Neck pain

2 August 2021

Everyone is familiar with the symptoms of neck pain: it pulls the muscles, the head cannot be tilted, and when you look to the side, you need to rotate the whole body. Usually, the culprit of the problem is the spine: invasion, hernia, scoliosis can cause a person's back and neck pain. This discomfort caused him to heal himself. But if the pain radiating to the neck does not go away after home treatment, the next step is to see a doctor.

Adult neck pain

Women with neck pain

Neck pain during pregnancy

Back and neck pain often worry mothers-to-be. The explanation is simple-as the weight and body proportion change, the posture changes and the load on the spine increases.

What should I do if I encounter this kind of trouble? Special maternity bandages will help keep your back in the correct position. In order to strengthen the muscles of the back and neck, swimming and yoga are useful (of course, with the permission of the obstetrician and gynecologist). You need to sleep in a comfortable position with a hard mattress and a low pillow. But the most important thing is to consult a doctor, because any self-medication will have a negative impact on the condition of the mother and the unborn baby.

Young mother's neck pain

Back and neck pain is common in young mothers. Since women cannot use multiple drugs during breastfeeding, the problem becomes complicated because harmful substances enter the milk. How to save yourself and prevent neck pain from affecting your baby's happiness?

Monitor your posture. When holding the baby, the center of gravity shifts as the abdomen increases-you have to bend back to maintain balance, and your shoulders are always tight.
Do not overwork physically, try to distribute the load to the back. Various portable devices can help achieve this. They spread the weight of the child on the shoulders and prevent back and neck fatigue.
Baby care products need to be adjusted according to their height to avoid standing in uncomfortable positions for a long time.
It is very important to maintain a comfortable posture while breastfeeding, especially at night.

Male neck pain

Generally, neck pain does not vary by gender-both men and women can occur. However, there are some differences in anatomy: the male neck is decorated with obvious Adam apples-thickening of thyroid cartilage, the plates of which are at an angle to each other.

Adam apple pain in men may indicate a serious illness:

Thyroiditis is inflammation of the thyroid gland. For thyroiditis, patients worry about neck pain when turning, sore throat, swelling of the neck above and below.
Thyroid cartilage cancer-The danger is that the onset of this disease may resemble the common cold: sore throat when swallowing, turning the neck or even breathing difficulties.
Thyroid cartilage phlegm is widespread purulentness of neck cartilage and soft tissues, which can be life-threatening. The patient complained of chills, high fever, painful swallowing, loss of voice, and difficulty breathing.
Cartilage tuberculosis usually occurs with and is a complication of existing tuberculosis.
Kadik may be ill due to osteochondrosis. Infringement causes pain when swallowing, sneezing, and coughing.
Fractures, bruises, and compression of cartilage can cause neck displacement, swelling, and suffocation.

Elderly neck pain

In the elderly, pain radiating to the neck may indicate the development of the disease:

Apical lung cancer (cancer with Pancost and Horner syndrome). In this case, the patient’s pain is related to the growth of the tumor to the shoulder belt and nerve endings in the neck.
Neck tumor, salivary glands.
Coronary heart disease. Pain can spread from the chest to the neck and arms, causing symptoms similar to osteochondrosis.
Polymyalgia rheumatica is an inflammatory disease characterized by stiffness and pain in the shoulder girdle and hip muscles.
Spinal metastasis of various tumor diseases (the possibility of cancer increases with age, this is no secret).
Cervical subluxation as a complication of rheumatoid arthritis.
The most common causes of neck and neck pain in the elderly are osteoarthritis and osteochondrosis of the spine, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic inflammation of connective tissue.

Neck pain in children

The causes of severe neck pain in children are the same as in adults:

trauma
Osteochondrosis
Stress and anxiety
Tumor
Diseases of other organs that cause distant pain

Perhaps the most specific "naive" cause of neck pain is torticollis, when the child's head turns sharply to one side. Torticollis is dangerous because it causes the cervical spine to bend and destroys the formation of facial bones.

