Pain in the neck – Read our blog and be healthy!

The symptoms of pain in the neck are familiar to everyone: it pulls muscles, it is impossible to tilt and turn the head, and to look to the side, you need to turn the whole body. The culprit of troubles, as a rule, is the spine: infringements, hernias, scoliosis lead to the fact that a person experiences pain in the back and neck. Discomfort makes him self-medicate. Ointments, applicators, wrapping, warming and other home remedies are used. But if the pain extending to the neck did not go away after home therapy, the next step is a visit to the doctor. And here surprises await the patient: it turns out that not everything can be cured with a heating pad, and the neck hurts not only from chondrosis. The cause may be a disease of a completely different organ, a long-forgotten injury or stress.

Neck pain in adults

Neck pain in women

Neck pain during pregnancy

Pain in the back and neck often worries expectant mothers. The explanation is simple – with a change in weight and body proportions, posture changes, the load on the spine increases. The back bends, the head leans forward – and as a result there is pain in the neck and lower back.

If you look at the human profile from the side, between the shoulders you will notice a bend called cervical lordosis. In the normal position of the body, the bend is in the correct position, but when the head is tilted forward, the vertebrae of the lower part of the neck “go” forward, and the upper – back, and pains appear. The cervical spine is the most mobile: this is necessary so that a person can freely rotate his head, look in the right direction and hold the desired position. Mobility is ensured by the fact that no bones are attached to the cervical vertebrae. For this reason, the neck is a very vulnerable area that is easy to strain or injure.

Excessive stress due to improper position of the spine during pregnancy is guilty of pain. But not only the neck can hurt. Unpleasant sensations sometimes affect the arms and hands, shoulder blades, the entire upper body. Your fingers may go numb. Another cause of pain resulting from an uncomfortable position in the spine is sprains and muscles.

How to deal with this trouble? After all, expectant mothers are forbidden many of the drugs and physiotherapy. A special bandage for pregnant women will help to keep your back in the correct position. It is not forbidden to use massage applicators. You can also apply warming ointments on a natural basis, apply dry heat to a sore spot, wear an orthopedic collar. To strengthen the muscles of the back and neck, it is useful to do swimming and yoga (of course, with the permission of the obstetrician-gynecologist). You need to sleep in a comfortable position, on a hard mattress and a low pillow. A good effect is given by the massage of the collar zone (the back surface of the neck and chest). But the most important thing is to consult a doctor, since any self-medication during pregnancy can adversely affect the condition of the mother and the unborn baby.

Neck pain in young mothers

Pain in the back and neck is a common occurrence in young mothers. Immediately after childbirth, they master a new type of physical activity – they constantly carry the baby in their arms, raise their strollers, feed them in an uncomfortable position – and this cannot but affect the state of health. The matter is complicated by the fact that a woman during breastfeeding cannot use many drugs, because harmful substances will get into milk. How to help yourself and not allow the pain in the neck to prevent the baby from rejoicing?

Follow your posture. During the bearing of the child, the center of gravity shifted with an increase in the abdomen – I had to lean back to maintain balance, and the shoulders were tense all the time. Gradually, the body will return to its normal position, but you need to help it – with self-control, exercise, stretching and relaxation. It is useful to take back and neck massage courses – it is harmless and effective.
Do not overstrain physically, try to properly distribute the load on the back. Various devices for carrying children can help with this – slings, ergorypacks, carrying backpacks. They allow you to distribute the weight of the child on both shoulders, and do not let the back and neck get tired.
Baby care items need to be adjusted in accordance with their height, so as not to stand for a long time in an uncomfortable position.
It is very important to take a comfortable posture while breastfeeding, especially at night – babies can suck for a long time, and being in a forced, uncomfortable position will only aggravate problems with the back and neck.

If the pain in the neck and lower back does not go away for a long time and is exhausting, you need to seek the help of a doctor – he will choose the treatment that is allowed during breastfeeding and will not harm the baby.

Neck pain in men

Pain in the neck, as a rule, does not have gender differences – they can appear in both men and women. And yet there are some differences in the anatomy: the male neck is decorated with a pronounced Adam’s apple – a thickening of the thyroid cartilage, the plates of which are located at an angle to each other. In women, the articulation of cartilage bones is much less pronounced, and often it is almost invisible.

