First, the cause:
There are actually many reasons for neck and shoulder pain. The first thing to rule out is heart disease. Myocardial ischemia of coronary heart disease can cause pain in left chest and left shoulder, which should be ruled out by ECG and myocardial enzyme spectrum first. Secondly, we should rule out cholecystitis. Inflammation of gallbladder and stimulation of diaphragm will cause pain above the right shoulder, which should be eliminated by ultrasound.
Long-term bowing will lead to degeneration and protrusion of human cervical intervertebral disc (figure 1). The human body will compensate for the hyperplasia of cervical intervertebral joint (uncinate process joint) and ligamentum flavum, and then compress the nerves, spinal cord, vertebral artery and sympathetic nerve in the adventitia of vertebral artery, resulting in a series of symptoms and signs.
Figure 1. Long-term bowing (overwork) will lead to degeneration and protrusion of human cervical intervertebral disc and compression of nerves.
Second, the performance:
This disease usually manifests as neck pain and fatigue, and may also lead to numbness and pain in the arms. The serious manifestations are numbness and weakness of upper and lower limbs, dizziness, memory loss, palpitation, blurred vision and so on.
Third, prevention:
How to prevent cervical spondylosis?
1. First of all, we should avoid long-term uninterrupted bow posture (including working at a desk, watching mobile phones, surfing the Internet, playing mahjong, etc.). ). Get up every 1 hour and do some exercise, such as radio gymnastics and Tai Ji Chuan, or just give yourself five minutes to kick and exercise your waist. 2. Secondly, take a correct sitting posture, as shown in the following figure (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Correct sitting posture
3. Strengthen neck muscle exercise. You can jog and swim, including "square dance". These are all full-body activities, which can not only exercise the heart and lungs, but also exercise the muscles of the whole body (including the neck).
Fourth, treatment:
Once you get cervical spondylosis, how should you treat it?
The purpose of non-surgical treatment is to eliminate nerve root edema and alleviate local inflammation; Relax the neck muscles and relieve the pressure in the intervertebral disc; Eliminate the inflammatory reaction of neck muscles and break the vicious circle. For patients with "only neck pain, no or mild arm numbness", non-surgical treatment is recommended.
The method comprises the following steps:
1. Rest and brake, and avoid all kinds of activities in the posture of lowering your head for a long time. Wearing a neck circumference can relax neck muscles and relieve neck pain. But wearing a neck collar for a long time will lead to the relaxation of neck muscles. Once the neck circumference is removed, it is difficult to stabilize the cervical spine and further aggravate the symptoms. The latest view in the world is "combination of dynamic and static". That is to say, rest and brake in the acute stage of pain, and exercise properly after the pain is relieved, so as to relieve the spasm of neck muscles and rebuild the dynamic balance of human neck muscles.
2. Physical therapy, massage, massage and hot compress (in regular hospitals) can all achieve the purpose of "promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, diminishing inflammation and relieving pain".
3. Traction is effective in relieving neck muscle spasm, and it is a passive measure to relieve nerve root compression, which is effective temporarily. However, traction is strictly prohibited for cervical spondylotic myelopathy with weakness of limbs.
4. It can be supplemented by drug therapy, including flurbiprofen axetil cataplasm, Xiaotong Plaster and other anti-inflammatory and analgesic plasters, celecoxib, etoricoxib and other oral drugs, Xiaozhong-Maizhiling, Muscle Relaxation-eperisone, nutritional nerve-mecobalamin and so on.
Conservative treatment is ineffective for 3-6 months; Progressive aggravation of symptoms of pain and nerve root injury; And seriously affect the quality of life, patients can undergo surgical treatment such as disc removal, cervical fusion and stability.