Contrary to popular belief, this disease does not only occur during childbirth. According to the appearance of torticollis, the following types can be distinguished:

Congenital-If the fetus is incorrectly positioned, it can occur in the uterus, but it most commonly occurs during labor, when the baby turns his head to the side and hurts the neck muscles.
Dermal origin-when the neck is distorted by scars from trauma or burns.
Reflex-it occurs in injuries, otitis media, salivary gland diseases.
Neurogenic-due to muscle spasms after polio or encephalitis.
Spasms-due to excessive tension in the neck muscles.
Traumatic-related to spinal fractures.

Torticollis (except skin and neurogenic) is usually observed in newborns or manifests in the first few months. The biggest risks of its occurrence are:

The fetus is in a breech position during natural delivery.
The position of the fetus on the mother's abdomen causes the uterine wall to press against the neck.
Childbirth is difficult, and the baby’s mastoid muscles are damaged (scarring).
Difficult labor requires the use of tweezers and a vacuum cleaner.
The mastoid muscle becomes inflamed during intrauterine development, so the muscle tissue is replaced by fibrous tissue in the area of inflammation.
Pathological hypertrophy and shortening of the mastoid muscle.
Caesarean section.

How can you cure torticollis?

The conservative approach is to use massage and physical therapy courses, special orthopedic styling of the baby's head, wearing an orthopedic collar and gymnastics exercises.
Action-Execute when the conservative method produces no results. During the operation, the surgeon will lengthen the sternocleidomastoid muscle and straighten the position of the child's head.

Different types of neck pain

Severe neck pain

Why is there severe pain in the neck? There are two reasons:

Trauma (fracture, blow, contusion).
Infringement of nerve endings-osteochondrosis, herniated disc, compression of the spinal canal is such a case.

The treatment of pain depends on the cause and includes:

Prescribe painkillers.
Muscle relaxants and antispasmodics can relieve muscle spasms.
Fixation of the cervical spine (fixation).
Exercise therapy and physical therapy.

Severe neck pain

Severe neck pain is always unpleasant. I want to quickly figure out why it was injured and recovered. What is the cause of severe pain?

Osteochondrosis worsens when unsuccessful movement, rotation, or concussion of the body causes displacement of the vertebrae, invasion of existing hernias, and compression of spinal nerves.
Cervical radiculitis (inflammation and compression of the root of the spinal cord).
Cervicago-"back pain" (severe muscle cramps).
Severe back and neck pain may occur after injury.

Neck pain with osteochondrosis

The neck pain caused by osteochondrosis is very serious and brings a lot of unpleasant time to the patient. The arteries supplying the brain may be squeezed or twisted due to muscle spasms or movement of vertebrae. In the most severe cases, this can lead to conditions similar to the precursors of a stroke. When a person is dizzy, everything floats in front of his eyes and sometimes loses language and vision.

Neck pain on the left

The neck pain on the left side is not only a possible symptom of cervical spine problems, it may also be a problem outside the cervical spine. If a person has pain in the left side of the neck, what will he get?

Heart disease (heart attack, coronary artery disease, angina).
Lung cancer on the upper left.
Injuried.
The tumor has spread from other organs to the lymph nodes on the left side of the neck.
Infectious inflammation of the lymph nodes (due to tonsillitis, ARVI, tonsillitis).

Right neck pain

Pain in the right side of the neck is a worrying symptom, but in most cases its explanation is mediocre: a person has osteochondrosis with all consequences. These consequences include nerve entrapment, muscle spasms, herniated and hernias, and vascular diseases.

But there are other reasons for right neck pain:

Biliary colic radiates to the neck and shoulders.
Right apical lung cancer, the tumor invades the nerves located above.
Bruises, injuries, fractures of the collarbone and vertebrae.
Cervical spine tumor (metastasis from other organs).
If the pain is concentrated on the right front of the neck, it may also indicate a heart problem (heart attack, coronary artery disease).
Inflammation of the lymph nodes and sore throat caused by ARVI.