Pain in an Adam’s apple in men can indicate quite serious diseases:

Thyroiditis is an inflammation of the thyroid gland. It can be acute and chronic, purulent and non-purulent, caused by infections or autoimmune disorders. With thyroiditis, patients are worried about pain in the neck when turning, pain in the Adam’s apple, above and below it, swelling of the neck.
Cancer of thyroid cartilage – its danger is that the onset of the disease can be similar to a common cold: it hurts the throat while swallowing, it is difficult to turn the neck and even breathe. Treatment of thyroid cancer in men is complicated by the complex anatomy of this part of the body.
Phlegmon of the thyroid cartilage is an extensive suppuration of the cartilage and soft tissues of the neck, life-threatening. Patients complain of chills and fever, pain when swallowing, loss of voice, difficulty breathing.
Cartilage tuberculosis occurs, as a rule, with existing pulmonary tuberculosis and is a complication of it. Patients have a swallowing disorder, hoarseness, sore throat, pain in the neck and Adam’s apple.
Adipose can be sick due to osteochondrosis. Infringement leads to pain during swallowing, sneezing, coughing. With osteochondrosis, pain in the neck can have different intensities: with exacerbation, sharp, unbearable, aching and weak during recovery.
Fractures, bruises and compression of the cartilage can lead to displacement, swelling of the neck and suffocation. Other symptoms of an Adam’s apple injury include pain when swallowing, coughing, panting, hemoptysis.

Neck pain in the elderly

Pain giving to the neck in elderly people can talk about the development of diseases:

Cancer of the apex of the lung (in foreign literature it is called cancer with Pankost and Horner syndrome). Pain in the patient in this case is associated with the germination of the tumor in the nerve endings of the shoulder girdle and neck.
Tumors of the neck, salivary glands.
Coronary heart disease. Pain can spread from the chest to the neck and arms, causing symptoms similar to osteochondrosis.
Rheumatic polymyalgia is an inflammatory disease characterized by stiffness and pain in the muscles of the shoulder girdle and hips.
Spinal metastases in various oncological diseases (it is no secret that the likelihood of developing cancer increases with age).
Subluxation of the cervical vertebra as a complication of rheumatoid arthritis.

The most common causes of neck and nape pain in the elderly are osteoarthritis and osteochondrosis of the spine (often complicated by compression of the spinal nerves and circulatory disorders), rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic inflammation of the connective tissue (spondyloarthropathy).

Neck pain in children

Severe neck pain in children occurs due to the same reasons as in adults:

Injuries
Osteochondrosis
Stress and stress
Tumors
Other organ diseases causing distant pain

Perhaps the most specific “childhood” cause of pain in the neck is torticollis, when the child’s head is turned sharply to the side. Torticollis is dangerous in that it leads to a curvature of the cervical spine and disrupts the formation of the skeleton of the face.

Contrary to popular belief, the disease occurs not only during childbirth. Depending on how torticollis appeared, its following types are distinguished:

Congenital – it can happen in the womb if the fetus is not located correctly, but most often happens during childbirth, when the baby turns its head to the side and injures the neck muscles.
Dermatogenic – when the neck twists from scars that leave an injury or burn.
Reflex – it happens with injuries, otitis media, diseases of the salivary gland.
Neurogenic – due to muscle spasms after poliomyelitis or encephalitis.
Spastic – due to excessive tension of the cervical muscles.
Traumatic – associated with a fracture of the spine.

Torticollis (with the exception of dermatogenic and neurogenic) is usually observed in newborns, or manifests itself in the first months. The greatest risk of its occurrence occurs when:

The fetus is in the buttock during natural birth.
The location of the fetus in the mother’s stomach is such that the wall of the uterus presses on the neck.
Childbirth is difficult, and the child has a damaged mastoid muscle (with scar formation).
There is a need to use forceps and vacuum for complex births.
The mastoid muscle is inflamed even during fetal development, as a result of which in the area of inflammation muscle tissue was replaced by fibrous tissue.
The mastoid muscle is pathologically hypertrophied and shortened.
With cesarean section.

Torticollis causes pain in the neck when turning and other movements, makes the baby cry and worry, and interferes with normal sucking of the mother’s chest. Sometimes parents, especially inexperienced ones, do not notice the unnatural position of the child’s head and miss valuable time – and the sooner the treatment is started, the better the result. How can you cure torticollis?

Conservative method

Using a course of massage and physiotherapy, special orthopedic styling of the baby’s head, wearing an orthopedic collar, gymnastic exercises. During treatment, constant monitoring by an orthopedic surgeon is required, which will monitor the growth and development of the neck muscles and bones, watch the dynamics of improvements after a course of treatment.

