Almost everyone has experienced neck pain. They can appear not only in adults, but also in children. To get rid of unpleasant feelings, we must first find out the cause of neck pain and solve the problem on this basis. Since this may be a symptom of a more serious illness, rather than simple pain, it is important to seek medical attention in time.
Causes of neck pain
Neck discomfort is one of the most common patient complaints. There are many causes of cervical spine pain that can be recorded, but they are divided into several groups:
- Non-specific factors. Pain in the neck and back of the head may be caused by maintaining a posture for a long time, excessive exertion, repetition of the same type of exercise, hypothermia, overweight, and stress. They may also appear after a night of sleep in the wrong position or on an uncomfortable mattress or pillow. Such pain may be harmless.
- Damage to vertebrae, intervertebral discs, joints, and ligaments. Neck pain may be the result of a degenerative malnutrition disease. The most common pathologies in this group are osteochondrosis, spondyloarthropathy, spondylolisthesis, stenosis and hernia.
- Visceral pathology. Anterior pain is usually caused by thyroiditis (inflammation of the thyroid gland). Any impact on the neck will exacerbate this pain. Inflammation of the salivary glands, tooth decay, tonsillitis, and damage to the larynx and trachea can also cause neck pain.
- Tumor. Tumors may be the cause of severe neck pain. They are long enough. If the discomfort does not stop, you should consult a doctor immediately.
- Injuries and other mechanical damage. Another cause of neck spine pain is injury. Even a slight blow can cause damage to the cervical spine. When impacted, the vertebrae can shift. If it is not in place in time, patients will complain of unexplained neck pain in the front, right, or left.
- Inflammation process. Arthritis, lupus, spondyloarthritis, and Sharpe syndrome may cause pain. Sometimes, inflammation occurs due to pain caused by ankylosing spondylitis.
- Muscle corset pathology. When the muscles of the shoulder and neck spasm, there will be a trigger point, a small lump in the neck.
- Infectious diseases. These pathologies usually include tuberculosis, meningitis, herpes zoster, and osteomyelitis.
- Consequences of the operation.
The symptoms that cause shoulder and neck pain may not appear for many years or persist. Therefore, it is important to go to a medical institution for checkups on a regular basis.
There are some causes of neck pain that only affect children. If the child's neck is injured, these are usually very serious diseases. These include torticollis, tetanus, mumps, polio, and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
diagnosis
In order to find out the cause of discomfort, if the cervical spine is painful, it is important to consult a specialist as soon as possible when the first symptoms appear. After the initial examination, the therapist or pediatrician will refer you to a more professional specialist based on the nature of the pain.
In most cases, they will be referred to a neurologist or chiropractor. If neck pain is the cause of mechanical injury, refer to a traumatologist. For children with neck or torticollis pain, they may be referred to an orthopedic surgeon. If they are worried about pain in the left side of the neck, they will be sent to a cardiologist, but there is no problem with the function of the arms and legs. When traction neck pain occurs, you should seek the help of an otolaryngologist, and suspect that it may be the cause of sore throat or lymph node inflammation.
To determine the origin of front, back, right, or left neck pain, the doctor first needs to palpate. Based on the results of the examination, the specialist decides which diagnosis to make and prescribes a treatment plan.
When there is pain when nodding and bending back and forth, this indicates that the first vertebra is damaged. If discomfort occurs when bending or turning the neck to both sides, the problem is most likely in the second vertebra.
If the patient is worried about severe pain in the cervical spine, experienced experts can easily determine the cause. Since the focus of pain may be far away from the manifestation, including when the pulsating pain in the left neck is disturbing, the most detailed diagnosis is made.
Based on the results of the initial examination, the doctor may refer you to other diagnostic procedures. These include appointments for blood and urine tests, ultrasound examinations, MRI, radiography, tomography, electrocardiograms, and neuroelectrograms. The results of these procedures are important for answering the question of how to treat neck and neck pain.
Treatment of cervical spondylosis
After the patient has undergone all the diagnostic procedures, the specialist can tell you how to get rid of neck pain. You should not self-treat because pain may have different causes and treatments.
A neurologist or physical therapist will prescribe a treatment plan for the cervical spine. If needed, these specialists can refer you to a chiropractor. It is usually recommended to take a course of medication, physical therapy and massage. If the neck pain is severe and medication, physical therapy, and massage therapy are ineffective, then surgery is performed.
Non-surgical treatment
In order to quickly and effectively relieve cervical pain, treatment must be comprehensive. Usually, patients receive the following non-surgical treatments for cervical spine pain:
- medical treatement;
- Orthopedic method;
- Reflexology
- Ultrasound therapy
- Laser Treatment;
- Therapeutic massage, osteopathy;
- physiotherapy.
Medication is treatment with ointments, tablets, and injections. It aims to eliminate pain and related unpleasant symptoms.
If severe neck pain is caused by osteochondrosis, then in addition to painkillers, muscle relaxants will be prescribed. In severe cases, when acute neck pain is involved, corticosteroids may be prescribed.
If you are concerned about severe neck pain, use an obstruction to relieve symptoms.
Orthopedic methods include wearing a collar. Its fixation can be soft or hard. More commonly, this treatment is prescribed when the neck is continuously injured or injured.
If preventive measures are not continued at the end of the treatment process, neck pain in both adults and children will reappear.
Reflexology is an electric shock therapy for cervical spine pain. Allocate ordinary acupuncture and electric acupuncture.
If the neck muscles are injured, the effect of ultrasound has an antispasmodic effect, and during the introduction of ultrasound, the effect of the drug increases several times.
Laser therapy has a calming effect on the inflamed skin area. If the neck is painful, then a qualified expert will explain how to treat this method.
In addition, if the neck is painful from the side, left or right side, massage will help. It is recommended to perform therapeutic massage at least twice a year. This process can reduce stress and eliminate the cause of some unpleasant symptoms.
Physical therapy exercises (exercise therapy) aim to distribute the load correctly during cervical pain. In addition, the stretching and mobility of certain muscle groups increase.
In addition to official medications to relieve neck symptoms, informal medications can also be used to treat the back of the head and other parts of the neck.
operation treatment
Sometimes, it is impossible without surgical intervention. How to treat neck pain in this situation? Operable conditions include hernias, compression of the spinal cord or spinal cord roots, and mechanical damage.
The operation boils down to the fact that the area of the vertebrae that interferes with the normal function and working of the spinal cord is simply removed. In some cases, lasers can be used for surgery.
Surgery may cause complications or accidents, so doctors will initially try different treatments.
It is important to know that doctors will only provide actionable methods to solve the problem when they see that other methods will not bring positive results. Therefore, treatment cannot be delayed for a long time, especially if the disease is detected early.
prevention
In order to eliminate the cause of neck pain, such as inactivity and uncomfortable position, self-massage is recommended. A chiropractor or other expert who has been in contact with neck pain will advise how to treat neck pain in this way.
Light exercise during your working hours will help. You need to rest regularly to get your neck muscles back to normal work. Long-term incorrect posture or tension may cause cervical spine pain.
Sleep pillows and mattresses must be orthopedic. They will reduce the pressure on the spine throughout the day.
Massage twice a year will reduce the possibility of going to the doctor due to neck pain. Professional massage therapists can eliminate the causes of chronic neck pain on the right, front, and left sides during treatment.
In order to rule out serious illnesses, you need to determine the cause of possible neck injuries. It is important to keep your neck warm, and you need to protect it from air currents. Observing the correct posture will not be superfluous, especially for children.