The cervical syndrome is the pain in the neck accompanied by the painful movement of the head, reflection of pain at the shoulder and hand. The x-ray control would sometimes show arthritic changes or intervertebral disc herniation in the neck.
A Random finding of alignment of the cervical spine is not assessed although many authors accept it as a pathological finding. The common test is the electromyography, which, when it does not present any, findings does not exclude the pressure on nerves that is responsible for the cervical syndrome.
The most common causes of the cervical syndrome are two:
- Cervical spine disorders like arthritis (salts, degenerative lesions), Slipped (Herniated) Disk.
- Upper limb disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome and Ulnar Neuropathy.
The diagnosis of the condition which causes cervical syndrome requires correct reception of the patient’s history and great experience of the treating doctor.
Treatment of cervical syndrome
For the cervical syndrome derived from carpal tunnel syndrome or Ulnar Neuropathy the surgery on the elbow and wrist gives spectacular results and complete relief of the sufferer from neck pain.
If the neck pain comes from slipped disc or degenerative lesions (salts) of the vertebrae of the cervical spine, anti-inflammatory drugs and if the pain will not recede, there could be done a local infusion (injection) of drugs with anti-inflammatory medications with local action at the area of the damage.
Very rarely, there are indications for surgical treatment. After the pain is gone, potentiation exercises and shoulders and dorsal elevation reduce the repetition of frequency of the cervical syndrome.