Operation

It is executed if conservative methods have not yielded results. During the operation, the surgeon lengthens the sternocleidomast and straightens the position of the child’s head.

True torticollis is not found as often as a condition called “habitual head rotation”. Visually, both look the same, but the reasons and therapy are different: the usual turn is treated much faster and easier than a true torticollis. As a rule, it occurs due to excessive muscle tone, which can be removed with a relaxing massage, gymnastics, paraffin baths, electrophoresis. The neurologist, and not the orthopedist, is engaged in the treatment of the usual turn.

Different types of neck pain

Sharp pain in the neck

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

Injury (fracture, stroke, bruise).
Infringement of the nerve endings – this happens with osteochondrosis, a hernia of the intervertebral discs, compression of the spinal canal.

A sharp pain in the neck, especially if it becomes lingering, forces a person to seek medical help. The treatment of pain depends on the cause, and includes:

Prescribing painkillers.
Muscle relaxants and antispasmodics to relieve muscle spasm.
Immobilization (immobilization) of the cervical spine.
Exercise therapy and physiotherapy.

Severe neck pain

Severe neck pain – it is always unpleasant. I want to quickly figure out why it hurts, and recover. What are the causes of severe pain?

Exacerbation of osteochondrosis, when an unsuccessful movement, rotation or shaking of the body causes displacement of the vertebrae, infringement of the existing hernia, compression of the spinal nerves.
Cervical sciatica (inflammation and pinching of the spinal roots).
Cervicago – “lumbago” (a sharp strong muscle spasm).
Severe back and neck pain may occur after an injury.

Neck pain in osteochondrosis

Pain in the neck with osteochondrosis is very severe and gives the patient many unpleasant minutes. In addition to the pain from pinching the roots of the spine, osteochondrosis is dangerous because, as a result of muscle spasm or a shift of the vertebrae relative to each other, arteries that feed the brain can be pinched or twisted. In the most severe cases, this can lead to a condition similar to a pre-stroke, when a person is dizzy, everything swims before his eyes, sometimes speech and vision are lost. An undeveloped muscle corset at the slightest tremor, trauma or awkward movement can not hold the vertebrae, and they move – there is pain under the neck, in the neck and next.

Treatment and prevention of exacerbations will help to cope with the problem. If pain in the neck with osteochondrosis is unbearable, injections of NSAIDs, muscle relaxants and antispasmodics, as well as ointments containing similar substances are prescribed. In the case of extremely severe pain, a cervical spine is blocked, when the anesthetic is injected into the most painful (trigger) points intramuscularly, intradermally and subcutaneously, or the drug is injected directly into the epidural space. After removing the exacerbation, the patient is recommended a course of physiotherapy, massage, physiotherapy exercises.

Neck pain left

Pain in the left neck is a possible symptom of problems not only in the cervical spine, but also beyond. What can a person have if his neck hurts on his left?

Heart diseases (heart attack, coronary heart disease, angina pectoris).
Cancer of the upper part of the left lung.
Injuries.
Tumor metastases from other organs to the nodes of the left side of the neck.
Infectious inflammation of the lymph nodes (due to tonsillitis, acute respiratory viral infections, tonsillitis).

It is worth noting that basically the pain in the neck on the left is due nevertheless to impaired posture, excessive muscle tension, degenerative diseases of the spine – all of them are not fatal, and with proper treatment and prevention can be well compensated.

Neck pain on the right

Pain in the neck on the right is an alarming symptom, but is most often explained banally: a person has osteochondrosis with all the ensuing consequences. Such consequences include pinching of nerves, muscle spasms, intervertebral protrusion and hernia, and vascular disorders.

But there are other causes of neck pain on the right:

Biliary colic, giving to the neck and shoulder.
Right apical lung cancer with tumor invasion into higher nerves.
Bruises, injuries, fractures of the clavicle and vertebrae.
Tumors of the cervical spine (metastases from other organs).
If the pain is concentrated in the front right side of the neck, this may also indicate heart problems (heart attack, coronary heart disease).
Inflammation of the lymph nodes due to acute respiratory viral infections and tonsillitis.