Neck and shoulder pain

Neck and shoulder pain is a typical symptom of cervical osteochondrosis and its accompanying complications (hernia, nerve, spinal cord invasion). In addition, simultaneous pain in the neck and shoulders is a symptom of this type of disease:

Gallstone disease during exacerbation, accompanied by biliary colic.
heart disease.
Shoulder joint disease.
Cervical plexitis is inflammation of the greater spinal nerve ganglion.
Frozen shoulder and scapula-inflammation of the shoulder tendons and shoulder joint capsule.
Myositis.
arthritis.

Neck and back pain

Pain in the neck and lower back is usually a sign of extensive osteochondrosis, which has invaded the entire spine. After all, it does not happen that the posture of one part of the spine is good while the posture of another part is bad. For osteochondrosis, the neck pain is mild when the disease is relieved, and severe pain if it worsens. The exacerbation begins with severe pain in the neck and back, and is accompanied by unsuccessful rotations, movements, and bumps. It can be removed with the help of medication prescribed by the doctor, rest, mild heat in the affected area, exercise therapy and physical therapy.

Neck and nape pain

Pain in the neck and back of the head is usually a symptom of common cervical osteochondrosis-a dangerous disease, but not fatal. But sometimes it indicates meningitis, which is a threat to human life. The pathogens of meningitis-bacteria and viruses-invade the brain and spinal cord and cause inflammation of their membranes.

Numbness, pain in the neck and back of the head, stiffness in the occipital muscles, inability to pull the head to the chest at the same time, and bending the legs at the knees-all these are meningeal symptoms and will immediately alert the doctor. The treatment of dangerous diseases is carried out in the hospital,

In addition to meningitis and osteochondrosis, the causes of neck and back head pain may also be injuries, occipital neuralgia, high blood pressure, and muscle strain.

Causes and symptoms of neck pain

trauma

The cause of neck pain can sometimes become injury, which leads to displacement or rupture of the cervical spine and damage to the spinal nerves. Accidents, falls, injuries, improper diving, or sudden movements can cause injuries. Symptoms of neck injuries include:

Incorrect neck flexion, inability to turn the head, tight chest and neck muscles indicate lower vertebrae fractures.
Pain on the top and back of the head indicates that the first cervical vertebra has been damaged.
Swelling and "bruising" may be the result of a neck injury.
Neck pain, shoulder pain, upper chest pain, and headache when turning the head are symptoms of cervical sprains, which are caused by alternating sharp bends and extensions of the neck (this may happen when the vehicle brakes suddenly).

Tumor

An extremely dangerous cause of neck pain is malignant tumors. How could this be?

Neck pain is a symptom of a tumor in the upper lung. It grows nerve bundles and blood vessels, causing severe pain. Depending on the location of the tumor, a person may suffer from neck pain on the left or right side.
Symptoms of neck pain sometimes indicate the development of lymphoma-lymph node cancer. Since many lymph nodes are concentrated in the neck, they increase with the progress of the disease, and it is difficult not to be noticed. Other prominent signs of lymphoma are excessive sweating, seemingly unreasonable fever, and weight loss.
Salivary gland cancer is a tumor that affects the salivary glands behind the ears, the sides of the neck, and the upper jaw. In the early stages, it is painless, but sometimes you will notice a seal in the affected gland.
A tumor of the larynx grows into its wall and visually represents a nodular tumor. It is difficult to notice them during routine examinations, so, unfortunately, cancer is diagnosed at an advanced stage, when other manifestations become obvious: foreign body sensation in the throat, hoarseness and nasal congestion, difficulty breathing in the nose. Laryngeal tumors are also very dangerous, because it is easy to metastasize in the early stage, which greatly worsens the prognosis of the patient's recovery.
Thyroid cancer presents as a nodular mass, pain in the front of the neck, and changes in voice.
In thyroid cartilage cancer, patients complain of difficulty swallowing and moving food in the throat, a foreign body sensation, or a lump in the throat.

