The human body is an upright advanced animal, so the spine plays an extremely important role in the process of human upright, especially in the coordination between the brain and the human body. We should protect the neck from injury in our daily life, so what are the functions of the neck and cervical vertebra? What symptoms can there be if there is a problem with cervical vertebra?

1, the role of cervical spine

1, which supplies blood to the brain and resists germs.

The neck connects our brain and body, and there is a hole in it, which contains cervical vertebra, trachea, esophagus and dense nerves and blood vessels.

For the neck, most people just think it makes people look beautiful and elegant, and it is rarely linked to health. In fact, the "territory" of the neck includes the clavicle from the back of the head to the shoulders.

2. The neck is the support of the head.

The neck supports the skull upwards and connects the back, waist and abdomen downwards. There are three main functions:

The first is the role of support. Among them, 1 cervical vertebra is connected with the occipital bone of the skull and supports the head and back together with the following sections. The second is to protect spinal nerves and blood vessels. Cervical vertebrae are connected with each other, forming channels for nerves, vertebral artery blood vessels and spinal cord. The third is the leverage of sports. The first two sections of the cervical spine are the hinge of cervical spine activities, which help the neck to bend and rotate, and complete actions such as nodding, looking up and turning left and right.

3. Blood supply to the brain is inseparable from the neck.

Carotid artery is distributed on both sides and is responsible for cerebral blood supply together with vertebral artery. Among them, the carotid artery provides more than 80% blood supply to the brain, and we can feel its beating about 5 cm on both sides of the protruding part of the throat.

The lymph on the neck is the body's immune defense line.

Dense lymph nodes and nerve trunks are distributed in the neck. Viruses and bacteria are most likely to invade the respiratory tract and mouth. When infected lymph flows back, the first stop is the neck. Therefore, the lymph nodes on the neck are also the first line of defense of the human body.

5. The nerves in the neck regulate the whole body.

The nerves emitted by the brain descend through the neck, and the nerves it contains can be said to perform their respective duties: 8 pairs of spinal nerves dominate the movement and feeling of the human body; 4 pairs of cranial nerves regulate blood pressure, respiration and gastrointestinal peristalsis; Sympathetic nerve can make people's heart beat faster, blood vessels in limbs contract, and make people sweat. The excitement of parasympathetic nerves will slow down and weaken people's heartbeat.

6. From the perspective of Chinese medicine, the neck is also the junction of the whole body meridians.

It contains five important meridians, including Du Meridian, Bladder Meridian, Small Intestine Meridian, Gallbladder Meridian and Sanjiao Meridian. Acupoints such as Fengchi, Fengfu and Dazhui at the back of the neck are "points" for health care.

2. Cervical vertebra problem alarm

1, walking is not straight, making a fist is boring.

In a sense, the neck is as important as breathing. But in life, everyone often regrets when something goes wrong. The following situations are the most likely to damage the fragile neck.

2, slow cute dyeing

Inflammation of some seemingly unrelated parts of the cervical spine, especially chronic infection, may increase the incidence of cervical spondylosis. Pharyngolaryngitis is common, followed by dental caries, periodontitis and otitis media. Inflammation in these parts can directly stimulate the soft tissue of the neck or cause soft tissue lesions in the neck and occipital region through the lymphatic system. Therefore, once found, it is necessary to actively treat it and not be "soft".

3. Wrong exercises

Many people who work at their desks often "shake their heads" or learn some neck exercises to exercise the cervical vertebrae. Exercise varies from person to person, such as balancing books on the head, turning around frequently, pecking rice, etc. , not suitable for people with chronic cervical strain, and may even aggravate the condition. It's best to take an X-ray of cervical vertebra and get to know your own situation.

4. Head and neck injuries

50% of the causes of cervical spondylosis are related to neck trauma. Some patients with cervical spondylosis, due to cervical hyperosteogeny, cervical disc herniation, soft tissue lesions in the spinal canal, etc. The cervical spinal canal is in a state of critical stenosis. Once injured, it is likely to become "the last straw to crush the camel" and induce symptoms.

5, often catch a cold

Many young people wear more and more "cool" clothes, and they love to wear low-necked clothes with a backless back all year round. Cervical vertebrae are particularly afraid of freezing. The cold and dampness factors in the external environment can reduce the body's tolerance to pain, make muscle spasms, small blood vessels contract, slow down lymphatic reflux, and block the blood circulation of soft tissues, thus producing aseptic inflammation and inducing cervical spondylosis.