Neck and shoulder pain

Neck and shoulder pain – a classic sign of cervical osteochondrosis and its accompanying complications (infringement of a hernia, nerves, trunk of the spinal cord). In addition, simultaneous pain in the neck and shoulders can be a sign of such diseases:

Gallstone disease during an exacerbation, with biliary colic.
Heart diseases.
Arthrosis of the shoulder joint.
Cervical plexitis is an inflammation of the large nerve nodes of the spinal nerves.
Periarthritis of the shoulder and shoulder blades – inflammation of the tendons of the shoulder and capsule of the joints of the shoulder.
Myositis.
Arthritis.

Neck and back pain

Pain in the neck and lower back is usually a sign of common osteochondrosis that has captured the entire spinal column. After all, it does not happen that the posture in one part of the spine was good, and in the other – bad. With osteochondrosis, neck pains are unexpressed when the disease is in remission, and strong, painful if it worsens. An exacerbation begins with a sharp pain in the neck and back with an unsuccessful turn, movement, shock. It can be removed with the help of medications prescribed by the doctor, rest, light heat to the affected area, exercise therapy and physiotherapy.

Pain in the cervical spine and back are also due to:

Extensive injury.
Tumors of the spine, metastases to it from other organs.

Neck pain when turning the head

Pain in the neck when turning in different directions happens with exacerbation of osteochondrosis in the cervical region and radiculitis. Other causes of pain are:

Injury (mild fracture of the 2nd cervical vertebra, displacement of this vertebra relative to its normal position).
Vertbero-basilar insufficiency (VBI), when neck pain when turning the head is caused by impaired blood flow in the basilar artery. Other symptoms of VBI are double vision, ringing in the ears, numbness of the body.
Nuffziger syndrome (spasm of the anterior scalene muscle).
Occipital neuralgia.
Brain abscess.

Neck and neck pain

Pain in the neck and back of the head is most often a symptom of commonplace cervical osteochondrosis – a disease that is dangerous but not fatal. But sometimes it indicates meningitis, and this disease poses a threat to human life. The causative agents of meningitis – bacteria and viruses – penetrate the brain and spinal cord, and cause inflammation of their membranes. Numbness, pain in the neck and neck, stiff neck, inability to simultaneously pull the head to the chest, bend the leg in the knee – all these are meningeal symptoms that immediately alert the doctor. The treatment of a dangerous disease is carried out in a hospital,

In addition to meningitis and osteochondrosis, the cause of pain in the neck and back of the head can be injuries, neuralgia of the occipital nerve, hypertension, and muscle strain.

Causes of Neck Pain

Injuries

The cause of pain in the neck is sometimes an injury, due to which the cervical vertebrae are displaced or broken, and spinal nerves are damaged. Injury can occur due to accidents, falls, injuries, unsuccessful diving or sudden movement. Symptoms of neck injury include:

Incorrect neck bending, inability to turn the head, tension in the muscles of the chest and neck indicate a fracture of the lower vertebrae.
Pain in the crown of the head and neck – an indicator that the 1st cervical vertebra is damaged.
Edema and bruising can be a consequence of a bruised neck.
Pain in the neck when turning the head, in the shoulders, upper chest, aching headaches is a sign of a whiplash injury that occurs due to alternating sharp bending and extension of the neck (this can happen when the vehicle is braked sharply).
Most severe injury – fracture of the cervical vertebrae 2-3 degrees. In this case, a person cannot move at least the lower part, and sometimes the whole body, and the prognosis for recovery is very poor.

How to treat a neck injury? You need to start with the proper first aid: the patient should be laid on his back, take care of his immobility (fix) and deliver to the hospital.

If the examination showed that the injury is not severe, painkillers and a collar are prescribed to limit the movements of the cervical spine, and then physiotherapy and exercise therapy.

Whiplash injury is treated with painkillers and muscle relaxants, limitation of mobility and physiotherapy. If the damage is severe, the patient is prescribed a gypsum corset and traction on a special device (Glisson loop). In the absence of the effect of treatment, a surgical operation is needed.

Diseases of the spine (osteochondrosis)

Pain in the neck and shoulders, back of the head, across the back – the most common complaints at the reception of a neurologist. Why are people so often bothered by the neck? The fact is that the neck is a very mobile part of the body, besides it has a constant load on holding the head. Meanwhile, the cervical vertebrae are much smaller in size than in the thoracic and lumbar region, and it is difficult for them to cope with constant tension. If the spine in the cervical region is pathologically bent due to osteochondrosis (dystrophic changes in the cartilage), this has a bad effect on large vessels passing nearby, leading to headaches and dizziness. The infringement of the many nerve endings that are here is also fraught with pain in the neck when turning the head and any change in body position.

