Causes, inspection methods and relief methods of cervical stiffness

Cervical stiffness is a very common disease, especially for office white-collar workers who need to use computers for a long time, it is an extremely common symptom. Cervical stiffness can cause great inconvenience to the patient's daily life, so once the disease occurs, it needs timely treatment, or it can be relieved on its own. Below, we will introduce in detail the causes, examination methods and treatment methods of cervical stiffness.

reason

The basic pathological change of cervical spondylosis is the degeneration of the intervertebral disc. The cervical vertebrae are located between the head and the thorax. The cervical intervertebral discs need to move frequently while bearing weight, and are prone to excessive minor trauma and strain, leading to illness.

The main pathological changes are: early degeneration of the cervical intervertebral disc, decreased water content of the nucleus pulposus and swelling and thickening of the fibers of the annulus fibrosus, followed by hyaline degeneration and even rupture. After the cervical intervertebral disc degenerates, its resistance to pressure and tension decreases. When affected by the gravity of the head and the pulling force of the head-thoracic muscles, the degenerated intervertebral disc may bulge outward locally or extensively, causing the intervertebral disc space to narrow, the articular processes to overlap and dislocate, and the longitudinal diameter of the intervertebral foramen to decrease. Due to the weakening of the traction resistance of the intervertebral disc, when the cervical spine moves, the stability between adjacent vertebrae decreases and intervertebral instability occurs, the range of motion between the vertebral bodies increases and the vertebral bodies have slight slippage, followed by bone hyperplasia of the posterior facet joints, uncovertebral joints and vertebral lamina, degeneration of the yellow ligament and nuchal ligament, and changes such as cartilage and ossification.

Inspection method

1. Tenderness: Paravertebral or spinous process tenderness, the location of tenderness is generally consistent with the affected segment.

2. The range of motion of the cervical spine is checked by examining the flexion, extension, lateral flexion and rotation. Patients with radiculopathy have more obvious limitation of neck movement, while patients with vertebral artery type cervical spondylosis may experience dizziness when moving in a certain direction.

3. For the intervertebral puncture compression test, the patient's head is tilted to the affected side. The examiner places his left palm flat on the top of the patient's head and gently taps the back of the left arm with his right palm. If radicular pain or numbness occurs, it is positive. In patients with more severe nerve root symptoms, light pressure on the head with both hands may cause pain or numbness or aggravate the symptoms.

4. For patients suspected of having radicular symptoms, the intervertebral puncture separation test is performed in a sitting position with the patient holding the head with both hands and pulling upward. If the pain and numbness in the upper limbs are relieved, the test is positive.

Mitigation methods

1. Read books about cervical spondylosis and learn how to prevent and treat the disease with scientific means.

2. Maintain an optimistic spirit, establish the idea of ​​fighting hard against the disease, cooperate with the doctor's treatment, and reduce recurrence.

3. Strengthen the training of the neck and shoulder muscles, and do flexion, extension and rotation exercises of the head and upper limbs. This can not only relieve fatigue, but also develop muscles and enhance toughness, which is beneficial to the stability of the cervical spine and enhance the ability of the neck and shoulders to adapt to sudden changes in the neck.

4. Avoid the bad habit of sleeping with a high pillow. A high pillow causes the head to flex forward, which increases the stress on the lower cervical spine and may accelerate cervical degeneration.

5. Keep your neck and shoulders warm, avoid putting heavy objects on your head and neck, avoid excessive fatigue, and don't doze off while riding in a car.