Reflex pain in other organ diseases

Pain radiating to the neck does not always indicate that the problem is in the neck itself. Sometimes pain due to unhealthy other organs is called reflex pain. What diseases can cause it?

Heart (ischemic heart disease, heart attack, angina pectoris)-They are accompanied by attacks, and the pain radiates to the shoulders, neck, and sometimes to the arms.
Pain in the right neck, under the right shoulder blade, and right shoulder occurs during episodes of biliary colic caused by gallbladder stones.
Esophageal disease (reflux, erosion, ulcer).
When tumors affect nerve endings, tumor diseases (lymphoma, tumor metastasis) are the cause of human suffering. Therefore, when the tumor grows upward, lung tip cancer can cause neck and shoulder pain. Intracranial tumors and head tumor diseases can also cause cervical spine pain.
Abscesses and sputum on the head.
Bleeding into the subarachnoid space between the brain and its fragile tissues.

Psychological causes of neck pain

Symptoms of neck pain usually occur at the same time as muscle cramps. Spasticity is not only caused by stress, injury or injury-the cause may be stress, nerve shock, and fatigue. Why is this happening?

The fact is that the body sees stress as a threat to its health, which mobilizes it. Stress hormones are released into the blood, heart rate increases, and digestion is the opposite. Muscle tone increases with hormonal changes. Once encountered a shocking situation, the body will enter the normal mode. However, if the emotional stress is in a chronic form, muscle spasms will become persistent, and in this context, spinal diseases will develop (osteochondrosis, hernias, herniated discs).

Sedentary lifestyle, frequent computer work

Neck muscle pain is often due to a person’s impaired posture, and the impaired posture may be caused by muscle weakness in the waist. Usually, this happens to people who stay away from physical education, live a sedentary lifestyle, and work a lot on computers. The workplace is often not properly organized, and people are sitting or bending over uncomfortably, which makes the situation worse. As a result, the pain radiating to the neck becomes a constant accompaniment, forming the usual muscle spasm, the intervertebral disc begins to undergo degenerative changes, and osteochondrosis develops. Even with osteochondrosis, neck pain will become a constant accompaniment: the period of pain subsiding is replaced by worsening, only effective treatment, lifestyle changes from sedentary to mobile, postural control, strengthening of the neck and backOnly the muscles of the body can break this cycle.

Diagnosis of neck pain

How to determine the cause of neck pain and confirm the diagnosis?

First, you need to collect a medical record:
Memories of life. It is necessary to find out if there have been neck and shoulder girdle injuries in the past, which diseases have been suffered, which have become chronic diseases, and whether there have been recent colds and hypothermia. For example, the fact of cholecystitis can explain the pain in the neck-when biliary colic, the pain sometimes radiates to the area. At the same time, the left neck pain may be caused by tumors in the upper left lung, muscle inflammation, and compression of the spinal cord on the left.
The medical history of the disease-how and how it started, which doctor the patient consulted, what examinations and treatments were prescribed for him, and how it affected the course of the disease (for good or for bad).
Visual examination will help confirm the diagnosis-the doctor palpates the lymph nodes and muscles, checks the mobility of the head and neck, assesses the condition and color of the skin, and looks for visible injuries and trauma.
If it is suspected that neck and shoulder pain is the result of other organ diseases, the patient should be referred to a specialist-oncologist, endocrinologist, gastroenterologist, cardiologist, etc.
In other cases, radiological diagnosis will help confirm the diagnosis: MSCT, CT, X-ray.
Sometimes, electromyography (ENMG) is an electrophysiological study and a useful diagnostic procedure to determine the condition of the muscles and peripheral nervous system.