Neoplasms

An extremely dangerous cause of pain in the neck is a malignant neoplasm. How can it be?

Tumor of the upper part of the lung. It sprouts nerve bundles and blood vessels, which causes severe pain. A person may be bothered by neck pains on the left or on the right, depending on the location of the tumor.
A symptom of neck pain sometimes indicates the development of lymphoma – cancer of the lymph nodes. Since many lymph nodes are concentrated on the neck, they grow with the progression of the disease, and it is difficult not to notice it. Other pronounced signs of lymphoma are excessive sweating, seemingly unreasonable fever, weight loss.
Salivary gland cancer is a tumor that affects the salivary glands behind the ears, on the side of the neck and on the palate. At an early stage, it proceeds painlessly, only occasionally can one notice compaction in the affected glands.
A tumor of the larynx sprouts its walls, visually represents a tuberous neoplasm. It is difficult to notice them during a routine examination, so cancer, unfortunately, is diagnosed at a late stage, when other manifestations become apparent: a foreign body sensation in the throat, hoarseness and nasal voice, difficulty breathing through the nose. A laryngeal tumor is also dangerous because it is prone to the early appearance of metastases, which greatly worsens the prognosis of the patient’s recovery.
Thyroid cancer is manifested by nodular lumps, pain in front of the neck and a change in voice.
With cancer of the cartilage of the thyroid gland, patients complain of difficulty swallowing and moving food in the larynx, a sensation of a foreign body or a lump in the throat.

Reflected pain in diseases of other organs

The pain that radiates to the neck does not always indicate that the problem is in the neck itself. Sometimes it hurts due to the unhealthiness of other organs, and then the pain is called reflected. What diseases can cause it?

Cardiac (IHD, heart attack, angina pectoris) – they are accompanied by seizures when the pain radiates to the shoulders, neck, and sometimes to the arm.
Pain in the neck on the right, under the right shoulder blade and in the right shoulder occurs during an attack of biliary colic with stones in the gall bladder.
Esophagus diseases (reflux, erosion, ulcer).
Oncological diseases (lymphoma, tumor metastases) are the cause of human suffering when the neoplasm affects the nerve endings. So, cancer of the apex of the lung when the tumor grows up leads to pain in the neck and shoulders. Intracranial tumors, oncological diseases of the head also cause pain in the cervical region.
Abscesses and phlegmon of the head.
Bleeding into the subarachnoid space between the brain and its thin tissues.

Psychological causes of neck pain

Symptoms of pain in the neck often appear against a background of muscle spasm. A spasm is not only due to stress, injury or bruising – the cause may be stress, nervous shock and fatigue. Why it happens? The fact is that the body perceives stress as a threat to its well-being, and this makes it mobilize. Stress hormones are released into the blood, palpitations are quickened, and digestion, on the contrary, slows down. In response to hormonal changes, muscle tone is enhanced. As soon as the alarming situation is experienced, the body goes into normal mode. But if emotional stress takes a chronic form, muscle spasm becomes constant, and against its background diseases of the spine develop (osteochondrosis, hernia, protrusion of the disc).

Unfortunately, today there are more and more people living under stress. Patients complain of pain in the neck and shoulders, that it is difficult for them to turn their heads with pain in the neck, and it is difficult to sit in one position for a long time. They are carefully examined, go to the doctors, and the reason is not at all a terrible disease. And the main treatment is to calm down, learn to relax, engage in physical activity and organize a normal mode of work and rest.

Sedentary lifestyle, frequent computer work

Pain in the muscles of the neck often occurs due to the fact that a person has impaired posture, and a weakness in the muscular corset can be the cause of a violation of posture. As a rule, this happens in people who are far from physical education, lead a sedentary lifestyle and work a lot at the computer. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the workplace is often organized incorrectly, and a person sits hunched over or uncomfortably bent over. As a result, pain radiating to the neck becomes a constant companion, the usual muscle spasm forms, degenerative changes in the intervertebral discs begin, and osteochondrosis develops. And with osteochondrosis, pain in the neck becomes even a constant companion: periods of calming down of pain are replaced by exacerbations, and only competent treatment, changing the lifestyle from sedentary to mobile, controlling posture, strengthening neck and back muscles can break this cycle.

Diagnosis for neck pain

How to establish the causes of neck pain and determine the diagnosis?

