Cervical Pain
There are many forms of pain to be on the lookout for, and one important type is cervical pain. Cervical pain involves the neck. The cervical spine is a delicate structure that includes the spinal cord, sending signals from the brain to the rest of the body. While it is delicate, it is also flexible and allows for movement in all directions. The neck begins at the base of the skull and connects to the thoracic spine (upper back) through seven vertebral segments. Once again, its delicacy is important to note, because any damage or stress may lead to painful conditions. There are three main and critical roles of the cervical spine that will be discussed, in order to stress the importance of having a healthy and well-functioning cervical spine. The first is that it supports the head and any movements and rotations; this is impressive considering that the head weighs on average ten to thirteen pounds. The second is that it contains and protects the spinal cord, and as mentioned briefly above, it plays a major role as the messenger for the brain and body. Lastly, it also facilitates the flow of blood to the brain, as there are vertebral openings in the cervical spine that provide a passageway for vertebral arteries to pass. This allows and ensures that proper blood flow is directed to the brain. The fact that these openings are present only in the vertebrae of the cervical spine emphasizes once again the importance of it.
While cervical pain can be brought about by injuries caused by daily activities or the natural wear and tear that aging brings, there are more serious forms, such as cervical disc disease, cervical degradation, and cervical spinal stenosis. Cervical disc disease is a common form of neck pain, caused by an abnormality in one or more discs (the cushions that lie between the vertebrae). There are twenty three discs in the entire spinal column, and six of them are in the cervical spine. A damaged disc, the result of a direct injury, arthritis, or age, will lead to inflammation, muscle spasms, a stiff neck, and/or neck pain. In severe cases, nerve irritation may lead to pain and numbness in the arms as well. Pain medication, physical therapy, neck traction, and surgery (although usually a last resort) are common forms of treatment for this disease.
Another form of cervical pain is cervical degradation, which can come in the form of bone spurs (osteophytes) and/or cervical osteoarthritis (spondylosis). Bone spurs are smooth structures that grow on bones and cause joints to enlarge. They tend to occur in adults over the age of sixty, but bone spurs alone may not always be the cause for pain. Symptoms such as neck pain (even when standing), headaches, and shoulder pain may or may not appear, which makes it difficult to diagnose. Thus, x-rays should be used to properly determine if there is cervical degradation. These bone spurs may be the result of cervical osteoarthritis, the breakdown of the cartilage between the facet joints (the joints that allow for flexibility) of the cervical spine. Symptoms include pain in the shoulder or between the shoulder blades. Because cervical osteoarthritis rarely requires surgery, common forms of treatment include pain medication and chiropractic care.
Lastly, there is cervical spinal stenosis, the narrowing of the spinal canal in the neck. This narrowing will squeeze and compress the nerve roots that leave the spinal cord, or even compress and damage the spinal cord itself. This changes the function of the spinal cord, causing pain, stiffness, numbness, and/or weakness in the arms and legs. The activity and function of the bowels and bladder may also be affected or lost, since the affected nerves are the ones that control the interaction between the brain, and the bowels and bladder. However, unless the spinal cord or nerves are being squeezed, symptoms will not appear, others including problems with coordination and balance. Cervical spinal stenosis is usually caused by aging, especially adults over the age of fifty. Aging has many effects on the spinal cord-- the discs may bulge out more than they normally should, the cartilage may be destroyed, or excessive growth of joints, all of which leading to the narrowing of the spinal canal. It is rare for the spinal canal to be already narrowed from birth, but it is still possible. Mild cases can be treated with physical exercise and pain medication, but severe or extreme cases will require decompressive surgery to remove whatever it is that is causing the narrowing.
References:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/neck-pain/symptoms-causes/syc-20375581
https://www.physio-pedia.com/Cervical_Vertebrae
https://www.spineuniverse.com/anatomy/cervical-spine-anatomy-neck
https://www.spine-health.com/conditions/degenerative-disc-disease/cervical-degenerative-disc-disease
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ap/chapter/the-spinal-cord/
