoms appear. In the further course, there are sometimes massive neck and headaches as well as movement restrictions of the head. If surrounding nerves are affected, the pain can radiate from the cervical spine across the arms to the fingertips. Since many sufferers take a restraint due to the pain, it can also lead to sometimes strong tensions over time.
whiplash
Often, a cervical spine syndrome is caused by injuries and accidents, in which case the so-called whiplash injury can be mentioned. This is a pure soft tissue injury to the cervical spine caused by sudden, strong flexion and hyperextension of the head - typically in a rear-end collision or sports injury (especially martial arts such as judo, karate, etc.).
In the whiplash trauma or only the muscles and connective tissue are affected in the first place, rarely it accompanies rare injuries to bones, joints, nerves or blood vessels. Characteristic of a whiplash injury is a restriction of movement of the head or the cervical spine by the strong tension of the muscles in the neck and neck, which occurs either directly after the accident, but often only one or two days later.
The tension typically causes neck and headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, nausea and sleep disturbances. Whiplash is in most cases medically harmless and heals completely - even without treatment - after a few days to weeks. Nevertheless, it can also take a chronic course, for example, if the spine was damaged before the accident by an arthrosis or by the existing trauma a restraint is taken, which in turn leads to painful tension and a one-sided load on the spine.
Reason for the cervical syndrome may be an unnatural storage of the head while sleeping. (Image: Africa Studio / fotolia.com) Other causes of cervical syndrome
Further triggers include malformations of the spine such as spina bifida (open back) or acquired disorders such as Scheuermann's disease. Also, a scoliosis, which is a lateral bending of the spine with a rotation of vertebral bodies is conceivable - and this can be both innate or acquired.
There may be inflammatory processes behind the symptoms of a cervical spondylosis. Examples are rheumatic diseases as well as acute infections caused by staphylococci or tuberculosis bacteria. In more rare cases, spinal or metastatic tumors are responsible for a cervical syndrome, so the symptoms should always be carefully assessed.
Cervical spine syndrome treatment
How a cervical syndrome is treated depends on the cause. Accordingly, a doctor should first be consulted to clarify the symptoms in case of suspicion - because only then can health risks be avoided or possibly more serious diseases are detected. In the acute case, the therapy usually begins with the use of painkillers (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). If the muscle tension is very pronounced, muscle relaxants such as tolperisone are often prescribed in addition to relax the muscles and thereby relieve pain.
However, in some patients the severe pain can only be corrected with centrally acting analgesics, ie analgesics in the brain or spinal cord (for example tramadol). In general, however, as with other chronic diseases, it should be avoided over a long period of time to prevent habituation or even dependency.
Especially in chronic pain conditions local anesthesia may be considered, in which a long-acting topical anesthetic (e.g., bupivacaine) is injected into the cervical musculature or near the nerve outlet sites adjacent to the spine.
An individually tailored physiotherapy often has a positive effect on a cervical spine syndrome. (Image: procy_ab / fotolia.com) Help by physiotherapy
When treating a cervical spine syndrome physiotherapy or physiotherapy is also of central importance - especially when it comes to recurring tension. The exercises are not so much about direct training of the cervical spine muscles, but rather about learning techniques that can be used for relaxation and to improve the mobility of the head.
For this purpose, the physiotherapist selects individualized exercises that are specifically used to improve blood circulation, relieve the tension and strengthen the muscles to such an extent that everyday stress can be better "warded off".
Naturopathy at HWS
Various natural remedies provide support for a cervical spine syndrome and can help alleviate the discomfort. The obvious thing about neck tension is a manual massage that loosens the tense muscles of the neck and shoulder. In addition, heat therapy applications such as peloid warming packs (e.g., fango or mud) or red-light irradiation have proven useful in many cases.
The warmth works in two ways: On the one hand, it is generally perceived by many sufferers to be very pleasant and restful for pain and tension. On the other hand, as it promotes blood circulation and loosens muscle tension, it is also wonderfully suited as a preparation for a massage, as "warmed up" or relaxed muscles make it easier for the masseur to release tensions and blockages. As an alternative to a professional thermotherapy, heat can also be used quite easily at home - in the pharmacy there are a number of patches, baths or creams available, which warm the affected areas and relieve the tension.
The so-called transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is often used in the naturopathic treatment of cervical spine syndrome. It is an electromedical stimulation current therapy, which is mainly used for the relief of pain and muscle stimulation. This method has the advantage that those affected can treat themselves if necessary from home by sticking mini-electrodes next to the cervical spine or painful area and transfer electrical impulses to the skin surface from there.
In transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), current impulses are transmitted to the body for pain relief. (Image: Ralf Geithe / fotolia.com) If the symptoms are due to stress and conflicts, various relaxation techniques are available, through which a better handling of the stress can be learned. A very sensible measure, because the inner tension decreases, experience has shown that the tension in the neck and shoulder area often also dissipates. Autogenic training has proved its worth, among other things, in order to release internal tension and come to rest in stressful situations.
Yoga is very useful for stress relief, as it also relieves inner restlessness. At the same time, the neck and back are strengthened by special physical exercises ("asanas") and the mobility of the body as a whole is promoted. The progressive muscle relaxation according to Jacobson is also very well suited to relieve tension caused by stress or strong tension. This relaxation technique is not only helpful for neck and back pain, but is also often used in headaches, sleep disorders, restlessness, nervous bowel problems or stomach problems and hypertension.
If the psychosomatic cervical spine pain is very pronounced, the "right way" may also exist in a psychotherapy or psychoanalysis, because even suppressed conflicts can have an increasing effect on muscular tension. (nr, last updated on 1.9.2017)
Specialist supervision: Barbara Schindewolf-Lensch (doctor)