First of all, you need to collect an anamnesis:

Anamnesis of life.

It should be ascertained whether injuries of the neck and shoulder girdle occurred in the past, which diseases the person had, and which of them became chronic, whether the common cold and hypothermia occurred recently. For example, the fact of cholecystitis can explain the pain in the neck – with biliary colic, the pain sometimes radiates just to this area. At the same time, the cause of pain in the neck on the left can be: a tumor of the upper part of the left lung, muscle inflammation and compression of the spinal roots on the left.

Medical history

How and with what it began, which doctor the patient went to, what examination and treatment he was prescribed, how it affected the course of the disease (whether it became better or worse).

A visual examination will help establish a 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, looks for visible injuries and injuries.

If there is a suspicion that pain in the neck and shoulders is a consequence of diseases of other organs, you need to refer the patient to a specialist – oncologist, endocrinologist, gastroenterologist, cardiologist, etc.

In other cases, radiation diagnosis will help to clarify the diagnosis: MSCT, CT, X-ray. On them you can see tumors of the spine and organs, fractures and osteoporosis of the bones, displacement of the vertebrae, disc herniation, areas of compression of the trunk of the spinal cord and its roots.

Sometimes electroneuromyography (ENMG), an electrophysiological study, which determines the state of muscles and peripheral nervous system, is a useful diagnostic procedure. ENMG is prescribed if the patient complains of numbness of the hands, twitching of muscles, muscle fatigue.

Neck pain treatment

Drug treatment

Medication for neck pain, if it is explained by oncology or problems in other organs, is aimed at coping with the identified underlying disease. If the matter is in diseases of the spine and muscle tension, then such medications can be prescribed:

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)

Used to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. NSAIDs are available both in the form of tablets, injections, and in the form of gels and ointments. In the acute stage, both can be prescribed (with intervals of several hours). So, if you can turn your head only through tears from neck pain, injections of Ketorol and ointments Diclofenac, Nise, Voltaren will come to the rescue.

Muscle relaxants (e.g., Medocalm)

Medicines that reduce the tone of the muscles of the skeleton.

Antispasmodics

Drugs for relieving smooth muscle spasms.

B vitamins

They are needed to improve metabolic processes and the synthesis of neurotransmitters.

If blood circulation is impaired due to compression of blood vessels and muscles, vasodilator drugs are prescribed.

Massage

Massage for the treatment of pain in the neck and lower back is used when the acute symptoms of the disease have already subsided. The beneficial effect of massage is that it:

Improves blood flow in the affected area
Relieves muscle spasm, relaxes, helps relieve tension and fatigue
Removes swelling and inflammation
Improves cerebral blood flow
Restores the ability of joints to move

For pain in the muscles of the neck, doctors usually prescribe a massage of the cervical-collar zone – this is the area in the upper back and back of the neck. And although the technique of such massage is not particularly complicated, it is still better to entrust it to a specialist. It is worth remembering that the procedure has certain contraindications: it can not be performed for injuries, infections, inflammations, hypertension, heart failure and cancer. In addition, massage for instability of the cervical spine.

Physiotherapy

Physiotherapeutic treatment of pain in the neck begins at the same time as medication, when acute symptoms subside or remission sets in. During the acute course of the disease, only those manipulations that have an analgesic effect can be prescribed. Physiotherapy gives a good effect, because the effect is aimed specifically at the affected area. What procedures are possible?

Electrophoresis with various medications (usually novocaine and lidase). Under the influence of alternating current, drugs penetrate deep into the tissue.
Phototherapy (laser therapy) – exposure to rays of light with a fixed wavelength on the affected area of the body. Laser gives anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect.
Magnetotherapy is a method of treating pain under the neck and neck using an alternating or constant magnetic field. The method has anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.
Ultrasound treatment relieves pain in the neck and relieves inflammation. The action of ultrasound is that it activates the metabolism due to light micromassage of tissues.
Detensor therapy is the extension of the spine due to the weight of a person on a special mattress with inclined ribs. This type of physiotherapy normalizes muscle tone, relieves stress.
The method of shock wave therapy (UHT) is based on the action of low-frequency acoustic waves that the human ear does not hear. The wave moves in the soft tissues and stops in the bone. Treatment with UHT allows you to reduce or eliminate pain, improve blood flow in the area of the device.
Vibration therapy – exposure to mechanical vibrations with the help of vibratory massagers.
Exercise therapy (physiotherapy exercises) – the complex can vary from traditional gymnastics to an individual set of exercises, developed taking into account the diagnosis and condition of the patient.