6. Aging and degradation

With the increase of age, the injuries of various parts of the human body are increasing day by day, and the cervical vertebra will also produce various degenerative changes, which will oppress and stimulate nerve roots and vertebral arteries, leading to cervical spondylosis.

Therefore, we should pay attention to a balanced diet, proper outdoor exercise and promote bone development; Pay attention to the correct sitting posture in adulthood, don't sleep on high pillows, run more, swim more, etc. It can make the cervical spine "old" more slowly.

To judge whether you have cervical spondylosis, you might as well do a simple self-test question:

3, cervical spondylosis self-test

1. Radiation pain similar to electric shock appears in a certain part of the limb, which is a typical manifestation of cervical spondylotic radiculopathy. If accompanied by dizziness, nausea and visual rotation, it is often accompanied by cervical spondylosis of vertebral artery type.

2. Numbness of fingers, especially numbness of both sides, may be the compression of important structures of spinal cord caused by cervical spondylosis.

3. Finger flexion and extension experiment: It is normal to make a fist by hand and then straighten it completely, and do it for more than 20 times in 10 second.

4. Try to walk a line with your feet, and patients with cervical spondylosis can't walk in a straight line.

4. Consequences of cervical spine injury

1, cervical spine injury, involving the whole body.

The neck is so important, but it is very "delicate". It is the "hardest hit area" of various diseases, and the cervical vertebra bears the brunt.

The cervical vertebra consists of seven bones, which form a heavy cross with the shoulders and support the lighter head. Cervical spine injury will trigger a series of "chain reactions" and affect the overall health.

2.70% of headaches are related to the neck.

Takayasu Matsui pointed out that 70% of headaches are related to the neck, which is called cervicogenic headache. It is characterized by unilateral or bilateral occipital swelling or pain behind the ear, which may be accompanied by nausea and vomiting, tinnitus, eye swelling, and changes in smell and taste. It is easy to be ignored or misdiagnosed.

3, insufficient blood supply to the neck is easy to get dizzy

Cervical spondylosis leads to insufficient blood supply to vertebral artery, which will lead to cervical vertigo, especially after cervical vertebra activity.

4. Cervical dislocation leads to cervicothoracic syndrome.

Cervical hyperosteogeny, unstable dislocation and disc herniation will lead to cervicothoracic syndrome, which will cause paroxysmal chest tightness, precordial pain and suffocation.

5, cervical spondylosis can cause dysphagia.

This is because the upper end of the esophagus is adjacent to the sixth cervical vertebra, and the proliferation of the latter will compress the esophagus. If cervical hyperplasia oppresses cervical sympathetic nerve, it will also lead to slow gastrointestinal peristalsis and induce constipation and abdominal distension.

The neck is also a "signal light" for other diseases.

A study by the American Sleep Association found that people with thick necks are prone to sleep apnea. In addition, some scholars pointed out that the thicker the neck, the higher the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and diabetes.

5. How to maintain cervical spine and neck?

Hold your head high, and don't look back. To ensure that the "lifeline" of the neck is unimpeded, we must start from the details of life.

1 Sit, walk and keep the correct posture.

When standing or walking, hold your head high, keep your eyes straight ahead, and don't bow your head. Wear a neck pillow when sitting for a long time.

Raise your head and lean back appropriately, and press acupoints.

Workers who need to bow their heads for a long time should develop the habit of raising their heads and leaning back once every 15 minutes, and appropriately expand their chests and shrug their shoulders. You can also moderately press Fengchi point (outside the thick muscles of the back neck) and Tianzhu point (about one finger on the left side of Fengchi point).

3 Prevention of trauma

Don't turn your neck too fast or too hard; Fasten your seat belt when driving or riding to prevent neck dislocation injury caused by inertia when braking suddenly or bumping; Don't hang your mobile phone around your neck.

6. How to do neck exercises?

1. Support the head: lean forward, put your elbows on the table, and hold your forehead with your palm for 3~5 minutes.

2. Lifting action: put your hands on the edge of the chair, support your body, and lift your legs up for 5 seconds.

3. Shoulder contraction: Sit up straight, straighten your spine, put your hands on your legs, and move your shoulders back 15 seconds.

4. "turtle exploration": imitate the turtle to explore forward and keep the chin level.

5. Turn your neck: Every 65,438+0 hours, lower your head so that your chin is as close to your chest as possible, and then slowly turn your neck.