Neck pain treatment

medical treatement

If neck pain is caused by cancer or other organ problems, medical treatment is aimed at dealing with the identified underlying disease. If the problem is spine and muscle tension, the following drugs can be prescribed:

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are used to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs come in the form of tablets, injections, gels and ointments. In the acute phase, both can be prescribed (every few hours). Therefore, if you can only get rid of neck pain by tearing, injections and ointments will play a rescue role.
Muscle relaxants are drugs that reduce the tension of skeletal muscles.
Antispasmodics-drugs used to relieve smooth muscle spasms.
B vitamins are needed to improve metabolic processes and neurotransmitter synthesis.
If blood circulation is impaired due to pressure on blood vessels and muscles, vasodilator drugs will be prescribed.

massage

When the acute symptoms of the disease subside, massage is used to treat neck and waist pain. The benefits of massage are:

Improve blood flow in the affected area
Relieve muscle cramps, relax the body and mind, help relieve tension and fatigue
Remove puffiness and inflammation
Improve brain blood supply
Restore joint mobility

physiotherapy

When the acute symptoms subsided or relieved, physical therapy for neck pain started at the same time as medication. During the acute course of the disease, only procedures with analgesic effects can be prescribed. Physical therapy works well because the effect is specifically targeted at the affected area. What procedures can be handled?

Electrophoresis of various drugs. Under the action of alternating current, the drug penetrates deep into the tissue.
Light therapy (laser therapy)-Exposure to a beam of light with a fixed wavelength in the affected area of the body.
Magnetic therapy is a method that uses alternating or constant magnetic fields to treat neck and neck pain. This method has anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.
Ultrasound therapy can relieve neck pain and inflammation.
Detensor therapy stretches the spine due to the weight of a person on a special mattress with inclined ribs. This type of physiotherapy normalizes muscle tension and relieves tension.
The Shockwave Therapy (SWT) method is based on the action of low-frequency sound waves that are inaudible to human ears. Treatment with the help of shock wave therapy can reduce or eliminate pain and improve blood flow in the exposed area of the device.
Vibration therapy-use a vibrating massager for mechanical vibration.
Kinesiology (Physiotherapy Exercises)-The complex can be developed from traditional gymnastics to a single set of exercises based on the patient's diagnosis and condition.

operation treatment

When conservative treatment does not produce the expected results, surgical treatment of neck pain is prescribed:

The pain does not go away with the medication
Signs of spinal cord and root compression
Obvious and aggravated weakness of the hand muscles

In most cases, the surgery to remove the herniated disc is performed at the same time as the fusion and fixation of the adjacent vertebrae. In order to remove the compression of the spinal cord, a laminectomy is used-part of the vertebral arch is removed, and then osteophytes and hernias are eliminated.

After surgery and proper rehabilitation, the symptoms of neck pain no longer bother the patient.

Prevent neck pain

When neck pain, turning your head, tilting your head, or lying down comfortably can be a big problem. If it hurts, then life is no longer likable at all. You can avoid neck problems through prevention. What do we need to do?

Choose a comfortable sleeping position, a firm enough mattress, and a low pillow that won't let your shoulders fall off.
Monitor your posture: don't be listless, don't bend over and sit.
Perform at least simple exercises regularly to strengthen the neck muscles. Stretching and yoga are very helpful.
If you have a sedentary lifestyle, take a break every one and a half hours, walk, stretch, and stretch.
Prevent physical injury: Do not rotate your neck violently, avoid impacts and traumatic exercise loads.
Press the phone with your ears and shoulders to get rid of the habit of making calls.
Avoid nerve shock, stress and worry. Negative emotions and anxiety can cause stiffness, fatigue and muscle cramps.
It is not advisable to carry a weight on one of the two shoulders, because twisting of the spine can cause neck pain on the right or left side.
Avoid colds and airflow that can cause myositis (inflammation of the neck muscles).
Drink plenty of decaffeinated liquids. Adequate water allows you to effectively transport the substances and electrolytes needed by your muscles.
Eat foods that contain calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium. Lack of these substances can cause muscle cramps and neck pain.

Severe neck pain can severely ruin your life, especially if it happens at the wrong time—for example, during the long-awaited vacation. Therefore, during the first "call", don't ignore the alarm signal sent by the body, but check and get the doctor's advice. Remember that prevention is not wrong: moderate exercise, sleep and work in a comfortable posture, proper nutrition and weight distribution during carrying will help maintain a healthy neck.