Surgical intervention

Surgical treatment of neck pain is prescribed when conservative therapy did not give the desired result:

The pain does not go away after taking the medicine
There are signs of compression of the spinal cord and roots
Pronounced and intensified weakness in the muscles of the hands

Most often, operations are performed to remove disc hernias simultaneously with the fusion and immobilization of neighboring vertebrae. To eliminate spinal cord compression, a laminectomy is used – removal of a part of the vertebral arch with the subsequent elimination of osteophytes and hernias.

After surgery and proper rehabilitation, the symptoms of neck pain cease to bother the patient.

Psychologist consultation

Pain in the neck can be a consequence of muscle spasm, and spasm, in turn, is provoked by stress, depression and anxiety. The patient falls into a vicious circle: pain occurs due to stress, and stress is exacerbated by physical suffering. A person complains of pain under the neck, in the neck and around her, cannot determine the exact nature of the pain, is examined from head to toe, but doctors shrug and say that no causes of pain have been identified. How to help him? Perhaps you should turn to a psychologist and focus on your own emotional state: a specialist will help you cope with emotions, teach you methods to overcome stress and relaxation.

Increasingly, they also talk about the participation of psychologists in pain management – in the West this technique is called pain management: a group of doctors of different specialties works to save a person from pain or learn to control it. For this, different methods are used – medications, physiotherapy, biofeedback, psychotherapy sessions and the help of a professional medical psychologist in managing emotions.

Neck pain prevention

With neck pain, turning your head, tilting it, or lying down comfortably becomes a big problem. And if it hurts very much, then life ceases to please at all. You can avoid troubles with the neck with the help of prevention. What do we have to do?

Choose a comfortable sleeping position, a mattress of sufficient stiffness and a low pillow on which the shoulders will not fall. It is advisable to sleep on your back or side, because sleeping on your stomach leads to an unnatural position of the shoulders and neck, causing fatigue and strain.
Watch your own posture: do not stoop, do not sit hunched over. The height of the chair and the desktop should be selected so that it matches the growth: the forearms of the hands when working at the computer should lie on the table, and not be on weight. The monitor should be in front of the eyes, it does not need to reach or lean.
Perform at least simple exercises to strengthen neck muscles regularly. In the range of exercises you can include breathing exercises that reduce stiffness and fatigue. Useful stretching and yoga.
If you lead a sedentary lifestyle – take breaks every hour and a half to walk, stretch and stretch. This will help prevent neck muscle pain that occurs from static exercise.
Protect yourself from physical injuries: do not turn your neck sharply, avoid bumps and traumatic sports loads.
Get rid of the habit of talking on the phone, pressing it with your ear and shoulder – this provokes a spasm of the neck muscles and pain.
Avoid nervous shocks, stress and anxiety. Negative emotions and anxiety can cause stiffness, fatigue, and muscle cramps. If the level of anxiety goes off scale, and you can’t deal with it on your own, it is better to seek help from a specialist.
It is undesirable to load one of the two shoulders, as the distortion of the spine causes pain in the neck on the right or left (depending on where the load is directed). A comfortable backpack with wide straps will help to distribute the weight.
Avoid colds and drafts that can cause myositis (neck muscle inflammation).
Drink plenty of caffeine-free fluids. A sufficient amount of water allows you to effectively transfer the substances and electrolytes necessary for the muscles.
Eat foods that contain calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium. A lack of these substances can cause muscle spasm and cause neck pain.

Severe neck pain can seriously ruin your life, especially if it happened at the wrong time – for example, on a long-awaited vacation. Therefore, at the first “calls” you need not to ignore the alarm signals of the body, but to undergo an examination and get the doctor’s recommendations. The treatment for neck pain depends on the cause that caused it. Osteochondrosis and other degenerative diseases are treated with massage, anti-inflammatory drugs, and wearing a special collar. Hernias, spinal stenosis may require surgery if conservative therapy is not effective. When fibromyalgia becomes the culprit of pain in the neck muscles, lung muscle relaxants and massage will help. Well, if the cause of suffering is a disease of other organs, you need to treat them. It is also worth remembering prophylaxis: moderate physical education, sleep and working in a comfortable position, proper nutrition and weight distribution when carrying will help maintain neck health.

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